Today we’d like to introduce you to Sue French.
Sue, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I officially opened my practice on January 1, 2019. It was a lifelong dream and it took a village and a journey to realize my dream…
I grew up in the 60s as the youngest of six children on a farm in Kentucky. As a young, poor, black girl growing up in rural Kentucky there weren’t many options for a future. Most jobs that were available were at local factories. In fact, don’t ever remember being pushed to take college entrance exams but encouraged to take manual dexterity tests to determine where I could produce the most widgets. The two premium careers a female could attain were a teacher or a nurse. I wanted to be an attorney! — Not on the list. When I told my mother I wanted to be an attorney, she told me I could be ANYTHING I wanted to be. Life happened and I went on to graduate high school, got married, went to college and had a child. My dream was placed on the back burner.
When I moved to Texas in 1985, I was hired by State Farm Insurance. I worked various roles within the company. My desire to become an attorney resurfaced when I worked (and later became manager) of Workers’ Compensation Claims in Florida. By this time, I had divorced and my son was in high school.
In 2004, after my son graduated from college and 20 years after I graduated college, I pursued my childhood dream of becoming a lawyer!! I was accepted three law schools in the area that offered a part-time program. I continued to work full-time in leadership roles at State Farm while attending law school in the evenings (and some weekends). I drove up to 175 miles round trip 3 to 4 nights a week for four years. I graduated in 2008.
Since that time, I have been admitted to practice law in Florida, Kentucky, and Georgia (all by exam). Even then, I had become so complacent and comfortable with my position and salary, I didn’t pursue my dream. My purpose and passion were not being fulfilled. With the “signs” I kept getting from God, along with restructuring within the company and the horrendous Atlanta commute, I finally decided to officially retire from Corporate America and open my own firm. Another huge catalyst to my decision is my son (finally) decided to pursue a career in law after spending 12 years in Education. I wanted to be able to be an advocate and also build a legacy — that dream that I had to become a lawyer and to own my own business finally came to fruition!
Has it been a smooth road?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Some of the struggles I had to overcome:
* Being a black female in rural Kentucky
* I married and had a child along the way
* I divorced and raised a son as a single parent
* I worked full-time. Until the mid-2000s, law schools in my area did not offer part-time evening classes. I was not able to quit my job and go full time prior to that.
* After I graduated law school, I found age discrimination was REAL. I was in my late 40s.
* I had on “golden handcuffs” at my job. I had risen through the ranks and made an excellent salary. If I had found a position as an attorney, I would have had to take a pay cut.
* Once I made up my mind to practice law full-time, I was unable to find a firm to take a chance on me (I was in my late 50s by this time).
* Even after I opened my firm, I find there are STILL struggles along the way of knowing ALL aspects of running a business. While my corporate experience has been helpful, there are so many other factors that come into play when running a successful business.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
French Legal Firm is a solo-law firm that puts the focus on the customers. We handle adult and minor guardianships; adult and minor conservatorships; will preparation; and contested wills. We also handle family law issues – primarily uncontested and contested divorce cases.
We are most proud of the fact that we are able to provide personalized services to our clients and treat them like family. Knowing that many cannot pay all of their legal fees upfront, we accept credit card payments and can work out payment plans if qualified. We also give back to the community by taking on limited pro bono and low bono cases. We also are involved in various community service activities.
What sets French Legal apart from others is that we are large enough to handle your legal needs at an affordable price, yet small enough to care for you as our own family. We are here to help you put the pieces together.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
ABSOLUTELY!!! Even though there seems to be a saturation of attorneys, there are so many different practice areas that the city and surrounding suburbs always has a need for various legal services.
If they want to test the water prior to opening a business, they can reach out to the local bar association or attend local bar luncheons. One of the best things I did while I was still working full-time in Corporate America is that I would take off work and spend the day at the courthouse observing various types of law. While some were FASCINATING, I saw where my strengths were best suited.
Contact Info:
- Address: French Legal Firm
710 Dacula Road, Suite 4A 132
Dacula, GA 30019 - Website: www.frenchlegalfirm.com
- Phone: 833-354-4968
- Email: sue@frenchlegalfirm.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Frenchlegalfirm
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/msfrenchesq
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/frenchlegalfirm
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