July 22, 2025 • 17 mins
https://justiceteamnetwork.com
In this week's episode of JTP, guest host Mikaela Dixon interviews Megan Valles from the Drake Law Firm. Megan shares her inspiring journey from experiencing a car accident at 19 to becoming an attorney, including how personal experiences, including battling breast cancer, have shaped Megan's approach to advocacy. Megan emphasizes the importance of empathy, setting realistic expectations with clients, and the crucial role of personal resilience in her work as a child attorney.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Hey, it's Bob Simon taking abreak to tell you about CallRail.
CallRail is a product that my firm uses,and what CallRail does is it plugs into
your phone calls with your intake and withyour clients to record those phone calls
as real time transcripts so you can getintelligence and with the attorney share.
Plugin, you can actually in real time,be able to send a referral out through
(00:23):
the marketplace to find the bestmatch all made possible with CallRail
being plugged into your firm's intakewith real intelligence CallRail.
Hi, and welcome to the Justice TeamPodcast on the Justice Team Network.
I am guest host Mikayla Dixon today, andwe have an incredible guest, Megan Valez.
(00:43):
Hello.
Hi.
If you could just introduce yourselfa little bit and tell us, uh, what
you do, who you are, where you work.
I am Megan Valez.
I work for the Drake Law Firm as a childattorney, and I very much enjoy what I do.
Thank you for having me.
Of course.
We're so excited to have you.
I. Um, have had the privilege of justgetting to know you a little bit, and
(01:04):
I feel like the word that like trulystands out with you is resilience.
That's so funny because I justgot a tattoo of resilience
on my side for shut up.
Yes.
Wait,
shut up.
I
swear to God.
I literally like, like from the secondwe started talking, like it just like
you exude that and I think that there'sso much strength in that and I kind
of want this episode to be you talkingabout your life experience and how that
(01:30):
makes you the attorney that you are.
Um, and that is a very big,it's like a very big umbrella.
You're like, so go.
Um, I think just like.
Like so often attorneys are a littlebit afraid to just be like human beings.
Yeah.
Um, and just in the conversations I'vehad with you and what I've gotten to
see out of like the kind of advocatethat you are, is that like you pull
(01:54):
from your lived experience to beable to show up for your clients?
Absolutely.
And so maybe if you wouldn't mind talkingabout kind of your journey to law and what
really got you interested in it so that wecan kind of start going deeper into that.
Absolutely.
I mean, aside from the, the cheesy TVshows the Law and order, the CSI for sure.
Obviously I wanted to, that'swhat started my interest in law.
(02:16):
And then it wasn't until I got into myfirst car accident, I would think I was
19 years old and I was like, I've neverhad a hire an attorney for anything.
I don't even know whatI would need one for.
Mm-hmm.
So I reached out to one of my collegegirlfriends and I said, Hey, like
I, I need somebody who can help me.
And she was like working forthis attorney at the time.
And she said, you know, come in.
(02:38):
It was like seven o'clock on like aFriday evening or something like that.
Oh wow.
And I got signed up.
I asked all the questions that Ineed, and I ended up funny working for
that attorney after my car accident.
Yeah.
All throughout law school.
Oh my God.
What a full circle.
Yeah, completely.
I think that like, that's somethingthat we forget as attorneys a lot
of the time is like our clients,their very first experience with
(03:00):
an attorney is likely the one thatthey're having right then and there.
Correct.
And so I think.
You have an incredible likeperspective of like, you know what
it's like to be an advocate and youknow what it's like to be a client.
Yeah.
And so how does that interact with likeyour ability to advocate for your clients?
Absolutely.
Just how you said, you know, thisis probably the only experience
(03:21):
and interaction they've ever, everneeded to hire an attorney for.
So by me letting them know,look, I've been in your position
before, not once, but twice.
Like I know what it's like to have yourlife completely derailed, put on pause
for, you know, however, six months, ayear, two years, whatever it may be.
But just to let them knowthat this is temporary.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
(03:41):
What can we do to getyou, you know, set goals.
You know, some of my clients weredivision one soccer athletes.
They were, you know, very active in.
Whatever their, their sport hobby was andthe fact that they can't do that anymore.
I just to see the decline on theirmental health because they can't do that.
I'm like, look, let's get you there.
You know, if you can kick a ball or juststand up and be on a soccer field mm-hmm.
(04:05):
In the next six months, like, we'lltake it like these little baby steps,
like you'll get there, let's set goals.
And then they see like the end of their,their case and the result and, you know.
They're able to slowly get back into it.
That's what makes me the happiest.
