4 minute read
Supermom
ALLYSON PEARCE Supermom
BY LIESEL SCHMIDT
OOver the past 24 years, Allyson Pearce has built a solid career as an attorney, practicing law in the areas of bankruptcy, criminal, and real estate throughout south Alabama. As the owner of her own law firm for 22 of those 24 years in the legal profession, Pearce has learned what it takes to create a successful business: the long hours, the thankless work, the sacrifices. While she has a lot on her plate as a busy professional, she still understands the importance of putting equal time into her family—especially her two teenaged daughters.
“Being a working mom—especially an attorney— is hard,” she admits. “I am always asked how I do it all, but the best answer to that question is that I don't. I may let the dishes go, not get around to folding clothes, not do my hair, but I never miss the moments I can grab with my girls. I am lucky to be flexible since I am my own boss, so I have never missed a game or program at school or whatever they have ever needed. I try to live by being flexible, be able to laugh at yourself, and enjoy the little moments!”
Even with the often taxing schedule she keeps with her law practice—and now, also as a real estate agent in partnership with her husband—Pearce knows that she’s setting an incredible example for her daughters. “I feel that being a working mom enriches my children's lives because I have a passion for helping people, and they see that,” she says. “They see that there is more to life than just serving your own needs. There’s a bigger picture. But they also see that I never gave up on the path that I wanted to pursue. It’s sometimes a struggle for me, balancing family and work; but I hope they learn life lessons through my being a working mom. I want them to see that they can create their own financial independence and contribute to society.”
As an attorney, Pearce does a great deal of listening to her clients, and that ability to listen is something that serves her in her personal life, as well. “Every day in my work, I have to work with clients and figure out solutions to whatever their problem may be,” says Pearce, who operates five offices of Pearce Law Firm. “The ability to listen is important to being an attorney because you are
always solving a problem, and that overflows to my family life. I love to listen to my girls or my husband when we have a problem and find ways to solve it together.”
Being the strong woman that she is, Pearce has a lot to be proud of— both in her career and in her family life. “I’m proud of the fact that I own my own practice and have successfully run that business for almost 25 years,” she says. “I think that being so independent has made me a better mother to my girls, encouraging them to think and make decisions for themselves and to stick by those decisions. If there are consequences to a bad decision, they have to live with those consequences. I have applied that same mindset to my business, as well, and it has made me a better businesswoman. As an attorney, you see people at their worst and desperate to escape from the consequences of what they have done. Being able to solve these problems and helping people is my biggest passion.”
From her girls, Pearce has learned to stop and take in the little moments and to be more present. “I’ve also learned to sit down, talk, and listen more,” she adds. “You will learn so much, and things are not always what they seem to be on the surface. We talk about things in our day, and I’ve stayed close to my girls because we talk about all the little things as well as the big things."
Being present—and always being there for her girls—is something that is incredibly important to Pearce, something that she hopes they remember throughout their lives. “Every ballgame, every school function, every break, I spent them all with them,” she says. “Every decision was based on being there for them.”
There are also some principals that she and her husband have instilled in their daughters that will serve them well as they go out into the world and become women. “We taught them to be thankful for what they have, to practice what they preach, and that honesty is the best policy,” she says. “I want them to carry these principals, and I want them to remember always that family is the most important thing in their lives beside God.”
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