Heather Quick, owner and attorney of Florida Women’s Law Group, shares what empowering women means to Florida Women’s Law Group. She explains why client’s need to be empowered, how to not be victim and how Florida Women’s Law Group helps.
"Women Winning Divorce" is a radio show and podcast hosted by Heather Quick, CEO and Owner of Florida Women's Law Group. Each week we focus on different aspects of family law to help guide women through the difficult and emotional legal challenges they are facing. Heather brings over 20 years of law experience that advocates and empowers women to achieve happier and healthier lives. Join Heather each week as she discusses family law issues including divorce, custody, alimony, paternity, narcissism, mediation and more. This program was created to provide tips and insight to women with family law issues. It is not intended to be legal advice because every situation is different. Visit us at https://www.womenwinningdivorce.com/ for more resources. Text us at 904-944-6800 for a copy of Heather's Top 5 Divorce Tips. If you have questions or a topic you would like Heather to cover, email us at marketing@4womenlaw.com
Women Winning Divorce
Episode 34
Empowering Women
Julie Morgan:
Welcome to Women Winning Divorce with your host, Heather Quick. Heather brings over 20 years of law experience that advocates and empowers women to achieve happier and healthier lives. Each week we provide knowledge and guidance on different aspects of family law to help lead women through the difficult and emotional legal challenges that they are facing. Listen in as she discusses issues including divorce, custody, alimony, paternity, narcissism, mediation, and other family law issues to provide insight on the journey of women winning divorce. Welcome to the show. I'm Julie Morgan and I'm joined by your host, Heather Quick.
Hi, Heather. How are you today?
Heather Quick:
I am great, Julie. How are you?
Julie Morgan:
I'm making it. It's a Tuesday here when we're recording this show and I am just happy that it's not Monday.
Heather Quick:
Well, that is good. You've got to look for the positive, right?
Julie Morgan:
Well, I am just happy about that. Mondays are a struggle and I know I'm not the only one out there. So, today's show is about empowering women. And I can tell everyone right now, I'm going to have a problem with that word. So, just look out for it. Tell me this, what does this mean to Florida Women's Law Group?
Heather Quick:
Well, to me, I'll tell you what it means and to everybody at our firm, it is making women stronger and more confident, but it's really about winning at life. That's what I see that we do at Florida Women's Law Group. We're helping women win at life and we're giving you the strength that that needs for you to win at your life.
Julie Morgan:
We've got to dive deeper into that throughout this show because that to me has so many different levels.
Heather Quick:
Yes.
Julie Morgan:
So, why would clients need this? Why would they need something like this?
Heather Quick:
Well, I think that when women come to us, they need help and they're about to enter this whole new world, the legal world. It can be scary. It has a lot of its own language, procedures. It's just very different. So, that in and of itself is something that can be daunting. And they're like, "Okay, I have no understanding of the legal process." And then they're like, "And now I am going to embark on single life, whether I've got the kids at home or not. But either way, it's going to be a huge change and I'm nervous. Do I have the confidence to keep doing this? How am I going to do it? How is my life going to look on that other side?" A lot of it is, and this is for any of us doing something that we haven't done before, we don't know what we don't know. So, that's scary enough itself. Because I don't even know what to ask because I don't know enough about the whole process. That's a lot of fear and doubt that can really stall you out and keep you from moving forward.
Julie Morgan:
And so you just... Well, okay. I was trying to figure out how to approach this next question. But when we're talking about empowering women, it can mean different things to different people. So, there are some clients that you have, they've been married a long time, they haven't been on their own, so that could be one thing. But then there are some that may be young and they haven't been married long, so they understand where they're going. So, this could mean different things to different people.
Heather Quick:
It really does. I think that regardless of where your situation is, you're about to embark on something new that is scary, that could be intimidating, but you know you want it. You're wanting to move forward. The women who tend to resonate with what we do at Florida Women's Law Group is, they're looking for that strength to help them through this process. That is what we're here to do, is to give them that strength and help them. Maybe we'll definitely reframe the way they're looking at what they're about to go through, and that's why I say helping them win at life. I'm a really competitive person, even when other people aren't competing, I'm competing. So, that's got its own negatives, for sure, and challenges for myself. But it is something that people do understand. They do understand, winning. You can win and it doesn't mean somebody else has to lose when you reframe it like that.