I could literally feel it from you.
Like, we're not gonna cry.
It's a safe space.
(04:25):
Um, I feel like.
That's something that I was gonna askand I think you kind of touched on
it, of like, do you tell them thatyou have been in their shoes before?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I feel like this is somethingthat, like someone had told me in the
past, um, like I had been questioned'cause like I've been through
things and like I am open about it.
And I think that like, because I havebeen through something, I have a different
(04:47):
perspective and a different passionof how you can show up for someone.
Mm-hmm.
And someone asks like, do youthink you're too close to it?
To be able to do that, and it, and Ilike told you this example already,
but it's like, it's like telling awoman like, oh, because you're a woman,
like you can't really be a feminist.
Like you're too close to it.
Yeah.
It's like, no, like that'sexactly why I'm in this position
is because I want to, they
hire us as personal injuryattorneys to talk for guidance.
(05:09):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're relying on us tonavigate them through this entire
process, and I basically letthem know, look, I work for you.
Mm-hmm.
What can I do to make this easier for you?
Let me know what you need.
We'll get through this together.
Like you have my personalcell phone number.
Call me on the weekends.
I wanna know how your kids are doing.
I wanna know how your family's doing.
Like, give me these life updatesso they know that you're okay.
(05:29):
Yeah.
And I think something that like isimportant is we are human beings, right?
Yeah.
And we are attorneys.
And I think that you do yourselfa disservice when you only look
at your client as a client, right.
Because they're a human being too.
Yeah.
And it's like the more you knowabout their family, the more you
know about their day to day, thebetter position that you are in
to be able to advocate for them.
Exactly.
Because it might not have beensomething that came up in a routine,
(05:52):
kind of like intake question or thediscovery things where it's like.
Yeah, but like, what's it likeinteracting with your kids and
things where it's like you're a humanbeing, interacting with your family.
Like, I wanna know those things.
And even if you're talking more casually,it's not like a, a discovery call.
You're just like checking in,like seeing how you're doing.
The, the more vulnerable they'reable to be with you, the better
advocate you can be for them.
(06:13):
I wouldn't be able to tell their storyat trial if I didn't know about their
family, their kids, their upbringing.
All of that.
Yes, yes.
And I think too, it's like nice whenthey know that their attorney is a human.
Yeah.
And I think that sometimes peopleshy away from that, or it's like,
no, I need to exude the strength.
I need to exude.
Like, I am impervious.
Like I, you know, I'mhere, I'm an attorney.
(06:34):
And it's like, but you'realso a human being.
And I think that they feellike safer opening up.
I would hope so.
Yeah.
That's my goal
is making them feel likeI'm not just their attorney.
I'm, I'm their friend.
I'm fam consider me as family.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think that like the factthat you had experienced like a
traumatic experience of your own,you know how to pull from that.
(06:55):
Absolutely.
And it's like, you know what you neededin those moments and you either show
up in that way or you show up where youfelt like there might have been gaps
or you show up in just a more authenticway or, you know, questions to ask
that maybe other attorneys wouldn't.
Yeah.
I've always had a more positive mindset.
I mean, aside from the car accident, I've,you know, beat breast cancer before, so.
There's a type ofmindset you have to have.
(07:16):
Yeah.
Again, knowing that this is temporary,we're gonna get through this, you
know, what does the future look like?
Like I have bucket list goals thatI still want to complete, and I
tell the same thing to my clients.
I'm like, I, I get it.
You're in probably the worst situationthat you are in right now in your life.
We'll get through it together.
Like what does the future hold?
Stay positive.
Call me if you want to just chat to vent.
Yeah.
You know what, what, whois your support system?
(07:38):
And not, the sad part isnot a lot of them have that.
Support system, either from coworkers oryou know, their friends, or especially
from the, from my male clients.
Yeah.
They are taught to, youknow, be that strong person.
We, we can't go and ask for help.
Mm-hmm.
And so I let them know like, youhave to, you have to ask for help.
Yeah.
And sometimes it's like.
(07:58):
Like, do you find that clients sometimesare like, well, I just don't wanna
fixate on like the negative, like, youdo have a positive outlook, you know?
And so when it's like, okay,yes, but this is temporary.
Yeah.
Like, think about where you're gonnabe five years from now and like.
F you know, like focus on, like youare bettering yourself for future.
You, do you help, kind of like in, doyou feel like you inspire your clients
(08:18):
to also kind of have that mindset?
I would hope so, yeah.
I would hope so.
I, I am very open.
I feel like you're inspiring me right now.
I'm very open.
