Maximum Mom

This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Lara Bazelon.

Lara is a law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she directs the Criminal & Juvenile Justice and Racial Justice Clinics and holds the Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy. 

Before that, she worked as a deputy federal public defender and the director of a Los Angeles-based innocence project. Along the way, she got married, had two children, divorced, and worked to create a different kind of family. Advocating for criminal defendants and writing about systemic breakdowns in courtrooms and in families have always felt interrelated and important. 

So often, people stay within their silos, unaware of the rich possibilities for collaboration, support, and mutual understanding. Her writing seeks to break down those barriers and ask that her readers open their minds to unexpected—even unlikely—ways of thinking about problems that may not be so intractable after all. 

To learn more, check out the profiles in MM LaFleur’s Lives with a Purpose and The Sun Magazine.

4:37 they're at great risk

7:24 it sparked a huge reaction

12:01 we’re choosing what to do

16:41 opening your mind

20:28 great lesson

24:21 missing a couple of hours, she was going to learn more

29:25 how do you look at these issues

34:40 turning that mirror on yourself 

38:00 is it really anything such as too much information

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Meg Garavaglia.

Starting and growing Woven Legal has been both rewarding and challenging. Yet, it still pales compared to Meg’s most important work helping her son, Matt, who is now 23, arrive at a life of independence, pride in his accomplishments, and a network of support from his close friends and trusted professionals. 

She recognized from Matt's extreme hyperactivity as a toddler that he was different. Still, she wasn’t prepared for the difficulties which lay ahead when in 3rd grade, he was diagnosed with ADHD and a Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. Additionally, Meg was told that he was "on the Asperger's side of the spectrum." These differences would profoundly affect his academic and social success over the next nine years, not to mention his self-esteem. 

It, of course, also took a toll on her family, particularly her marriage - but she had amazing mentors who told her, "Don't quit before the miracle..." and she persevered. Looking back, Meg can clearly see the gifts she received from being Matt's mom. She is more patient (most moms are!), more FUN (not taking herself so seriously), and more accepting of others. And, perhaps most importantly, through serving as Matt's advocate, she was led to become absolutely unwilling to accept a FINAL answer as the FINAL answer when there's clearly a better way. 

Meg believes Woven Legal may be the byproduct of that lesson. The legal industry has been a pressure cooker for years. The broken families and mental health issues that lay in its wake are no secret. There is a better, more balanced way for attorneys to work with top talent, and that's what Woven Legal does. They place high-caliber virtual legal professionals to support busy attorneys so they can focus on growing and leading their firms.

3:25 the science of making paper 

7:27 no jerk policy

12:29 practice area alignment 

16:52 such rockstars 

20:50 learning lunchbox

24:38 all bets were off

29:07 personality plus

34:16 and everything in between

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Devon Moody-Graham.

Devon Moody-Graham is an international business strategist, consumer behavior specialist, and impact speaker with over 13 years of experience in new market expansion, marketing strategy, revenue stream creation, and business development.

She sees the desired end in mind for business owners and creates the roadmap to get there. Working with companies to gross over $4M+ in revenue and funding, she creates feasible revenue strategies to change the trajectory of a business’s life cycle. 

3:40 flexibility 

8:05 joy and self-care

12:11 these are the boundaries, and you are out of bounds

16:06 what type of life do you want

20:48 now I know how to do laundry

24:19 I have to walk in what I want to happen 

29:21 it’s such a learning opportunity

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Heather Moulder.

Heather is a recovering lawyer who practiced in Big Law for over 18 years, made partner, and built a thriving ($2.5MM practice). And she did the latter while staying balanced and happy - but only after burning out and wondering why she’d ever wanted to be a lawyer in the first place. This shift occurred about 4 years into her legal practice, after hitting a mental brick wall and realizing that not everyone was so unhappy.

After looking around, she realized that there were key consistencies in people who were happily successful lawyers (as opposed to the typical near-burnout, never-happy, always drinking-from-a-fire-hose attorney). That's what convinced her to change law firms and build a values-based practice while leveraging her strengths. 

This started with a mindset shift around how she defined success for herself (based on aligning to her values and what she put in and letting go of what other people thought of her). And slowly changed how she perceived not just what success meant to her but also who she was, how she showed up, and how she perceived her place in this world (as a lawyer, wife, mom, and person in general).

