Her Story
About Claire
Claire Parsons is a lawyer with nearly 18 years of experience. She practices primarily school law, along with employment law, litigation, and special education matters. Licensed in Ohio and Kentucky, she represents clients from her office in Union, Kentucky, at an AMLAW 200 firm with over 300 attorneys where she has worked for two and a half years. Parsons earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Louisville. She is a member of the Kentucky Bar, Ohio Bar, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Kentucky School Board Association, Ohio School Board Association, and serves as chapter chair for the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the Mindfulness and Law Society. In addition to her legal work, Parsons has taught mindfulness for about eight years. She holds a certification from the Mindfulness Center, is certified to teach yoga and pranayama, has trauma-sensitive mindfulness certification and modifications for neurodiversity, and is completing a two-year mindfulness meditation teacher program with Tara Brock and Jack Kornfield, with over a thousand hours of prior training. She is the author of a children's book and How to Be a Badass Lawyer, and maintains the blog Brilliant Legal Mind focused on mindfulness and mental health for lawyers. Parsons has received several honors, including the Emerging Leader award from Outstanding Women of Northern Kentucky in 2013, the Gary Beatrice Award from Northern Kentucky Leadership, the Ms. JD Sharing Her Passion Award in 2020, and recognition as a Super Lawyer. She volunteers on the Education Council through her local Chamber of Commerce, mentors through her bar association, and offers mindfulness sessions with local nonprofits. Her success is attributed to the values of courage, creativity, and compassion, as well as learning to ask for and accept help from family and colleagues, supported by her mindfulness practice.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Claire
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes from the values of courage, creativity, and compassion, but also from learning to ask for and accept help. I have support from my parents who live close and help with the girls, my husband, and my firm. Working as a team makes us do better and feel better. Meditation helps me deal with thoughts so I can take action instead of staying stuck in fear. Sharing my writing helped me build trust and realize I am not alone.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
A mentor diagnosed me with the 'grape nut effect' - thinking too much about problems makes them bigger, like grape nut cereal. She advised me to stop thinking so much and start doing things. Mindfulness helped me watch my thoughts, see their tone and where they lead, get outside their control, and then take action despite fear. Building a track record of action creates courage.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I don't think women necessarily need advice because we already get a lot of it, which implies we can't trust ourselves. Instead, I would listen to her, understand what matters to her, ask questions to guide her thinking, and offer support and encouragement. We have to figure out our own path by feeling our way through things, and women are innately attuned to that.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge and opportunity is artificial intelligence and the continued advance of technology. It will shift and change everything. There are opportunities for doing things better with this new tool, but also threats. We need to understand the tools to assess threats and advocate for appropriate change so they serve us rather than us serving them.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that are most important to me are courage, creativity, and compassion. These show up consistently when I reflect each year.
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