I'm probably too open with my clients,with my own personal experiences,
and I'm just like, look, like, what?
What do you need from me?
Like, you have to stay positive.
If they're in such anegative mindset right now.
Mm-hmm.
You know, their life is, some of 'emare on bedrest for three, four months.
(08:40):
Yeah.
And when you don't, like, for me,like when, from my car accident when
I wasn't able to go to the gym andwork out and run like that takes a
toll on your mental health 110%, so.
Mm-hmm.
I can only imagine whatthey're going through.
They're miserable.
And I, again, I'm justlike, this is temporary.
Like, let's look to the future.
Like your health is themost important thing.
(09:00):
Like, we're not doingthis to win the lottery.
Right.
We're not doing this.
For a pay cut, for a paycheck.
I'm sorry.
And I let them either right off the bat.
I'm like, you let meknow when you're good.
Yeah.
And, and you feel like you know,you've got the treatment that you need.
And then we will talk about togetheron how we wanna resolve your case.
But my priority is getting you back toa point where you can play soccer again.
(09:21):
You can go to the gym.
Yeah.
You can take care of your family.
Good.
I feel like those like conversationsare so important and I don't
wanna go past this, but you'recancer free how many months?
Yes.
Uh, 16 months I believe.
That's incredible.
That's incredible.
And like I think like you have beenthrough life, a lot of life and I think.
(09:44):
The, the fact that you are stillable to and want to show up and
advocate for others when you arealso have been in a position for
so many, like, so much time of justtrying to advocate for yourself also.
Yeah.
And, and survive each day.
Like the fact that you chose to also stillshow up for other people is incredible.
(10:04):
I remember walking into Kaiser,you know, at 30 years old and
I'm like, hi, I need a mammogram.
And they're like, I'msorry, how old are you?
So again, having to advocate for myselfand letting my doctors know like, this is
what I need, this is what my concerns are.
Yeah.
Having my mom just finishedher battle of breast cancer, I
was like, this needs to happen.
Absolutely.
So now
I'm such an advocate for all women.
(10:26):
I don't care how old youare, how young you are.
Take care of your bodies,check your boobies.
Yeah.
Make sure you get yourmammograms every year.
No, absolutely retweet.
Yeah.
And just the fact that like youwere even in a position where
you had to advocate for yourselfor have to like ask to be heard.
Yeah.
By someone that's supposed toalready be doing that for you.
Yeah.
That's hard.
(10:47):
And I also find, and I don't know if yourelate to this, but like it's so much
easier to advocate for others than myself.
Absolutely.
I tell everybody else, I'mlike, take care of yourself.
Take care of your bodies.
And we forget that.
We also are important too.
Yes, absolutely.
What was it like for you, likeactively going through a tough
time, also showing up for otherpeople, going through a tough time?
(11:08):
I used work as kind of an escapefrom my own personal tribulations
that I had to go through.
Yeah.
I mean, again, when work, I genuinely lovewhat I do, so it doesn't feel like work.
You know, I was.
Working throughout.
I didn't have to do chemo knock on one,but I had to do radiation and I was
working full-time throughout my radiationas much as I could because that was my
(11:29):
escape from me dealing with the cancer.
I was like, you know, if I can help myclients, if I can go to a mediation,
if I can, you know, get through,settle a cup of cases and make my
clients' lives a little bit better andhelp them move on from this and get
some closure, then I've done my job.
Yeah.
So.
Gut free.
That's like, I don't, I don'tfeel like crying, like that's
(11:50):
just like so inspiring, you know?
Because like you are literally likechoosing to fight for other people and
advocate for other people in that time.
And I just think that like,that's so admirable and I
just like think is a rarity.
Also, I know
I worked so hard to just get to pass thebar and to get my first job as an attorney
and like, I mean I'm five year, I think Igot diagnosed when I was two years in as
(12:14):
an attorney and I was like, this is, wow.
Not gonna derail me.
It's not gonna define me,it's not gonna derail me.
Like I still have morepurpose in life to live.
So again, it's temporary.
What am I gonna do to get past this?
My coworkers at Drake Law were amazing.
That's
awesome.
Great support system with my family.
Um, and then, yeah, just seeing my momliterally go through the same exact
(12:35):
thing that I just got diagnosed with.
It's scary.
Mm-hmm.
Scary as hell.
But I was just like, you know, knockon what They caught it early, you know?
And.
What are we gonna do to get past this?
Yeah, and you're a big part init getting caught early too.
Yeah.
So like also good on you for likelistening to your intuition and advocating
for yourself because I think it's amazing.
