The month of March is not just about March Madness, it is also Women’s History Month. To celebrate, Montage Legal Group takes this chance to shine the spotlight on three women attorneys interviewed by our guest blogger, Kandy Williams. These trailblazing women come from different backgrounds and have faced different challenges, but they have one thing in common – they are all inspiring.
Evelyn Moon
Evelyn Moon is the founder of Evelyn Moon Law PC, a law firm specializing in U.S. immigration law.
Evelyn is a compassionate immigration attorney with over 13 years of experience representing both corporate and individual clients from all over the world.
Having a full understanding of the complex immigration process, her goal is to help her clients expand into new opportunities, overcome obstacles, and ultimately achieve their immigration goals in the U.S.
Q: How do you deal with the challenges specific to being a woman in the legal profession?
A: I not only deal with the challenges specific to being a woman but also the challenges specific to a minority attorney with immigrant backgrounds.In the early years of my practice, I could not help comparing myself to other attorneys, and I struggled with imposter syndrome, constantly judging myself harshly and blaming myself for being inadequate and not good enough. However, as I gained more experience in the legal field, I noticed that I have my own unique talents, traits, and characters that no other attorneys have, and there are clients who particularly like my style of lawyering. I then began to focus more on what I am particularly good at and invest my time and effort in honing and developing my skills and interest in the area that I am particularly good at.
The key point here is that you need to acknowledge your weak spot and intentionally ‘remove’ your desire to excel in the area that you are simply not good at. It takes a lot of courage and exercise to even acknowledge your weaknesses and control your instinctive desire to be that attorney who excels in everything. When you can exercise that control and focus on your sweet spot, you will start to notice that you can be very efficient and productive in your work, which will ultimately make you feel very comfortable and confident about yourself in general. The strong confidence and trust in yourself infused with positive energy naturally attracts people. At that point, gender bias and discrimination no longer matter to you, because you know that you will “own the room.”
Q: Can you share a pivotal moment or experience that motivated you to pursue a career in law?
A: When I was 19 years old, I got into a huge car accident, where I was falsely accused of causing the accident. It was only a few years after my family and I immigrated to the states, and we realized at the time that we didn’t have enough insurance coverage to cover the damage incurred by the accident. Since my parents couldn’t speak fluent English at the time, I had to deal with the mediation process and other legal actions myself at the age of 19. I felt extremely vulnerable and frustrated for not knowing how to defend myself, especially in the situation where I was dealing with false statements and false accusations made against me. That’s when I decided to go to law school and pursue a career in law. Although I ended up practicing immigration law, having the general legal education and backgrounds tremendously helped me understand the overall legal system and broaden my views and perspectives in law.
Q: What is the greatest piece of advice you can give to young women considering a career in law?
A: Make sure to know your big “why,” which is aligned with your passion and motivation that keep you moving forward. You will be spending more time at your workplace than at home, and it is very important to have a purpose-driven and value-aligned career to live your authentic and meaningful life, doing what you love.
Q: Since it is Women’s History Month, who is a woman that has influenced you the most, and how so?
A: That would be my two grandmothers. Both my grandmothers from my mom’s side and my dad’s side were single moms, who raised six children during the post Korean war era. Everyone was in a survival mode, and both my grandmothers didn’t have the luxury of hiring a nanny or asking other relatives for help. There was not even a single weekend to enjoy their hobbies and live the life they wanted. In fact, they didn’t have time and leisure to even think about their mental and physical wellbeing. They pushed themselves forward to survive and sacrificed their entire lives to feeding and educating their children and building a strong foundation for the next generation. When my grandmothers passed away, they left a legacy of hard work, commitment, resilience, and most importantly, unconditional love and devotion to the family. Without their lifelong sacrifice and dedication, I would not have been here today and be the person who I am today.
Lindsay Ayers
Lindsay A. Ayers advises and defends California businesses in labor, employment, and general business matters. In particular, Ayers is passionate about providing her clients with the education and tools they need to be successful and competitive in the hospitality and restaurant industry.
Efficiency and focus are part of Lindsay’s work philosophy in providing value to her clients. She understands that the key to excellent client service is protecting her clients from costly litigation so they can focus on what they do best – running their business.
Q: How do you deal with the challenges specific to being a woman in the legal profession?
A: In my 20 years of practice, I have worked for law offices where I was the only female attorney, and where there were no female partners. Most of my cases have been against male opposing counsel. Most of the judges whom I have appeared before have been male. In my years of practice, I have been witness to, if not myself experienced, female attorneys not being taken seriously, mistaken for someone other than the attorney, fall victim to inappropriate comments, and subject to other disappointing and unfair treatment, as a result of being a woman. For those personal experiences, I dealt with most situations by speaking up, challenging the behavior, and/or making known that I was not ok with the behavior. I wish I could say it always worked to my benefit, but regardless, it was always the right thing to do. It certainly helped being a litigator and accustomed to being challenged. As the years passed, the legal industry started to change. More and more women were attending law school and passing the bar. Now, women outnumber men in law school classrooms across the county. While women will continue to have to deal with inappropriate behavior in the legal field, I can only hope that with the rise of women in this industry and increased awareness that these instances will become less and less.
