For this week’s Woman Wednesday, AY About You sits down with Brooke Moore, founder of MyVirtual.Lawyer.

 

Moore is a single mom to three children, Parker (15), Brodie (12) and Kinlee (9), and is a native of Batesville, although she considers North Little Rock to be home. Moore has an undergraduate degree in political science, as well as a Juris Doctorate from UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. In her spare time, Moore loves kayaking, hiking, traveling, carpool karaoke and Orangetheory Fitness. 

 

 

“I am an amateur sketch artist and enjoy an occasional paranormal investigation with Arkansas X-Files,” Moore shares. “I am a Heartbreak Coach, helping women navigate toxic relationships and move through the grief of breakups to take their power back, become whole again, and attract higher frequency relationships. I am the founder of MyVirtual.Lawyer, a fully online, unbundled service, flat-fee law firm model and attorney consulting service and co-creator of {shift}her, a mindset centric mastermind program and podcast [The {Shift}Her Podcast] to connect, inspire and empower women. I am a professional speaker on the topics of legal innovation, wellbeing and women’s empowerment, and am the 2022 Co-Chair for ABA TECHSHOW, a national technology conference for legal professionals.”

 

 

We asked Moore what it means to her to be a woman.

 

“Being a woman is a very powerful thing. We are at a place in time where we are coming together and calling our shots. We are using our voices to speak up and have the opportunity to make real progress… equal wages, better opportunities, autonomy, respect. And when we own that power, together, it motivates us to reach back and help other women along and cheer for each other on the journey. Women are becoming increasingly more aware of their value and going after what they deserve. To me, being a woman is all about embracing your vulnerability and showing up in an unapologetically authentic way that inspires and heals others.”

 

 

We asked Moore about the challenges that she has faced as a woman in her field.

 

“Despite comprising the majority of law school graduates, female attorneys are disproportionately underrepresented in many law firms and positions that require utilizing their law degree. They are often paid less than men and have less opportunities for advancement, many leaving the practice of law altogether or struggling to stay meaningfully involved in the profession due to personal demands in their lives. The traditional law firm model is not designed for most women’s lifestyles, whether that’s family commitments or the desire for more balance to pursue other passions. I mostly fell into the former of those two. I started practicing with three small children. My ex-husband was in the active-duty military. His career took precedence so it was difficult for me to follow a conventional path in my legal career. I didn’t have the flexibility that was needed to support my family and like many high achieving women, burned out quickly trying to do it all. I struggled with depression, gained a significant amount of weight, and was hospitalized three times for stroke-level blood pressure. But in every challenge, I believe there is a lesson and an opportunity to grow. For me, I was able to leverage my struggles to create a client-centric law firm model that supported my lifestyle, kept me involved in the profession and also allowed me the privilege of teaching other female attorneys how to create lifestyle law firms for their own wellbeing.”

 

Moore offers a word of advice to the young women and girls who read this article.

 

“My advice to young women and girls is to be unapologetically you. You are enough. Self-awareness and embracing your authenticity is the best way to show up for yourself and for others. Focus on the people and things that feed your soul and don’t be afraid to let go of the things that don’t grow you. Don’t hesitate to put yourself out there, take leaps of faith and ask for what you want. You are not responsible for how other people feel when you choose you. And also, choose each other. As women, we should work toward creating a culture of collaboration over competition. There’s space for all of us at the top.”

 

READ MORE: Woman Wednesday: Christy Ouei