(12:58):
I think we're all guilty
of like how stressful our livesare as attorneys, you know?
Okay, we'll go to the doctor, we'll goto the doctor next week, next month.
You know, it's in the back of our heads.
Yeah.
And I'm, I very muchtell everybody, I'm like.
Take care of yourself.
Oh yeah.
Well, especially 'cause it's likehow often do we have clients where
they're like, I'm in so much pain,but I just, I don't have time.
And it's like, okay, what are your goals?
(13:20):
Do you want to feel better?
Yeah.
How do you think that that can happen?
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And so it's like, why am I notpracticing what I'm preaching when
it's like, ah, I just don't have time.
Exactly.
Or it's like sometimes likegoing to the doctor kind of
feels like a second time job.
Oh yeah.
Where it's just like when you're donewith work, don't you kind of just
like wanna like not do something,but it's like, oh no, I have to do
all the things I was putting off.
And so just like makingyourself a priority.
(13:42):
Yeah.
And being intentional about it.
I think we're
all guilty of not makingyourself a priority at.
Some point in time with our career.
Oh yeah.
'cause we're so focused andpassionate about what we do.
We forget about ourselves.
Yes.
Yes.
And I also wanna talk about, just becausewe both majored in the same thing in
college, and so I love talking aboutit, but you are a sociology major.
I
was, yes.
And so.
(14:02):
I think that like law is reallycool because you can literally
major in whatever you wantbefore you go to law school.
And there are a lot of peoplethat do like pre-law tracks.
I was like, well, if I'mgonna be an attorney, I wanna
know how like people work.
And so it's like sociology is like thestudy of interactions and environment
and relationships and, and do youfeel like having majored in sociology
helps you be an attorney also?
(14:24):
It helped me understand how tocommunicate better, I think with people.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm such an open book as itis and I think if you can relate to
somebody, number one, that buildshonesty, that builds your credibility.
Mm-hmm.
And that just makes it easier forme to work with my client 'cause
it's, it's a two-way street here.
Mm-hmm.
You know, yes.
I'm advocating for them withthe insurance company, with
defense counsel, whatever it is.
(14:44):
But like, it's a team effort.
They've gotta wanna be just as involved.
Mm-hmm.
As in their cases as I want them to be.
So I think.
Starting off the bat, you know,when I do my, my welcome to lit
litigation, zoom calls with them.
Yeah.
I explain the entire litigation process.
I set their expectations.
I'm like, look, your casecould resolve tomorrow.
It could resolve in threeyears from now at trial.
(15:06):
Mm-hmm.
Like, I, I don't have control ofthat, but we'll see how it goes.
I'm like, trust me, what this process.
Call me if you have any questions and,and we'll get through this together.
Absolutely.
Intro to lit zoom call.
That sounds amazing and so smart.
I like to have that call inthe beginning too, where it's
like, let's set expectations.
Yeah, because first this, if this isyour first interaction with an attorney.
(15:26):
Exactly.
I want to know what your expectations arebecause if they are ones that I'm never
gonna meet, I need to tell you that.
And then also if there are expectationsI have that maybe you don't feel
like you can meet, like we needto know that so that we're not.
You know, like not meeting each other'sexpectations if we've never actually
communicated what our expectations are.
Exactly.
And they
get to me two years down the line.
(15:46):
Right.
And they're like, what?
What's going on now?
Like, what?
What?
You know, why didn'tmy case settle before?
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, okay, wellthis is why we're here.
Yeah.
What are we gonna do to get it resolved?
Yeah.
And I think that's so important.
And it's like exactly what you'resaying where like, I need your help
being able to advocate for you.
Yeah.
I need to know your day to day.
I need to know you as a human beingso that I can advocate for you.
(16:08):
Yeah.
And so like just having that kindof open discourse is important.
And no, it's not gonna alwayshappen right off the bat.
Absolutely.
I mean, you don't, sometimesthere are people who meet in your
life, you're like, oh my God, Ithink we're gonna be best friends.
Yeah.
And other times it's like, okay, we getto know each other and it's like, oh wow.
Like I really get to like,yeah, see you as the person.
It just takes time tolike get to that space.
Not everyone.
Shows up in the same wayat the the same time.
(16:29):
Exactly, exactly.
And like I feel like you are uniquelyequipped to be able to like understand
that and read that just from like yourexperience and your background and all
of the things like I think that you useas such an incredible like strength.
I try.
Yeah.
It's hard at times, but I try.
Seems like you're succeeding.
(16:50):
I cannot thank you enough truly for takingthe time to be here and be just so open
and vulnerable with your experience.