Fast forward a number of years, and Heather was a partner in BigLaw who was quite happy. Everything changed when she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. She took almost 1 year off to be with her kids and fight that uphill battle (She was only 38 and her boys were 6 and 2 at the time). After coming back to work full-time, she tried hard to go "back to normal" (something she thinks a lot of people are doing now post-pandemic). And eventually realized she couldn't do that and had to figure out what her "new normal" would be. 

Cancer and the journey she took had changed her. Heather needed to figure out how, and what that meant for her moving forward. It took several years to figure out, but eventually, this personal journey led her out of law and into coaching. She now helps lawyers build the practices they actually want. And it all started by helping them rewire their minds for resilience and confidence, reconnect to their values and realign around their priorities (while ditching stress, overthinking, and people-pleasing). 

She does this both through mindset leadership coaching and business development coaching (which contains a fair bit of mindset coaching). Because real success - where you're actually happy and not just successful on paper - is created from within. 

3:02 two boys

7:52 It’s scary

11:09 rewire your mind to think differently

15:06 things get in the way

20:13 I didn’t like who I was becoming

24:28 mine was a 9

29:56 we’re not supposed to make mistakes

36:07 choosing to be happy

40:28 you can fall off of that roller coaster

45:16 everybody who needs it isn’t ready for it

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Hillary Walsh.

Hillary’s first interaction with a lawyer was when she was being placed in state custody (foster care), and today she is an immigration lawyer who helps noncitizens get status based on abuse from their US citizen family members.

Hillary is the attorney and owner of New Frontier. More importantly, Hillary knows what it’s like to experience detainment personally. She understands the fear of being left to the hands of law enforcement officers. She understands the confusion of navigating the courts, the fear, and anxiety and is able to empathize with others. Her personal experience led her to pursue a career in law in her professional life in order to defend people who are vulnerable to what they do not know about the system. She’s been through it, and it’s her passion to protect people navigating Immigration Law in these harsh times today.

Additionally, Hillary is a mother of four, a military wife, a law professor, and an award-winning immigration lawyer. She has 10 years of experience winning appeals, hearings in Immigration Court and has represented appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court. You can feel assured that she will do everything within her legal means to help you or your loved one.

1:31 I got my teeth kicked in there

5:15 princess this or princess that

9:25 if you’re not on the same team

13:16 when our firm broke a million dollars

17:13 I do have a lot of endurance

21:16 to keep up with rockstars

25:37 it is what it is

29:29 always do your best

34:02 I want everything done yesterday

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Leora Maccabee.

Leora is a mom of 3 who is a partner at an award-winning #midlaw firm (of approximately 85 attorneys) in Minneapolis, building her business through relationships with women executives, in-house counsel, and businesses in various industries, including the medical device space. She is a thriver (not survivor) of divorce, and has channeled her personal story and lessons she has learned into pro bono work for low-income women seeking or responding to divorce and rebuilding their lives. Leora has been at her law firm for over 12 years and has established a track record as an effective but empathic litigator.

Leora Maccabee is a trial lawyer practicing primarily in the areas of general business, product liability, and trust and estate litigation. In the business and product liability litigation side of her practice, she prides herself on offering exceptional legal service to businesses—from multimillion-dollar companies to startups—facing conflicts and challenges that at minimum threaten to distract from the products they are selling and services they are providing to our community, and at maximum are bet-the-company matters. 

Whether that means going to court, engaging in mediation, or conducting complex and large-scale written and deposition discovery and e-discovery to develop the factual record, she represents her clients aggressively, intelligently, and effectively, and with a keen eye toward their business needs. 

As a trust and estate litigator, Leora partners with other attorneys in Maslon's Estate Planning Group to handle contested matters in probate courts, representing her clients in disputes regarding the obligations of fiduciaries such as trustees, executors, conservators, and guardians as well as the interpretation of testamentary instruments.

Leora was recognized as a 2016 40 Under 40 Honoree by Minneapolis/ St. Paul Business Journal, a 2015 Up & Coming Attorney by Minnesota Lawyer, and annually on the Rising Stars and Top Woman Attorney lists by Super Lawyers.

