Allison Vorcheimer Meet Lauren Klein, Co-Founder and CEO of Flourish Law Group. She is a mother to two adorable little boys, Drew Jr. (2.5) and Benjamin (1). Lauren is passionate about food, traveling, exercise and all things mindset and self-development.
Read on to hear more about her, her business and how her business may be just what your family needs!
Tell us about your company.
I am the co-founder of Flourish Law Group, a boutique law firm providing estate planning, elder law and probate/trust administration services. We have offices in Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg and we serve clients virtually across the entire state of Florida. My partner and I have a combined 20+ years experience in trusts and estates, corporate fiduciary services and wealth management. I come from a large international law firm and my partner comes from a large trust company and bank, and we decided to form our own law firm so we could take our significant expertise and create a modern law firm experience for our community and close the many gaps in the estate planning industry. We like to say that we are just human beings who happen to practice law and we love to just get to know our clients and their families and form long lasting relationships. No stuffy, big egos here!
Why did you decide to pivot your career and start your own business?
When I first decided to go to law school, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to practice law, but I knew that one day I wanted to own my own business. I was fortunate to gain incredible legal experience after I graduated from law school and I wouldn’t change my path for anything, but I knew deep down that I am an entrepreneur at heart. I wanted to be able to practice law and serve clients my own way, so I decided to take the leap to start Flourish Law Group earlier this year after 11 years of law practice and then my partner joined me shortly thereafter. I also had a taste of entrepreneurship starting in 2020 when my husband started his own small business (and I was their General Counsel) and we also started investing in real estate, which led us to starting a short term rental business together as well. I am now in the process of expanding my brand by launching a mindset coaching program for women law students called The Law School Blueprint {For Her}, a corresponding mastermind, The Wealthy Future Lawyer $quad and a podcast, The Wealthy Future Lawyer $quad Podcast. I am breaking down the myth that you don’t have to be miserable in law school and helping women law students gain confidence, overcome imposter syndrome and learn to become wealthy future lawyers.
How do you juggle running your company with spending time with your family?Were you able to take maternity leave? What was that like for you and your family?
I took the full maternity offered by my former law firm for both of my children, which was equivalent to about 4 months for each baby. I took every possible minute of that leave each time and absolutely loved maternity leave and spending time with each baby and getting to know myself as a new mom.When I had my first son, we had complications and I needed to have an emergency C section, which really threw me for a loop mentally and physically, so it was nice to retreat inward and take time to heal myself. I also had a lot of struggles with breastfeeding so I was very happy to be able to be home with my little ones for a few months after their births. Plus, I also was able to work exclusively from home during and after both of my pregnancies because I was pregnant in 2020 and 2021 during the midst of the global pandemic. So, as scary as it was to be pregnant at that time, especially with my first one who was conceived in January of 2020 before we had any idea what was going to happen in the world, it was a big silver living to be home during all day sickness (not just morning sickness, am I right), back pain and having to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. You know, all the joys of pregnancy. And with our second baby my husband took a few months off as well, and so we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family and travel a little bit, which was really special. I am a huge proponent that maternity leave is so important for the mom, baby and the family as a whole, and I am so disappointed that the United States has not implemented a paid maternity leave. It blows my mind that every other major country in the world has this in some form, and we don’t.
What has been the greatest challenge in your career?
The biggest challenge of my career has been the way I was treated after going back to work following both of my pregnancies. I was treated very differently by my colleagues before I had children compared to after I became a mom, and I even received a decrease in a portion of my compensation because I took my firm sponsored maternity leave, which came as a very big surprise to me. I think in our society, and especially in the legal industry, we still have a lot of work to do in overcoming gender bias and respect and equality when it comes to working moms. (Btw why don’t we call dads working dads, but I digress…). Especially since I feel like becoming a mom actually made me a better attorney and more efficient than before I had kids.
What lessons have you learned in your career that you apply to parenting (or vice versa)?
I think one of the biggest lessons I have learned in life that applies to both career and parenting is to live authentically and with intention. To me, that means knowing who you are and what you want out of your life and for your family, and intentionally designing your life to be true to your most authentic self. I believe kids will pick up on their parents being true to themselves and will apply that to their own lives as they grow up.
What do you hope to pass to your children about success and failure?
I want to pass on to my children that both success and failure are imperative to a full, complete life and to enjoy the highs and know that the lows will come to an end. I also want to impress upon my kids that they should not be afraid to fail, because that is often where their biggest successes will be born.
How has motherhood impacted you both personally and professionally?
I believe that motherhood has made me a much better listener and more understanding of my client’s needs and goals. Since I practice estate planning, I really need to be able to put myself in the shoes of my client and understand what they are trying to accomplish with respect to protecting their legacy, naming guardians for their minor children and ensuring their family is protected if something happens to them.
Is there a promo code or discount code you can offer readers?
Yes, I would love to offer $250 off any of our estate planning packages to your readers. Our main clients are families with young children and I would love to help your readers get their estate planning in place.
Some Fun! Getting to know YOU:
How do you like your coffee: I like ALL coffee. Lattes, regular coffee, cold brew. But my favorite coffee is probably a vanilla latte from Living Green.
Favorite SoFlo Date Night: Trying new restaurants with my husband.
Favorite SoFlo Restaurant: Ooooo this is SO tough, but probably Greek Islands Taverna in Galt Ocean.
Best place you have traveled to: Thailand!
What’s on the top of your bucket list: Traveling internationally and domestically multiple times a year with our kids.
Most embarrassing mom moment: The time I was breastfeeding in my car and then got out to put the baby back in his car seat, forgot to fix my nursing bra and accidentally flashed the car next to me. It was more funny than embarrassing.
Best mom advice you’ve received: To not have a super quiet household, especially during nap time, because then your babies won’t be able to sleep when friends and family are over.
Favorite SoFlo family activity: The Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale.
Best binge-worthy tv show: Anything real estate related (e.g. Selling Sunset, Buying Beverly Hills).
What do you do for self care: Meditation, exercise and massage.
Favorite way to spend time with friends: You can usually find us hanging out at each other’s house letting the men cook while we drink wine.
Websites:
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