And I think that like the way thatyou show up and the human being
that you are and how you treat otherhuman beings is really important you.
And just thank you forthe work that you do.
My pleasure and thank you all fortuning in and we will be back next week.
(17:12):
Thank you.
Hey, it's Bob Simon taking abreak to tell you about CallRail.
CallRail is a product that my firm uses,and what CallRail does is it plugs into
your phone calls with your intake and withyour clients to record those phone calls
as real time transcripts so you can getintelligence and with the attorney share.
Plugin, you can actually in real time,be able to send a referral out through
(00:23):
the marketplace to find the bestmatch all made possible with CallRail
being plugged into your firm's intakewith real intelligence CallRail.
Hi, and welcome to the Justice TeamPodcast on the Justice Team Network.
I am guest host Mikayla Dixon today, andwe have an incredible guest, Megan Valez.
(00:43):
Hello.
Hi.
If you could just introduce yourselfa little bit and tell us, uh, what
you do, who you are, where you work.
I am Megan Valez.
I work for the Drake Law Firm as a childattorney, and I very much enjoy what I do.
Thank you for having me.
Of course.
We're so excited to have you.
I. Um, have had the privilege of justgetting to know you a little bit, and
(01:04):
I feel like the word that like trulystands out with you is resilience.
That's so funny because I justgot a tattoo of resilience
on my side for shut up.
Yes.
Wait,
shut up.
I
swear to God.
I literally like, like from the secondwe started talking, like it just like
you exude that and I think that there'sso much strength in that and I kind
of want this episode to be you talkingabout your life experience and how that
(01:30):
makes you the attorney that you are.
Um, and that is a very big,it's like a very big umbrella.
You're like, so go.
Um, I think just like.
Like so often attorneys are a littlebit afraid to just be like human beings.
Yeah.
Um, and just in the conversations I'vehad with you and what I've gotten to
see out of like the kind of advocatethat you are, is that like you pull
(01:54):
from your lived experience to beable to show up for your clients?
Absolutely.
And so maybe if you wouldn't mind talkingabout kind of your journey to law and what
really got you interested in it so that wecan kind of start going deeper into that.
Absolutely.
I mean, aside from the, the cheesy TVshows the Law and order, the CSI for sure.
Obviously I wanted to, that'swhat started my interest in law.
(02:16):
And then it wasn't until I got into myfirst car accident, I would think I was
19 years old and I was like, I've neverhad a hire an attorney for anything.
I don't even know whatI would need one for.
Mm-hmm.
So I reached out to one of my collegegirlfriends and I said, Hey, like
I, I need somebody who can help me.
And she was like working forthis attorney at the time.
And she said, you know, come in.
(02:38):
It was like seven o'clock on like aFriday evening or something like that.
Oh wow.
And I got signed up.
I asked all the questions that Ineed, and I ended up funny working for
that attorney after my car accident.
Yeah.
All throughout law school.
Oh my God.
What a full circle.
Yeah, completely.
I think that like, that's somethingthat we forget as attorneys a lot
of the time is like our clients,their very first experience with
(03:00):
an attorney is likely the one thatthey're having right then and there.
Correct.
And so I think.
You have an incredible likeperspective of like, you know what
it's like to be an advocate and youknow what it's like to be a client.
Yeah.
And so how does that interact with likeyour ability to advocate for your clients?
Absolutely.
Just how you said, you know, thisis probably the only experience
(03:21):
and interaction they've ever, everneeded to hire an attorney for.
So by me letting them know,look, I've been in your position
before, not once, but twice.
Like I know what it's like to have yourlife completely derailed, put on pause
for, you know, however, six months, ayear, two years, whatever it may be.
But just to let them knowthat this is temporary.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
(03:41):
What can we do to getyou, you know, set goals.
You know, some of my clients weredivision one soccer athletes.
They were, you know, very active in.
Whatever their, their sport hobby was andthe fact that they can't do that anymore.
I just to see the decline on theirmental health because they can't do that.
I'm like, look, let's get you there.
You know, if you can kick a ball or juststand up and be on a soccer field mm-hmm.
(04:05):
In the next six months, like, we'lltake it like these little baby steps,
like you'll get there, let's set goals.
And then they see like the end of their,their case and the result and, you know.
They're able to slowly get back into it.
That's what makes me the happiest.
I could literally feel it from you.
Like, we're not gonna cry.
It's a safe space.
(04:25):
Um, I feel like.
That's something that I was gonna askand I think you kind of touched on
it, of like, do you tell them thatyou have been in their shoes before?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I feel like this is somethingthat, like someone had told me in the
past, um, like I had been questioned'cause like I've been through
things and like I am open about it.