Now I can go win at life because I can take these steps forward for myself. Even though I'm scared, I'm still willing to do it. That's a win in and of itself, that you're willing to take these steps forward even though this may be challenging, but I'm going to grow from it. Because anytime we do things that are challenging, we do grow. We learn more about ourselves and our own resilience and what we can accomplish, and that is a win. That allows women to really reach their full potential as individuals, as mothers, and really as human beings out there in the world, and hopefully to show up better in their next relationship or in their overall relationships with friends and family.
Julie Morgan:
So, you work on helping them to get rid of fear and self-doubt.
Heather Quick:
To some extent. We all approach that within our own unique ways, and one way that I think is very helpful is by educating and helping them through the process that is coming. That's really just laying out, what’s coming. This is going to be the reality. This is the truth of your situation, which may be difficult to hear. That sometimes is for anybody, to hear the truth of the situation that they're currently in and what their options are. Then we can say, but we can get you through this if you want to get through this and be successful.
I'm going to say this with a caveat, that not everybody does want to be successful. Some people want to stay a victim. That's not really somebody probably who fits in with our model at our firm. Because if you want to remain blaming everyone else and not really stepping up into who you can be, the things that we're going to do for you at our firm you're not going to appreciate because you don't want to do that. And that may or may not be a conscious decision. But I think we've all met individuals in our lives, men and women included, that they don't really want to step into that because that requires some change.
Julie Morgan:
So, would you say that that person would not necessarily be a good fit for you?
Heather Quick:
That is correct, because that's not what we do at our firm. All I can say, I can't speak to other firms except from my outside looking in perspective of working with other firms in the past. Potentially they take on more of a paternalistic, "It's going to be okay; you just go through the process and we're going to take care of it for you." That is more of an old school mentality and there are other firms probably that do that. That's really not the way we operate. Because our attorneys, as all women, are strong, definitely compassionate, but we're looking to make you better than you were when you got there. The only way to do that is for you to take some responsibility for your life and your actions and move forward with this change in your life.
Julie Morgan:
That's a good segue into my next question. Tell me about your firm. Tell me about the women that work there.
Heather Quick:
Well, we have amazing, very intelligent women that work for our firm. We really have women of all ages that are married, single, divorced, mothers, new mothers, women with older children, and some just dog and cat parents. They come to it from all different experiences in life. But the one thing we all have in common is that they're very smart women and compassionate, but tough. Because you have to have that. We're not the firm you come here and we're just going to console you the whole time. That's not going to get us anywhere, frankly. That is my personal belief. Sometimes it's difficult and you are emotional. We're not going to yell at you and tell you to stop crying. But we are going to say, "All right, we have to move through it because you have to move forward to get through that." Again, that's why we always suggest counseling. We counsel, but we're on the legal side more so than the therapeutic mental health side.
Julie Morgan:
But being a firm of all women, I would say, from the outside looking in, people would probably look and say, "Oh yes, they're going to coddle you."
Heather Quick:
Yeah, and that doesn't happen. We make that very clear in the beginning, that by doing that we're not helping you at all. I don't think you'll be happy at the end anyway, because if you don't participate in what we're doing for you to create your new life, you may not like it. That may not be what you want. So, you have to participate. And yes, we are compassionate and empathetic and there may be times that you need that. But there's also times when you do need to say, it's time to suck it up and we've got to move forward and we've got to move forward through this fear that is not a reality.
Julie Morgan:
So, this is not for everyone.
Heather Quick:
No. No, no, no. No. I think most women that we see are ready and they want this, but some just want to remain a victim, and some don't want to take personal responsibility for what we need them to do. I mean, we're not going to dissect the marriage and talk about who did what. That is really irrelevant to the extent of getting through the divorce. Every now and then there are certain things that are helpful, but if all you want to do is blame and create havoc for your husband during the divorce, that may actually harm you in the long run. If you can't see that and are not willing to listen to our advice on how best to get you to the finish line and to the outcome that you've expressed, then no, we're not going to be able to work together because that makes no sense.
