Carolina Paz Harding

Coming from an immigrant family, many of the challenges I encountered early in life helped shape the person I am today and contributed greatly to my resilience, perseverance, and determination. Those experiences taught me the importance of viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning, and every obstacle I have faced has reinforced the belief that I am capable of achieving anything I truly set my mind to.

Throughout my career, I have encountered environments that made me question my abilities and limited my confidence in my own professional growth. Joining Washington Auto Law changed that for me. For the first time, I found a workplace that genuinely believes in me, trusts me to lead, and encourages me to continue growing into the best version of myself.

While success ultimately comes from hard work, perseverance, and dedication, having people who recognize your potential and support your growth can make a profound difference in how far you are able to go. Sometimes, all it takes is someone believing in you while you continue putting in the work to achieve your goals.

The best career advice I’ve ever received is to trust growth when it’s given to you and not be afraid to step into it.

When James Banks introduced me to my current role, it wasn’t just an opportunity, it was a chance to really grow into leadership and an executive role that sounded pretty scary at first. He supported me, gave me the tools I needed, and encouraged me to think more strategically and bring my ideas forward. Through that, I learned that a lot of growth comes from being trusted and being given the space to figure things out.

That experience really stuck with me. Having someone believe in you and invest in your development makes a huge difference. It’s shaped the way I approach my own leadership now, and I try to carry that forward with my team by creating an environment built on trust and growth.

If I could go back and tell my younger self something, it would be what I wish someone had told me sooner.

Education is powerful, but it doesn’t define your worth or where life will take you. Growing up, things didn’t always go the way I planned, and I had to learn how to adjust to paths I never expected.

For a while, I struggled with feeling like I wasn’t exactly where I thought I should be, and I questioned myself more than I should have. Over time, I’ve learned that confidence, perseverance, and determination really do take you a long way.

I still believe in education and always learning, but I’ve also learned that there’s no perfect timeline for success. You can grow, change, and reach your goals in your own time and in your own way.

So to young women, I would say: be confident, try things, fail, fall, and get back up again. Keep going, even when it doesn’t look the way you imagined. Those lessons will carry you through anything, and I just wish I had really understood that a little earlier..

Personal injury law is a really challenging field, but it also has a lot of opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives. One of the biggest challenges right now is the lack of empathy you sometimes see in how clients are treated and communicated with.

A lot of clients end up feeling left in the dark or disconnected just because communication isn’t consistent. And when people are already dealing with something difficult, that can really make them feel unheard or like they don’t matter in the process.

But that’s also where the opportunity is. Firms that really focus on the client experience can stand out in a meaningful way.

For us, that’s really what we prioritize. We focus on the client experience from start to finish. We don’t see people as cases or numbers, we see them as individuals going through something hard who need support, communication, and someone who actually cares.

Our core values, compassion, excellence, respect, integrity, and community, guide how we show up every day.

At the end of the day, it’s simple: we just want clients to feel heard, supported, and taken care of, because they matter.

The values that are most important to me in both my work and personal life are empathy, empowerment, honesty, integrity, and compassion These are truly at the center of how I show up every day, both professionally and personally.

At work, I take a lot of pride in being part of a team that reflects those same values. We’ve built an environment where people are genuinely supported, encouraged to grow, and given the opportunity to reach their goals. We care about continued learning and development because we see people as individuals, not just employees.

I’m also very intentional about the kind of people we bring onto our team. For me, it’s important to surround ourselves with individuals who align with those same values, and I believe that starts with us leading by example. That’s why I also stay in a constant growth mindset—always looking for ways to improve my leadership and continue developing myself for the benefit of my team.

I really find fulfillment in empowering others and seeing them succeed. I take a lot of joy in their growth and accomplishments.

On a personal level, those same values guide my relationships. I invest deeply in the people I care about and naturally find myself wanting to support, encourage, and help others become the best version of themselves. It’s just a big part of who I am.