And I think that like, because I havebeen through something, I have a different
(04:47):
perspective and a different passionof how you can show up for someone.
Mm-hmm.
And someone asks like, do youthink you're too close to it?
To be able to do that, and it, and Ilike told you this example already,
but it's like, it's like telling awoman like, oh, because you're a woman,
like you can't really be a feminist.
Like you're too close to it.
Yeah.
It's like, no, like that'sexactly why I'm in this position
is because I want to, they
hire us as personal injuryattorneys to talk for guidance.
(05:09):
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're relying on us tonavigate them through this entire
process, and I basically letthem know, look, I work for you.
Mm-hmm.
What can I do to make this easier for you?
Let me know what you need.
We'll get through this together.
Like you have my personalcell phone number.
Call me on the weekends.
I wanna know how your kids are doing.
I wanna know how your family's doing.
Like, give me these life updatesso they know that you're okay.
(05:29):
Yeah.
And I think something that like isimportant is we are human beings, right?
Yeah.
And we are attorneys.
And I think that you do yourselfa disservice when you only look
at your client as a client, right.
Because they're a human being too.
Yeah.
And it's like the more you knowabout their family, the more you
know about their day to day, thebetter position that you are in
to be able to advocate for them.
Exactly.
Because it might not have beensomething that came up in a routine,
(05:52):
kind of like intake question or thediscovery things where it's like.
Yeah, but like, what's it likeinteracting with your kids and
things where it's like you're a humanbeing, interacting with your family.
Like, I wanna know those things.
And even if you're talking more casually,it's not like a, a discovery call.
You're just like checking in,like seeing how you're doing.
The, the more vulnerable they'reable to be with you, the better
advocate you can be for them.
(06:13):
I wouldn't be able to tell their storyat trial if I didn't know about their
family, their kids, their upbringing.
All of that.
Yes, yes.
And I think too, it's like nice whenthey know that their attorney is a human.
Yeah.
And I think that sometimes peopleshy away from that, or it's like,
no, I need to exude the strength.
I need to exude.
Like, I am impervious.
Like I, you know, I'mhere, I'm an attorney.
(06:34):
And it's like, but you'realso a human being.
And I think that they feellike safer opening up.
I would hope so.
Yeah.
That's my goal
is making them feel likeI'm not just their attorney.
I'm, I'm their friend.
I'm fam consider me as family.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think that like the factthat you had experienced like a
traumatic experience of your own,you know how to pull from that.
(06:55):
Absolutely.
And it's like, you know what you neededin those moments and you either show
up in that way or you show up where youfelt like there might have been gaps
or you show up in just a more authenticway or, you know, questions to ask
that maybe other attorneys wouldn't.
Yeah.
I've always had a more positive mindset.
I mean, aside from the car accident, I've,you know, beat breast cancer before, so.
There's a type ofmindset you have to have.
(07:16):
Yeah.
Again, knowing that this is temporary,we're gonna get through this, you
know, what does the future look like?
Like I have bucket list goals thatI still want to complete, and I
tell the same thing to my clients.
I'm like, I, I get it.
You're in probably the worst situationthat you are in right now in your life.
We'll get through it together.
Like what does the future hold?
Stay positive.
Call me if you want to just chat to vent.
Yeah.
You know what, what, whois your support system?
(07:38):
And not, the sad part isnot a lot of them have that.
Support system, either from coworkers oryou know, their friends, or especially
from the, from my male clients.
Yeah.
They are taught to, youknow, be that strong person.
We, we can't go and ask for help.
Mm-hmm.
And so I let them know like, youhave to, you have to ask for help.
Yeah.
And sometimes it's like.
(07:58):
Like, do you find that clients sometimesare like, well, I just don't wanna
fixate on like the negative, like, youdo have a positive outlook, you know?
And so when it's like, okay,yes, but this is temporary.
Yeah.
Like, think about where you're gonnabe five years from now and like.
F you know, like focus on, like youare bettering yourself for future.
You, do you help, kind of like in, doyou feel like you inspire your clients
(08:18):
to also kind of have that mindset?
I would hope so, yeah.
I would hope so.
I, I am very open.
I feel like you're inspiring me right now.
I'm very open.
I'm probably too open with my clients,with my own personal experiences,
and I'm just like, look, like, what?
What do you need from me?
Like, you have to stay positive.
If they're in such anegative mindset right now.
Mm-hmm.
You know, their life is, some of 'emare on bedrest for three, four months.
(08:40):
Yeah.