If we create that strategy to help you achieve your outcome, that's where I say you win. If this is what you want and we get you there, then you've won what you wanted for your life. But if you do things that are destructive for that or you're not willing to, that tends not to be a good fit because you're just not going to be happy. We can't achieve your results if you're not willing to do what we need you to do to get there. That can happen sometimes. It doesn't happen often, but it certainly does.
Julie Morgan:
But you know what? It's something I can appreciate because that means that you are not wasting my time.
Heather Quick:
Right. Sometimes, well, not sometimes, I think more often than not we care more about our clients' future and what is possible for them than maybe they do.
Julie Morgan:
But is it because you can see it? Because when someone comes to your office, they may not even be able to see their future, but because you've been doing it so long you can see where they can go.
Heather Quick:
Correct, I mean, I do have that flaw in my personality. I always see the potential and the possibility for all humans. They may not want that, and they may not want that much growth or whatever, but we are objective. We've seen this so many times, humans act in predictable ways, and we can see certain things and we can see what's possible for people. So, yes, we have that unique ability because we can be more objective because we're on the outside looking in. It's more challenging when you're on the inside and maybe you're not there yet and you're certainly not going to be there at the very beginning. That's hard. You're consumed with emotions and everything that's going on. So, that is to be expected. But if that's what you want to see and you want to get there, then we can get you there.
Julie Morgan:
That's definitely not a flaw at all, Heather. You're listening to Women Winning Divorce with Heather Quick, owner and attorney of Florida Women's Law Group. Today we're talking about empowering women and what it means to Florida Women's Law Group. And when we return, we're going to talk about being a victim. Stay with us.
Welcome back to Women Winning Divorce with Heather Quick, owner and attorney of Florida Women's Law Group. Heather, in the first segment of the show you talked about being a victim. What exactly does that mean?
Heather Quick:
Well, I think that there's a lot of ways to look at it. Everybody, I think, myself included, we've all had tendencies and we've done that at times, but it's something you want to move through. It's not taking personal responsibility for where you are in life. It's blaming others and we have a choice. You can choose to see life happening for you or life happening to you. I think that if you are in a victim mentality and a state of mind, life happens to you.
Julie Morgan:
And do some people look at this or they may listen to this and say, "Oh, she's being harsh. That's harsh"?
Heather Quick:
That's fair. But sometimes the truth is harsh, and I'm not here to fluff it up. I believe we all have more choices than some people want to believe that they have. There's a time to have a pity party and then there’s the time to move on. You're never going to get anywhere in life if you feel sorry for yourself and think you can't change your life. It may be hard. It's definitely harder for some people than others, there's no doubt about that. I'm not going to diminish anybody's challenges and things that may make things harder for some than others. But maybe look at the actions people take throughout their life that do lead to consequences. You know what I mean? Actions, then you have consequences. Maybe right now you see everything against you, but okay, you made a lot of choices and there are a lot of consequences and results of those choices. It may take longer to get yourself out of that and begin to start empowering yourself and seeing where you can make new choices.
Julie Morgan:
But it's so much easier to blame him, right?
Heather Quick:
Absolutely. It's easier to blame, but really then you carry this bitter, angry feeling and your miserable. I think that's a lot harder, to carry so much anger and resentment around, than to forgive and move on. I think it's challenging and it's not always pretty to look in the mirror and look at you and your part in your life that got you to where you are today. That is difficult, but it's worth it. It takes time and it takes a lot of humility probably, just looking at yourself and going, "Ugh, okay, what if I show up different? Will I have different results?" Most likely.
Julie Morgan:
And you may not realize that being a victim, it actually takes your power away.
Heather Quick:
Well, but I'm going to challenge you on those words because you gave it away. You're giving it away and that's your choice. Nobody has power over you unless you allow that to happen. Somebody could be listening to this going, "Oh Heather, you don't understand." I may not. I'm not living in your shoes. But you're giving that away. Nobody has power over you unless you give that to them. You give people the power to hurt your feelings. You can give people the power to offend you. You are totally in control of your emotions and you have within yourself your own power. If you choose to give that away, then you do. I think that's where that personal responsibility and the language of that and what we will accept as, "Oh, but he does this or that." I think that that's where you let somebody off easy. If they want to go through life believing that, then that's their choice.
