Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandy Porter.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a 39 years old mother of three kids, wife and attorney. I have wanted to be an attorney since I was probably 13 years old. I went to Albany State University straight out of high school to study Criminal Justice. I left school early and had my 1st child at 22 and my second child at 23 years old. I was working as a manager for a software company and in 2011, when the recession hit, I was fired from my job of eight years. I was devastated. I lost my home and my car, I didn’t have a way to take care of my children and was working on finishing my online bachelor degree in office management.
When I graduated from undergraduate school, my lifetime best friend bought me a briefcase and a Black’s Law Dictionary and “gently” reminded me that Law School had been my lifetime dream! I was waiting tables and bartending at a bar and knew that I didn’t want to that for the rest of my life. I took the LSAT and applied to Law School. I was terrified that I couldn’t manage this dream, my children and a budding love life.
After graduating from Law School and passing the bar, I landed a job as a Public Defender, working to help low-income Defendants work their way through the criminal justice system. I was thrown into the fire and quickly cut my teeth in trial. I LOVED IT!! However, Law School was tough on my family. Everyone sacrificed so I could succeed. The kids and my husband helped me study, quizzed me, read case law with me, cried with me and fought for me. The kids were heading into High School and I needed more freedom and flexibility in my work schedule to allow me to support them throughout High School the way they supported me. So, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and started my own law firm. My firm, KDH Law Firm, specializes in criminal defense and personal injury cases. While I do have private clients, I also take on a significant amount of cases from the Public Defender’s Office as my way to give back to the communities that helped raise me.
I have been a practicing attorney and business owner for almost three years. There have been scary times when there was no money coming in and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to cover the bills. There have been tough times where clients were difficult and combined with raising teenagers, I have felt overwhelmed and wanted to just give up and go back to work for someone else. But the truth is, I want my kids to see me succeed. I want to give them the example of success and how hard work pays off. I want to show them that even if you are distracted or knocked off course, it’s never too late to reach your goals.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I was terrified every day that I was in school that I wouldn’t be able to finish. I was working to take care of my small children and going to school. There were days when I wasn’t sure how I would be able to feed the kids. I remember one Christmas, my boyfriend at the time gave me like $50.00 to buy Christmas gifts for the kids. I was in the Dollar Store at 8pm on Christmas Eve having a real debate with myself over whether it was fair to my family to continue to pursue my dreams. I mean, society tells us that being a mother is the number one, most important job that you have and I felt that I was failing at it. I was broke, I was exhausted and I was emotionally unavailable to everyone.
When I was at my lowest point, I had to ask myself what I wanted for me and what I wanted for my kids. The truth was simple, I wanted success. I wanted to chase this dream over the proverbial rainbow. I wanted to see where this path took me, and most importantly, I wanted to show my kids that often life gets hard but if you press on, success is just around that next corner.
Please tell us about KDH Law Firm.
My company, KDH Law Firm, specializes in assisting low and moderate income persons to navigate the criminal justice system in Georgia. I specialize in highly complex criminal matters and am known best for the work I’ve done in small rural counties defending against Gang and Drug Cases.
As a company, I am focused on curtailing the over criminalization of black, brown and low-income persons in our communities. I am probably best known for being tenacious and getting good results for my clients. Former clients, I think, will tell you that I am honest, I don’t hold punches and I don’t make promises that I can’t keep. (Which generally as an attorney means I don’t make promises)
I am different from other attorneys because I’m not a pushover but I also am compassionate. I legitimately care about the outcome of my cases. But, like any good Momma Bear, I will set you straight in a heartbeat. I don’t like being lied to and my clients know I won’t allow them to be abusive towards me or anyone working on my behalf.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I was in High School, my bestfriend took me to Florida with them on their family summer vacation. It was the first time I ever remember staying in a hotel suite that had two bedrooms connected to a sitting room. It felt incredibly fancy to me. I remember wanting to make sure I could travel like that as an adult. Knowing my friend’s mom, she likely paid very little for the room (she was incredibly thrifty and good at finding free and near free deals) but being on that vacation, living in that fancy place, ordering ice cream to the room really stuck with me!
Contact Info:
- Address: 5050 Union Street #397, Union City, GA 30291
- Website: www.thekdhlaw.com
- Phone: 770-462-0192
- Email: bporter@thekdhlaw.com
- Instagram: @kdhlawyer
- Facebook: KDHLaw
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