And when you don't, like, for me,like when, from my car accident when
I wasn't able to go to the gym andwork out and run like that takes a
toll on your mental health 110%, so.
Mm-hmm.
I can only imagine whatthey're going through.
They're miserable.
And I, again, I'm justlike, this is temporary.
Like, let's look to the future.
Like your health is themost important thing.
(09:00):
Like, we're not doingthis to win the lottery.
Right.
We're not doing this.
For a pay cut, for a paycheck.
I'm sorry.
And I let them either right off the bat.
I'm like, you let meknow when you're good.
Yeah.
And, and you feel like you know,you've got the treatment that you need.
And then we will talk about togetheron how we wanna resolve your case.
But my priority is getting you back toa point where you can play soccer again.
(09:21):
You can go to the gym.
Yeah.
You can take care of your family.
Good.
I feel like those like conversationsare so important and I don't
wanna go past this, but you'recancer free how many months?
Yes.
Uh, 16 months I believe.
That's incredible.
That's incredible.
And like I think like you have beenthrough life, a lot of life and I think.
(09:44):
The, the fact that you are stillable to and want to show up and
advocate for others when you arealso have been in a position for
so many, like, so much time of justtrying to advocate for yourself also.
Yeah.
And, and survive each day.
Like the fact that you chose to also stillshow up for other people is incredible.
(10:04):
I remember walking into Kaiser,you know, at 30 years old and
I'm like, hi, I need a mammogram.
And they're like, I'msorry, how old are you?
So again, having to advocate for myselfand letting my doctors know like, this is
what I need, this is what my concerns are.
Yeah.
Having my mom just finishedher battle of breast cancer, I
was like, this needs to happen.
Absolutely.
So now
I'm such an advocate for all women.
(10:26):
I don't care how old youare, how young you are.
Take care of your bodies,check your boobies.
Yeah.
Make sure you get yourmammograms every year.
No, absolutely retweet.
Yeah.
And just the fact that like youwere even in a position where
you had to advocate for yourselfor have to like ask to be heard.
Yeah.
By someone that's supposed toalready be doing that for you.
Yeah.
That's hard.
(10:47):
And I also find, and I don't know if yourelate to this, but like it's so much
easier to advocate for others than myself.
Absolutely.
I tell everybody else, I'mlike, take care of yourself.
Take care of your bodies.
And we forget that.
We also are important too.
Yes, absolutely.
What was it like for you, likeactively going through a tough
time, also showing up for otherpeople, going through a tough time?
(11:08):
I used work as kind of an escapefrom my own personal tribulations
that I had to go through.
Yeah.
I mean, again, when work, I genuinely lovewhat I do, so it doesn't feel like work.
You know, I was.
Working throughout.
I didn't have to do chemo knock on one,but I had to do radiation and I was
working full-time throughout my radiationas much as I could because that was my
(11:29):
escape from me dealing with the cancer.
I was like, you know, if I can help myclients, if I can go to a mediation,
if I can, you know, get through,settle a cup of cases and make my
clients' lives a little bit better andhelp them move on from this and get
some closure, then I've done my job.
Yeah.
So.
Gut free.
That's like, I don't, I don'tfeel like crying, like that's
(11:50):
just like so inspiring, you know?
Because like you are literally likechoosing to fight for other people and
advocate for other people in that time.
And I just think that like,that's so admirable and I
just like think is a rarity.
Also, I know
I worked so hard to just get to pass thebar and to get my first job as an attorney
and like, I mean I'm five year, I think Igot diagnosed when I was two years in as
(12:14):
an attorney and I was like, this is, wow.
Not gonna derail me.
It's not gonna define me,it's not gonna derail me.
Like I still have morepurpose in life to live.
So again, it's temporary.
What am I gonna do to get past this?
My coworkers at Drake Law were amazing.
That's
awesome.
Great support system with my family.
Um, and then, yeah, just seeing my momliterally go through the same exact
(12:35):
thing that I just got diagnosed with.
It's scary.
Mm-hmm.
Scary as hell.
But I was just like, you know, knockon what They caught it early, you know?
And.
What are we gonna do to get past this?
Yeah, and you're a big part init getting caught early too.
Yeah.
So like also good on you for likelistening to your intuition and advocating
for yourself because I think it's amazing.
(12:58):
I think we're all guilty
of like how stressful our livesare as attorneys, you know?
Okay, we'll go to the doctor, we'll goto the doctor next week, next month.
You know, it's in the back of our heads.
Yeah.
And I'm, I very muchtell everybody, I'm like.
Take care of yourself.