Q: What is the greatest piece of advice you can give to young women considering a career in law?
A: My greatest piece of advice to young female attorneys would be to find a mentor. This could be someone at your firm or a lawyer that you otherwise know. Your mentor does not necessarily need to be female. A true mentor is one who will, from their experience, give you candid feedback to help you strengthen and grow your skills as an attorney, while also providing you support and insights into your career development within the practice of law. We as attorneys never stop learning, so having a mentor throughout your career is invaluable.
Q: How do you keep a positive mindset within the demanding field of law? What are some strategies you implement in your life to prevent burnout?
A: The legal field is very demanding, but I am very lucky to enjoy what I do. However, I have always found it critical to assure I carve out time (i) for myself (to exercise, garden, read, be creative, get a massage), and (ii) to spend time with the people I love (for travel, concerts, wine tasting, skiing, art museums, and currently, ballet). I am always looking for fun new adventures in life, as this work-life balance makes me a better attorney.
Q: Since it is Women’s History Month, who is a woman that has influenced you the most, and how so?
A: The woman who has influenced me the most is my mother. She (and my dad) raised me to be strong, curious and independent. We communicate daily by phone as they live in Atlanta. She introduced me to many of the things I love so dearly: the symphony, the performing arts, gardening, art museums, fashion, and music, to name a few. She taught me how to be a lady, a leader, a good friend, and someone who perseveres—as she is all of these things. She is strong, caring, loving, gracious and compassionate. Throughout my life, she has been my support, my sounding board, my motivator, and best friend.
Nicole Nuzzo
Nicole Nuzzo is a family law attorney who has a passion for lecturing about, writing about, and practicing family law.
Nicole’s goal in representing clients is to educate her clients on the law, assist in obtaining the salient facts/information to make informed decisions, and to help plan for the future years to come.
Nicole’s attention to detail and organization puts her clients at ease in the courtroom, knowing she has prepared for the presentation of evidence and understands their unique needs.
Q: What aspects of your legal work bring you the most satisfaction and fulfillment on a personal level?
A: I am a problem solver. My natural tendency is to find a creative solution to resolve disputed issues in my client’s family law matters. I find it very rewarding when a solution I have proposed is accepted by the other spouse or, if we are litigating, by the court. Another big passion of mine is personal growth. This makes helping clients coping with the divorce while educating themselves and planning for the future something I enjoy doing. My motto is onward and upward and I try to remind my clients of that daily.
Q: How do you deal with the challenges specific to being a woman in the legal profession?
A: I accept all challenges and while living through them ensure I stay true to who I am and what my values are. Commanding respect and exuding confidence are probably the biggest two for me personally. I feel that if you give respect and command respect all while exuding confidence, you can overcome most obstacles and break barriers. Commanding respect is different from demanding respect. To command respect, first, you have to be competent with a strong worth ethic. That should be a given. From there, I command respect by speaking my mind and setting boundaries while exuding confidence in myself, and ensuring trust, authenticity, and emotional maturity in my communications. Yelling, throwing out personal digs, or “demanding respect” will undermine your credibility and likely have an opposite effect.
When I am in a tough or challenging situation, reminding myself to show up dressed to impress whether in the courtroom, networking event, or meeting, and to command respect with competency, poise and professionalism always get me through it. To answer in two words, being bold!
Q: Can you share a pivotal moment or experience that motivated you to pursue a career in law?
A: I started as an early education/special education major in college. I pivoted to law after working for a small law firm in New York. The lawyers had their own practice and were active in the community. I learned from this experience that what I loved about teaching I could apply to being a lawyer with the benefit of having the option to establish my own business. I loved teaching because I found it rewarding to use my knowledge and experience to help children grow and learn. I now use my knowledge in family law to educate my clients on their rights and obligations and to help them grow and evolve from the divorce to be better partners in their next relationship, better co-parents/parents in their existing relationship, and to understand and plan for their financial future.
Q: What is the greatest piece of advice you can give to young women considering a career in law?
A: Work with people you like, doing work you love to do, for clients who align with your values.
Q: Since it is Women’s History Month, who is a woman that has influenced you the most, and how so?
A: My mother in law. She emigrated from Iran and worked as an aerospace engineer in the space program at a time in the United States when women did not generally hold these jobs. She taught me to work hard and to be thankful for the opportunities that I was born with, which I had sometimes taken for granted. Her strength and journey inspired me in law school to believe in myself always. I was born a self-starter and hard worker but her perspective is something I always lean on when the going gets tough. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a lawyer and to be a partner of a firm and leader in organizations because so many women around the world do not have the opportunity.
Thank you to Evelyn, Lindsay, and Nicole for allowing us to spotlight them in celebration of Women’s History Month. And thanks to our guest blogger, Kandy Williams of Triage Law Firm, P.C. We hope that these inspiring stories encourage future generations of women to continue breaking down barriers as they forge their own unique paths.
Guest Blogger: Kandy Williams
Kandy Williams is the founder of Triage Law Firm, a boutique business law firm. Her practice focuses on M&A, private equity, and high level corporate, LLC, and partnership matters. As for Kandy, she was inspired by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also known as The Notorious RBG.
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