Julie Morgan:
So, it sounds like part of this is also reframing the way we speak and also the way we think.
Heather Quick:
Yes, and that is something that can happen overnight. If you are not around anyone and you haven't ever been exposed to individuals who talk like this, this may seem really new. I grew up always going to church. I have a faith. I had a grandmother who she was really hardcore, a devout, devout Christian. But she's like, "Heather, nobody take away your power. You know what? You can choose to be offended. Don't walk around here saying, 'Oh, that's so offensive.'" So, she spoke hard truth, and a lot of that was based on her faith. Then I've done a lot of other work and coaching and stuff with Tony Robbins and a lot of things that allow you to see where you can accept responsibility for yourself.
I think that you can hear this and maybe if you've never been exposed or been around people who talk like that or who view the world in this way, I can see how that could seem very difficult and hard. So that's maybe part of the first step, is find people who are more of a glass half full type people. Find people and other sources of information and surrounding yourself that have more of a positive outlook on it. I'm not saying that's fake. I'm saying just a genuine way to look at things and look at your own behavior. That would be a helpful first step, I think.
Julie Morgan:
So, basically, let's try to get away from those people who are bitter and miserable as much as you can.
Heather Quick:
Right, and recognizing it for what that is. Yes, for sure. Yeah.
Julie Morgan:
But we all know someone like that. I mean, if we really think, we probably know someone that feels that way about their divorce. It could have been a decade ago, but they are still bitter and miserable about it.
Heather Quick:
They are. They are.And you see that, and you know they're bitter and they haven't been able to let it go. I find I may be around somebody like that and not really know they're like that, and then I certainly am not going to willingly continue to be around those kind of people.
Julie Morgan:
So, how do you move past it? How do you move past being a victim?
Heather Quick:
I think the first part is accepting responsibility for your part in your marriage. It takes two people to make it, two people to break it. That's the first thing that you have to do, and analyze how you showed up in the marriage and how are you going to show up in the divorce? How do you want to just be in general? It's self-reflection. There are so many books on that, I'm sure, and self-healing and all of this. And therapy. Finding the right therapist that's not about blaming somebody else but say, "Hey, I want to move past this and this is how I want to get through this." There are, I think, a lot of resources that can allow you that opportunity to begin that journey away from being a victim.
Julie Morgan:
Now Heather, you said, "Accept responsibility." But if someone is listening to this and they'll say, "Well, he cheated. That is not my responsibility. What do you mean accept my responsibility?" How is it that they have any responsibility in that?
Heather Quick:
Well, they do. I don't know what that is, that's for everybody to look at. No, you're not responsible for his actions. But within a relationship, some things have started earlier on. I can't dissect all of those parts and that's why this is the work. That's the work. And you know what? They may listen and be like, "She's crazy." Well, I probably am. I go out there on a lot of things. But what I will tell you is that if you sit with that and maybe every day just think about it a little bit more, I would bet that over time they're going to see areas where they played a part. And maybe this, this could sound way out there, maybe just because you turned the other way because it wasn't worth it, okay? That's a part. That plays a part. Not in what he did. It's not his actions. It's you. It's the fact that you're in a divorce right now. Okay. Was there an opportunity that it could have been repaired? I don't know.
Was there an opportunity early on where the communication broke down before the intimacy? Maybe. I don't know. Again, it's that reflection that can be hard, but it's not going to come to you all at once, but over time. I'm not a big journaler. I just recently bought a book that prompts you with questions. I haven't started writing in it yet. So, check back with me. Maybe hold me accountable, Julie, and ask me have I started to journal. Because I know there's a lot of value in it even though that's not my thing as of yet. But I'm willing to evolve and try something to see what turns out of it. So, maybe that's a way. Just sit with that five minutes a day in some meditation where you look at that. But that's a start. Because that in and of itself, if you as a human are willing to even just sit with that and think about it, you're really already taking the path. You don't want to be a victim.
Julie Morgan:
But Heather, getting to the point where you are and understanding that you are playing the victim, that's a tough road. It has to be.