Oh yeah.
Well, especially 'cause it's likehow often do we have clients where
they're like, I'm in so much pain,but I just, I don't have time.
And it's like, okay, what are your goals?
(13:20):
Do you want to feel better?
Yeah.
How do you think that that can happen?
Mm-hmm.
You know?
And so it's like, why am I notpracticing what I'm preaching when
it's like, ah, I just don't have time.
Exactly.
Or it's like sometimes likegoing to the doctor kind of
feels like a second time job.
Oh yeah.
Where it's just like when you're donewith work, don't you kind of just
like wanna like not do something,but it's like, oh no, I have to do
all the things I was putting off.
And so just like makingyourself a priority.
(13:42):
Yeah.
And being intentional about it.
I think we're
all guilty of not makingyourself a priority at.
Some point in time with our career.
Oh yeah.
'cause we're so focused andpassionate about what we do.
We forget about ourselves.
Yes.
Yes.
And I also wanna talk about, just becausewe both majored in the same thing in
college, and so I love talking aboutit, but you are a sociology major.
I
was, yes.
And so.
(14:02):
I think that like law is reallycool because you can literally
major in whatever you wantbefore you go to law school.
And there are a lot of peoplethat do like pre-law tracks.
I was like, well, if I'mgonna be an attorney, I wanna
know how like people work.
And so it's like sociology is like thestudy of interactions and environment
and relationships and, and do youfeel like having majored in sociology
helps you be an attorney also?
(14:24):
It helped me understand how tocommunicate better, I think with people.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm such an open book as itis and I think if you can relate to
somebody, number one, that buildshonesty, that builds your credibility.
Mm-hmm.
And that just makes it easier forme to work with my client 'cause
it's, it's a two-way street here.
Mm-hmm.
You know, yes.
I'm advocating for them withthe insurance company, with
defense counsel, whatever it is.
(14:44):
But like, it's a team effort.
They've gotta wanna be just as involved.
Mm-hmm.
As in their cases as I want them to be.
So I think.
Starting off the bat, you know,when I do my, my welcome to lit
litigation, zoom calls with them.
Yeah.
I explain the entire litigation process.
I set their expectations.
I'm like, look, your casecould resolve tomorrow.
It could resolve in threeyears from now at trial.
(15:06):
Mm-hmm.
Like, I, I don't have control ofthat, but we'll see how it goes.
I'm like, trust me, what this process.
Call me if you have any questions and,and we'll get through this together.
Absolutely.
Intro to lit zoom call.
That sounds amazing and so smart.
I like to have that call inthe beginning too, where it's
like, let's set expectations.
Yeah, because first this, if this isyour first interaction with an attorney.
(15:26):
Exactly.
I want to know what your expectations arebecause if they are ones that I'm never
gonna meet, I need to tell you that.
And then also if there are expectationsI have that maybe you don't feel
like you can meet, like we needto know that so that we're not.
You know, like not meeting each other'sexpectations if we've never actually
communicated what our expectations are.
Exactly.
And they
get to me two years down the line.
(15:46):
Right.
And they're like, what?
What's going on now?
Like, what?
What?
You know, why didn'tmy case settle before?
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, okay, wellthis is why we're here.
Yeah.
What are we gonna do to get it resolved?
Yeah.
And I think that's so important.
And it's like exactly what you'resaying where like, I need your help
being able to advocate for you.
Yeah.
I need to know your day to day.
I need to know you as a human beingso that I can advocate for you.
(16:08):
Yeah.
And so like just having that kindof open discourse is important.
And no, it's not gonna alwayshappen right off the bat.
Absolutely.
I mean, you don't, sometimesthere are people who meet in your
life, you're like, oh my God, Ithink we're gonna be best friends.
Yeah.
And other times it's like, okay, we getto know each other and it's like, oh wow.
Like I really get to like,yeah, see you as the person.
It just takes time tolike get to that space.
Not everyone.
Shows up in the same wayat the the same time.
(16:29):
Exactly, exactly.
And like I feel like you are uniquelyequipped to be able to like understand
that and read that just from like yourexperience and your background and all
of the things like I think that you useas such an incredible like strength.
I try.
Yeah.
It's hard at times, but I try.
Seems like you're succeeding.
(16:50):
I cannot thank you enough truly for takingthe time to be here and be just so open
and vulnerable with your experience.
And I think that like the way thatyou show up and the human being
that you are and how you treat otherhuman beings is really important you.
And just thank you forthe work that you do.
My pleasure and thank you all fortuning in and we will be back next week.
(17:12):
Thank you.
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