12/10/2023
The Annual Slatelaw firm Christmas party headed back to Louisiana this weekend. It is surreal to me to look through these photos of what the firm has become when I reflect back to where we started.
When I opened this little law practice 23 years ago, just a few months after graduating law school, I never imagined it growing into the full service law firm it has become. This just was not on my radar as a possibility of something that could happen when my mom cleared out a storage room in her Deer Park office and put a desk in it for me to use, all those years ago. I made $612 my first month. And $7200 my first year. I hired my first employee a couple of years into my practice. I remember crunching numbers and worrying about whether there would always be enough business to ensure I could make our payroll. It was mostly just the 2 of us for 9 years, until I luckily made the best hire I have ever made.
I had a young lady apply to be our receptionist whose only work experiences was working for 4 years at a daycare. When I asked her why she wanted to leave the daycare to come work with us, she replied back “Because I do not really like kids.” I knew then I had to hire her, because if if you can hang in at a daycare for 4 years while not even liking children, then you can do well working in family law. Ryann has been with me since that day, as we have grown from a firm of 3 to one of 27.
I am fortunate to have added some amazing people along the way, like Lauren Durso, Robert Ian Kuehm, Ben Raia, Dominique Jaffe-Crane and Karlene Poll to name a few.
This weekend is about celebrating our team for their tireless efforts this year, and for recognizing the sacrifices their families make when our lawyers and staff work those late nights and weekends that this type of work requires, to help our clients.
If you had told me 23 years ago that this is where Slatelaw would be today, I would never have believed you. Heck, it’s still hard for me to believe it today!
Merry Christmas!