1:15 generalist litigator

5:45 very family friendly

9:40 there’s a very big difference

13:38 I can go about my day

18:20 it’s not sanitary

21:47 we have to be more vulnerable

27:30 as mentors to other women

31:27 we support the work you’re doing

35:20 you’re going to do best in the spaces that you’re happiest in

39:08 I do think it’s a dance

43:07 life work integration

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Sharon Christie.

Sharon Christie is a nurse, an attorney, and a business coach for women lawyers. As an attorney, she worked as an associate in a big law firm, a partner in a small personal injury firm, and then had her own solo practice for 16 years. She sold her law firm in 2021 to start Bold Women Lawyers. 

She believes that lawyers are happiest when they do work that feeds their souls. That is why she created Bold Women Lawyers. Bold Women Lawyers helps women lawyers in solo and small firm practices build a profitable practice that they love. Sharon graduated with honors from the University of Virginia. She has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Maryland. She graduated magna cum laude from The University of Notre Dame Law School.

1:48 it’s about time

4:22 coaching and business strategy

8:01 mini intensive

12:46 clear the clutter out of your head

16:05 you don’t need to be that superstar

20:06 not everyone is our ideal client

24:35 people remember how you treated them

28:56 what are the biggest burning issues

32:32 understanding the process

36:14 excellence, compassion, and integrity

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Andrea Gellen.

Andrea brings humor, creativity, and a lot of sarcasm to the table. She is new to this and has been solo for about 1 year and 10 months. Her business recently expanded, and she is in the process of buying a commercial space. She also brings a fresh perspective. Her work and clients bring a lot of joy- it's a type of fulfillment she doesn’t get from her marriage or her children.

She is an attorney who practices in Poughkeepsie, New York, and throughout the Hudson Valley. Prior to opening her own practice, she was employed as an associate at local law firms where she practiced in the areas of Elder Law, Estate Planning, Education Law, and Landlord/Tenant litigation. 

Andrea regularly lectures on topics pertaining to education law, Medicaid planning, Estate Planning, and updates to the landlord/tenant laws. She has litigated in local, state, and federal court on behalf of clients as well as in multiple administrative forums. 

She chose to open her own practice so that she could provide each client with the personalized attention they deserve and so she could draft custom retainer agreements for her clients to accommodate their needs and financial circumstances. When you retain Gellen Law, you can feel confident that Andrea personally will attend to your file. That you will hear her voice on the other side of the phone, not a recording or a paralegal. She works tirelessly for her clients - your goals are her goals. Your triumphs are her triumphs. 

Andrea resides in Poughkeepsie, New York with her husband, David, and their children, Isaac and Eleanor. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and hiking.

3:28 it’s the four of us

6:11 he doesn’t have immunity

9:42 they no longer require tests

12:24 my kids got Covid

15:31 the risk if you do x and the risk if you do y

19:26 I’m not in the revenge business

22:15 things money can’t buy

26:36 no controlling her

30:21 at different points in their lives

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom your host Elise Buie dives into thinking differently and accountability.

1:31 Jason Selk

4:12 get a hold of your thoughts

9:00 level of trust

Elise’s Tip: Check out Relentless Solution Focus: Train Your Mind to Conquer Stress, Pressure, and Underperformance by Jason Selk. 

Watch the interview here.

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This week on Maximum Mom, your host Elise Buie joined Amber Russell.

Amber founded the Law Office of Amber Russell, PLLC, to help injured Texans all over the state get justice. Her passion for the law started at an early age, and she has worked with victims her entire adult life.  While attending the University of Texas Law School, she worked with groups to serve victims of domestic and sexual violence as well as individuals alleging they were wrongfully convicted.  

She’s been practicing law for 15 years.  Amber started her career working for an international defense firm, before switching sides to represent individual plaintiffs. Since then, Amber has helped hundreds of clients who have been seriously injured, including victims of trucking and auto crashes.

2:55 opened here in Austin

6:30 starting my own firm

10:06 annual feedback process

14:08 multiple spreadsheets

18:52 50/50

23:03 what is our mission statement

27:06 there is a lot to learn

Watch the interview here.

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