Her Story
About Allyson
I've been in law for almost 10 years, working as an attorney at Mathis Marifian Richter for 8 years and as a shareholder for about 3 and a half years. My practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, business planning, trusts and estates, and estate administration. I meet with clients to educate them on their options and implement plans - whether that's creating estate plans, selling businesses, or making purchase offers. I draft legal documents and work with opposing counsel to make deals happen. As a shareholder, I also manage the firm alongside my partners, handling hiring and employee matters. One of my most notable achievements was being the sole attorney on a $20 million sale of a company to a private equity company about a year and a half ago, which involved a complicated F reorganization. On a smaller but equally meaningful scale, I assisted a widow who had just lost her husband and was at the mercy of her stepsons - I worked with both parties to ensure she could keep her house and live in it until she passed away with enough money to live comfortably, while also ensuring her stepsons received their inheritance. What I love about my job is that I work in the area I grew up in, so I'm constantly helping people I've known for decades - people I went to K-12 with their kids, or my friend's grandparents. I help them with legal matters that might be impossible for them to navigate without an attorney, but may only be a couple hours of work for me, and it means the world to them.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Allyson
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think a lot of it is being very down-to-earth with my clients. I work in a kind of smaller area with a large geographic footprint but a lot of small towns, so realizing that the people I'm working with and being down-to-earth with them is important. I think also having local ties has been very helpful to me - being able to work with the people in the community that I grew up in. I'm working with people that I've known since I went to K-12 with their kids, so I've known them for decades, or my friend's grandparents. I think that connection and people trusting me has been phenomenal. And the leaders of my firm - when I started working at Mathis Marifian Richter, the partners there at the time were, and still are, fantastic teachers and mentors. I would not be the lawyer I am today without them.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Someone once told me that I am unapologetically myself. I don't know if it was a passive insult or compliment, but that's always stuck with me as something that they noticed, and something that they thought was a really big part of me. I've kept that with me throughout my whole entire career - just to be myself, and don't put on airs, and just be the person you are. I think that really reflects with people, and people can see that. And if you are fake, people see through that, and they don't trust you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice would be to make your own path and stick to it. It is difficult to be a professional woman and have a family, but to the extent that you can, set your boundaries and stick to them. That's how I've always tried to operate - I will be the best lawyer when I'm working, but when it is time for me to go home, that's my family time. I'm very fortunate to have created that path and have stuck to that, and I know some people don't have that ability. My other advice would be to never back down from a bully. In law, I walk into a room and people often think that I'm a paralegal or a legal assistant because, I guess, of my age, but I keep my presence, I keep my voice strong, and I do not let them think that I am any less of a lawyer because of my age or the fact that I'm a woman.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunities right now, especially where we're located, are in estate planning. This gets technical, but just in Illinois, with how the estate taxes and the value of farmland around here work, there's a lot of estate planning opportunities to help people assist them in avoiding or mitigating taxes. That's a big area that we're focused on now. What we've also been seeing a lot is that the baby boomers are selling their businesses. We've been assisting a lot with the sale of businesses from that generation because they're ready to get out, they're ready to retire and transition their business.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty is very important to me - honesty and just kind of being your true self, being genuine and not hiding the ball. This is what it is, this is who I am, and I think people appreciate that loyalty and being genuine. Honesty, I think, are the big ones.
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