Heather Quick:
I think it really just depends on your experience and the people you've been around and who you have to advise you.
Julie Morgan:
So, how do you share with a client, "You are playing the victim." How do you say those words? I mean, for some people they need to hear those words. You can't really beat around the bush. So, do you say those words? "You're playing the victim and we need to put on our big girl panties."
Heather Quick:
Yeah, I mean, I know those conversations happen and sometimes there's another way to reframe the question or the situation. I would rather anyone I'm speaking to come to that on their own, and sometimes you can do that just by asking a question. "Are you looking at this from a place of strength or weakness? Are you looking at this as someone who is blameless or..." Like that. That tends to help because to tell somebody and say, "You're doing this," now that may happen at times, that sometimes doesn't resonate with all of us that well, right? Nobody likes to be called out like that. We would rather come to that conclusion on our own. It seems a little less painful.
Julie Morgan:
Yeah. So, you know what? I say that because for me, I need you to tell me the truth, right? I don't need someone to beat around the bush with me. I need someone to say, "Listen, this, this and this," and then let me handle it within. Yeah. That's what I'm thinking. And there has to be other people out there that really need to hear those words. "You're doing this and it really needs to stop because it's detrimental."
Heather Quick:
Sometimes yes, that is, absolutely. When it gets to that point and something's happening that is negatively affecting them, it's like, "No, you have to stop this. This is not effective. You've got to cut it out, change your behavior because you're taking it down a route that is going to harm you more in the end."
Julie Morgan:
You're listening to Women Winning Divorce with Heather Quick, owner and attorney of Florida Women's Law Group. When we return, again, we're still talking about how Florida Women's Law Group empowers women. We're going to talk more about how they can help. Stay with us.
Welcome back to Women Winning Divorce with Heather Quick, owner and attorney of Florida Women's Law Group. Heather, so thinking about this, how can Florida Women's Law Group help?
Heather Quick:
Well, there are so many ways that we obviously interact with women as clients, as potential clients, and even former clients. Our primary role and goal is certainly to support women. We ask that they first forgive themselves, because it takes a lot of strength and courage to decide you want a divorce and then take the action steps that it requires in order to move forward.
Julie Morgan:
That's important. I mean, you've mentioned that a couple of times, "Forgive yourself." Why is that so necessary?
Heather Quick:
I think because until you can forgive yourself I don't think you can move forward and certainly forgive anyone else and move from that position of being a victim in need of being rescued to somebody who is taking responsibility for her own life.
Julie Morgan:
It didn't take you very long to say what you said, but what you said was extremely powerful. From being a victim. That's something else that has come up multiple times in our conversation. And I know we've already gone through this. We've talked about this. So, please, if you missed the first two segments of the show, I encourage you to go back and listen. Go to our website, Florida Women's Law Group dot... Excuse me. Go to our website. You can go to that website as well. But go to our website, womenwinningdivorce.com, so you can subscribe, download, and listen to the podcast. So, Heather, what is the first step whenever they come to you? What is the first step?
Heather Quick:
So, the first step is they've made the decision they want a divorce. We've both decided, "Okay, we can work together as attorney and client." Now the work really begins, and I know I said the hardest thing is making the decision. Therefore, if you can look at it that way as, "Okay, now I made the decision. Now we're just taking steps for implementation." That begins with a lot of time, they’re going to be in a position they have to educate themselves and we will help them with that. We will help them understand essentially what their financial situation is if they don't already know it. We do that through the financial affidavit, which we've talked about of course in previous episodes as a key piece of evidence and definitely a key pleading that has to be filed in all divorce cases.
Julie Morgan:
Okay. And this can be a scary thing for women, right?
Heather Quick:
Sure, really for anybody. I mean, you've got to look at what does it cost to run the life maybe we're running together and now what will it cost me to run the life I want to live? Am I going to be able to do it? What am I spending on things? What is our debt? Sometimes the reason we have clients that don't know much is they don't want to. Once you have an understanding of your financial situation, you now have some responsibility, I think. That's very natural in a lot of relationships. One person opts out of that responsibility and knowledge as far as what's really going on.
Julie Morgan:
Okay. So, you really walk your clients through this process and educate them and encourage them. That's a big thing too.
