Nicole E. Noelliste

I attribute my success to my family and God. I have a really hard work ethic, and that comes from my family. Both of my grandmothers could not read or write, and my parents were the only ones to be educated, and they were really focused on education for us. So I'm paying homage to those that came before me who saw a vision that maybe one day their great-grandchild could have a career. I really want to honor the legacy and just the sacrifices of my family. And then I'm also very religious and just believe in God, and He opens doors. So I'd say those two things: family and God.

The best advice I've ever received is don't get too high on praise or too low on criticism. You just kind of know who you are, right? So if someone gives you a great compliment, don't go ahead and get big-headed and say you're more than what you are. If someone gives you some constructive feedback, you take it and you adjust as needed, but you don't down yourself. The good thing about me is I know who I am. I know that I'm smart, I know that I'm kind, I know that I'm curious, I know that I'm a hard worker. So when I get victories, I don't use that to be self-absorbed. I use that as a natural result and consequence of hard work. And conversely, when there are challenges in my life, I don't use those to define me. I use those as an opportunity to further define or further sharpen my strengths and improve. It's kind of not being as affected by the noise either way, in highs or lows, just being steady in who you are and just developing who you are.

I would say believe in yourself and have a plan. Just believe in yourself and have a plan. I have a 3-month plan, 6-month plan, year plan, 5-year plan at any given time. So I'm tracking my metrics to ensure that I'm reaching those goals at those various levels, so I'm always planning and executing on those plans.

The biggest challenge in my industry is the work-life balance. It's hard to have a family, have healthy friendships, take care of everybody, and be an excellent attorney, because you're always on demand by your clients. That's the hardest thing, just the work-life balance. On the opportunity side, the biggest opportunity right now is learning how to use AI to make your legal practice more efficient. I think that's something that clients are looking for, the synergies between AI and skilled attorneys.

The values most important to me are integrity, doing the right thing when people are watching and when they're not watching. Honesty is crucial. Hard work is essential. And innovation, looking at something from a different vantage point, intellectually and socially. I think those things are important.