Influential Woman · Attorney
Sara Holyoak
ESQ
Attorney, Viking Law Group
Phoenix, AZ
Her Story
About Sara
I grew up in Arizona on my great-great-grandfather's homestead with family roots before statehood. After earning my bachelor's in 2007, I went to law school on a whim during a difficult divorce and graduated with my JD from Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU in 2013. I worked as a consultant or legal assistant before becoming an attorney. Now I run Olive Branch Mediation focusing on mediations with a collaborative approach that helps clients save money and get better results than court, especially in family and business disputes. I also handle personal injury and occasional criminal cases.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sara
01What do you attribute your success to?
Always starting over. No matter what happens, no matter if you fail, no matter if you have an off week, I will always start over.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Fail faster. If you're moving forward, you're gonna fail. Everyone does. But if you are moving quickly and efficiently, you're gonna fail faster, but then you can recover quicker.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just do it. Do the thing. If you have interest to try it, the worst that can happen is you fail and you start over. Make sure everything that you're doing, you're doing it for you and your life, and never to prove a point. Be careful who you have children with.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In mediation, helping people see the value in the offering without undercutting yourself. In personal injury, communicating progress to clients when much of the work is done behind the scenes so they know progress is being made even if they can't see it.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Helping people solve their problems. Using a collaborative mediation approach so that even in high-conflict situations people get better results, children do better, and everyone saves money compared to the court system. Acknowledging losses and getting financial compensation to minimize the impact after injury or loss.
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