1. How do you define your practice and areas of experience:
Bank regulatory, payments, consumer finance, privacy with a little equine law thrown in for good measure. I help financial institutions of all shapes and sizes solve problems, understand legal and compliance risk so they can manage it and improve customer service. Basically, my job is to help financial institutions identify possible dragons, so the business executives can determine which ones we need to slay.
2. Tell us about your legal career journey. How did you get here?
I graduated in a down economy and was working for a non-profit that I worked for during law school. They graciously offered to keep me employed while I searched for my “dream job”. The State Banking agency posted a position for a staff attorney. Of course, they wanted 5 years’ experience but only wanted to pay peanuts. My now husband saw the post and said “I know the folks that work there. You’ll like them. You’ll be great at this and you’ll love it.” So, I applied and to my surprise I was hired! I guess I’m good at it since it’s been over 20 years and people still pay me to do that type of work. And I do love it. The best life advice I can offer to anyone is to marry someone who knows you better than you know yourself and listen when they talk (let’s not mention this to my husband, lest he get a big head)!
3. What about the Practus model serves you as a legal professional, and as a person? And wait, did you say equine law earlier?
I have a small horse farm (2 horses, 3 rescue dogs). Practus allows me to work from home so I can manage my farm while still having access to a great support team. I don’t have to worry about IT or sending invoices out. My clients don’t have to worry about cybersecurity and privacy concerns. It allows me to advise very sophisticated financial industry clients who are located around the globe from my 5-acre farm in Gorham, Maine. If we have a video conference and you think I’m having a bad hair day, it’s likely I just took my riding helmet off after sneaking in a training session! Or if you swear you just heard a horse neigh in the background, you probably caught me tossing a flake of hay when I answered the phone.
4. What is your professional secret sauce? The secret of your success?
My secret is that I’m doing something I enjoy with people I like working with from a location that allows me to live my best life. I am true to myself and authentic with my clients. And I give them the space to bring their whole selves to the table as well. Before transitioning to private practice, I spent most of my career as an enforcement attorney or in-house counsel. I’ve sat at my client’s desks, so to speak. That makes the way I provide advice very practical. All lawyers can write a thoughtful, 10-page, legal memorandum. But the key to happy clients is translating that memo into actionable items for the client.
5. What is keeping you busy when you’re not working?
My family – 2 and 4 legged! My son is 12 and an avid baseball and football player. Most weekends you can find me and my camera at a sports field supporting my son and taking pictures of him and his teammates. My husband also coaches many of our son’s baseball teams, so if I want to see them, off to the field I go, often with one of the dogs.
We are also very active in the dog rescue community. Columbo, our 6-year-old rescue, has 27,000 followers on social media. We spend a fair amount of time posting in what I like to call “first dog” on his sites and doing fundraisers for a Maine-based rescue. Columbo does two to four public appearances a year. We helped launch the Columbo Fund, which assists with a Maine-based rescue with medical costs. And then there’s caring for my horses, barn chores every day and sneaking in a ride whenever I can.
We also love the outdoors. Winters in Maine are long and cold but you can find us on the slopes. I’m the skier waiting at the top of the lift for my two snowboarders to get buckled back in so we can head down the mountain. Summer used to bring us to the lake to enjoy some boating, but we recently upgraded our boat and have transitioned to the ocean! We’re really looking forward to exploring the Maine coastline this coming summer.
6. What would people be most surprised to know about you?
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m a decent knitter! Knitting is probably the only “domestic” thing I do and don’t hate. It doesn’t usually go with stacking hay, hauling my gooseneck horse trailer, working with big dogs and horses. But I struggle to sit and “just watch” tv. Knitting fills that void and at the end of the day I have a useful thing – be it a sweater, blanket or scarf, which I think is way better than playing games on my phone.
We’re still trying to figure out when you sit still long enough to knit…