Heather Quick:
Yeah. I mean, because that's what it is all about. We'll explain, because their husband has to file a financial affidavit as well, and we help them look at it. Let's compare the two. What's accurate? As part of that, sometimes, not every case, do we need financial consultants or accountants, forensic accountants, but sometimes we do. If we do, that's who we will recommend and bring in. That can really help women feel so much stronger about their situation and maybe what they're going to do after the divorce with their investments and what that retirement looks like, their portion of, and have an understanding and begin to create a plan for their future.
Julie Morgan:
All right. You mentioned forensic accountant. That could be a show in itself because that sounds so interesting.
Heather Quick:
Very much so. It is. There's a lot of areas where these accountants who not only have the knowledge, but they're experienced in family law and in testifying. So, there's more to it. It's not just knowing accounting. It's also having an understanding of how they can help in your case. Sometimes we use them for alimony purposes. A lot of the times we use them for business valuations. But then also what, out of the money that's there and what will be yours, what income will it provide you?
Julie Morgan:
Ah, that's interesting. Is that because, and I know I'm going off on something different, but is that because it's possible that... Because when you think of forensic accounting, you think of, "Somebody tried to hide something from me, so then I need that person to go find it."
Heather Quick:
Yes. I think that is what most people think of initially. Sometimes that's helpful for their expertise in that. But a lot of times we are employing those forensic accountants as experts in the case and nothing's been hidden. Well, that we're aware of. I mean, and they'll find it if, in fact, that's needed.
Julie Morgan:
Oh, okay. Yeah, I like that. I want to hear more about that. But you know what? We're going to stay on topic today. So, okay. Whenever someone walks in the door at Florida Women's Law Group, I like the way that you've said so many times that you are their advocate. And that's important for them to understand that.
Heather Quick:
Yes, that we are not only on their side, but going to really advocate for them to get the best settlement possible if we're able to settle, advocate for them in trial, of course, and just with the other side, so that we truly have their best interests at heart. That's our job and we take that very seriously.
Julie Morgan:
And trust that you have that. To me, that was the operative word in that sentence that you just said, the trust that you need to have or that they need to have in their attorneys.
Heather Quick:
Yes, and that goes both ways. It's very important. So often we've heard in the past where somebody comes to us and they have an attorney, but they don't trust them anymore. When that breaks down, that makes it difficult for an attorney to advocate on your behalf. But then also they could be doing a great job, but if you've lost that confidence and that trust it's very difficult to understand or believe I'm in the right spot. So, it is an important thing. That's something that I can't really quantify except to say, it's important.
You need to be on the same page as your attorney. Your attorney needs to be on the same page as you. Many times that breaks down for some reason, and we work hard to not let that happen certainly. But I mean, it's important. It is, I would say, essential to your representation. Just like when you hire any professional. If you look at professional services as far as doctors, accountants, anyone, you have to have this level of trust that they are on my side, they've heard me, and we are going in the same direction.
Julie Morgan:
Yeah, that is important. So, I can imagine that when they come in, you ask a lot of questions, but how do those questions help you move forward with the case?
Heather Quick:
Well, if we know where you want to be or what's important to you in regards to your future and your children and your finances, then we have a direction. If we don't ask you these questions, we can't understand where you ultimately want to be. Therefore, how can we develop a strategy, a roadmap, to get you there? That is why we ask a lot of questions, maybe more so than others, because we do want to know and help you begin to think about it. You might not know the first day, but these are going to be conversations that will continue on during the representation so that we're able to navigate in the right direction.
Julie Morgan:
Let me ask you this, and I don't know if I've ever asked you this before, but when you ask the questions do they sometimes feel like, "Oh. Well, that's invasive"?
Heather Quick:
I don't think so because this is a pretty... I don't know if I would word it, but it is. This is an invasive process. We're talking about a lot of things. This is your life. Very personal discussions occur in attorney's offices, particularly in this office of family law. I mean, we have some pretty open questions. We're really trying to understand what is important to them.
Julie Morgan:
Yeah. It gets really deep, right?
Heather Quick:
It does. It does.
Julie Morgan:
Yeah. Yeah. So, talk to me about some of the people on your staff that can really help the clients through their entire process.
