You advise, write, and speak about legal issues affecting both employers and employees. For women who have been out of the workplace for a while, what has changed in the last 10 or 20 years, when it comes to employee rights?
The last 20 years have seen many changes in workplace rights and laws, as well as in how job searches are conducted. Anti-discrimination laws have added protections for sexual orientation and identity, and make it easier for workers to establish rights to disability and pregnancy accommodations. The advent of technology and telecommuting, with more flexible schedules, has enabled more women to join or remain in the workplace.
You are the definition of reinvention! From opera singer to standup comic to a doctorate in psychology. What drew you to your current career?
I was a good working comic, not great, but good. I was staff emcee at the Melrose Improv in Hollywood working with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano (no one famous…). When you are a comic, you only work about 30 minutes a day, so I got bored and began volunteering in my community at a shelter for sexually abused teens. I absolutely fell in love with it. This experience woke up the healer in me, allowed me to heal my own adolescent clergy abuse, and prompted me to go back to school and earn my doctorate in psychology to specialize in sexual abuse prevention and recovery. That is still my mission.
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When she finally found her life partner in her 40s, Sally was able to realize her deep yearning for a child of her own. She recounts how donor-egg IVF gave her a beautiful, healthy son—and writes about her experience as a late-in-life mom on her blog.
After years of abuse and abandonment, through necessity and hard work, Gay found her purpose in life: She founded Café Feminino Foundation to help raise women in coffee communities out of poverty and despair.
If someone has an idea for a new product or service, why should they hire legal help?
Shark Tank has made invention cool and sexy, but there is a whole other side of building a business around an idea that can be, in all fairness, dry and tedious. There are laws concerning safety, taxes, and intellectual property that come into play and that do affect a business’ bottom line. It is so important to know what these are going in, so that you can plan ahead and avoid unnecessary expenses and surprises. An experienced business attorney consulted early in the process knows the typical bumps in the road and can prepare you for what you are getting into. Get your road map in place first, then kick back and enjoy the ride.
When Patti turned 50, she challenged herself to write a novel. Six years later, she has five novels in publication—including some “steamy” romances—and has three more on the way.