Heather Quick:
Well, of course we have our attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, which are amazing. They're very communicative with our clients and work to provide a lot of education, direction and strategy with them. We also have a client liaison that really does work sometimes just to be an ear for our clients, that they just need to talk to somebody but it's not a legal question. Not that our attorneys don't spend that time with them or those kinds of conversations sometimes, but it's nice to know there's an additional person on our staff. She takes calls on the weekend, sometimes after hours, when maybe the emotionality of things are getting to you and you need to talk to somebody and then she's there. She doesn't answer legal questions and certainly can make sure that the attorneys follow up, but it's just this extra layer for our clients for when they need it.
Julie Morgan:
Tell me this. Okay, would your conversations or a client's conversations with her also be personal or what's the word I'm looking for?
Heather Quick:
Confidential.
Julie Morgan:
Confidential.
Heather Quick:
Yes.
Julie Morgan:
That one. That one.Yeah. It's confidential for her as well?
Heather Quick:
Oh, absolutely. Everyone on our staff. Everything that occurs in this office between any member of the staff and a client is completely confidential.
Julie Morgan:
Okay. I didn't realize that. That's good. But it kind of baffles me because I'm thinking, "If she's not an attorney, I feel like the client, they probably don't realize that it's also confidential." Or do you tell them that?
Heather Quick:
No. Well, we do tell them. We do, just so that they understand. And confidential, I will tell you from outside of the office, because it's very important that our client liaison is able to report to the attorneys, I spoke with our client Jane Doe today, and these are some issues she's having. Maybe it's issues with the attorney. That helps to have somebody that can recognize that there was a breakdown in communication, or they misunderstood something. Lots of things can happen, of course. They bridge the gap between you and the attorney when necessary. Not everybody has as much need for that. Sometimes it's more in the beginning of the case when there's a little bit more fear going on with our clients, a little bit more of uncertainty.
Julie Morgan:
Okay. All right. That makes sense. Now, after you've done a lot of empowering, again, that's that word that I can't say, but that's all right, I'm going to get through it, so you've done so much of that, helping them regain their strength and helping them find themselves. But the final decision, it really comes from them. You're not making any decisions for them, right?
Heather Quick:
Correct. At the end of the day. Now, there may come a time where the decision is going to be made by a judge. But up until then, the strategy, we advise them on different things. Now of course, we are. We're going to be with them through that, give them the options, and then they're going to help decide which path we go. But yeah, I mean, that's why all this talk about empowerment and helping them win at life because they have to make some decisions that they had not maybe made, well, definitely not made, before.
Throughout this entire time, it is really helping them to get used to making decisions that ultimately they have to make because they have to live with that settlement. Even if we say, this is a great deal. We believe this is a really good offer, and if they don't, they have to live with that decision and now it's going to go to a judge. It's important that we're helping them along the way so that they can feel empowered and have received some education and understanding of the process so they're making better decisions is, of course, our hope and goal.
Julie Morgan:
Heather, we've come to the end of the show. Is there anything else you want to add on this topic?
Heather Quick:
I don't know. We've covered it pretty well. I think that mainly our goal, our desire is to help women through this process and to end up on the end of it stronger and wiser, and to feel as though they have won what they wanted to so that they can then keep going forward and win at life. And if anybody is thinking about this process or knows somebody who is going through a divorce, I definitely encourage them to not only listen, but reach out to our office because we are here to help them.
Julie Morgan:
And that's where that other website comes in that I mentioned earlier. Oh, I tell you.
Heather Quick:
That is right. That is right. They can reach us at Florida Women's Law Group and of course listen to our podcast on Women Winning Divorce.
Julie Morgan:
Thank you so much, Heather. We are a team. It was so nice to see you again today.
Heather Quick:
Thank you, Julie. As always, a pleasure to be with you.
Julie Morgan:
Thank you for listening to Women Winning Divorce. We hope you found information to help you navigate your divorce. If you like our show, please take the time to subscribe and provide a five star review. If you need more information, please visit our website at womenwinningdivorce.com, where you will find previous episodes and other helpful content. Join us next week as we continue our journey of Women Winning Divorce.