Attorney Melissa Doss never set out to only hire women at her private law practice. In fact, she never set out to hire anyone.
“These amazing women all fell into my lap at the perfect time and fit in with the culture I want to create,” Doss said. “I will saying having an all female staff has been amazing. We are truly all incredibly supportive of one another.”
She believes the strong support system is because of the culture she has created when she first started her practice, even when she had no employees.
“I don’t do drama, I tell it like it is and I like to have fun at work,” she said.
Doss’s firm started five years ago out of her home and then a rented space, a conference room in Covington. Fast forward to 2020, she now employs three other women and the firm has just moved into a larger space in Fort Mitchell (2216 Dixie Highway).
Doss said she enjoys working her own practice and hopes that she is “a light to my clients during some of their worst moments.”
“I know it’s a cliché to say I got into this profession to help people, but I really did,” she said. “Focusing my practice on family law (custody, divorce, adoptions, domestic violence, etc) allows me to feel like I can make a difference and really help someone start over when they are in a bad spot.”
Doss says she also loves being a mentor new attorneys.
Associate Attorney Anne Brockman has been with Doss for two years, especially appreciates this about Doss.
“Melissa took a chance on me by hiring me as a young attorney fresh out of law school,” Brockman said. “She has been such an outstanding mentor to me, and I continue to learn and grow alongside her each day at the office. She handles her cases with integrity and compassion, which is also evident in how she runs her business.”
Doss said she and her staff – two attorneys (who started with Doss as law clerks) and a paralegal – often talk about what I’s like being an all-woman firm.
“I wouldn’t say having an all female staff has changed how I operate my firm,” she said. “However, I will say some of our conversations are different because men aren’t around. I just had a baby last year and my staff gets the experience the joys of being around a breast-feeding working mom… pumping during staff meetings when I have no choice and all.”
Doss says she pinches herself every day because she gets to go into an office with “strong women who give me energy.”
She said her advice to a young woman wanting to get into the profession would be “come.”
“I would love to see more young women join the profession, “ she said. ”Thankfully more females are entering this profession, however, as a predominately male profession throughout history, we still have a ways to go. As a young female attorney, you need tough skin, mentors who will build you up when you have been knocked down and confidence in your abilities. Seasoned attorneys generally enjoy mentoring the younger generations. Do not be afraid to just ask.”
According to Doss, women make great attorneys, although she admits that view is “a little bias.”
“(Women) have the ability to be greatly empathetic while also putting our nose to the grindstone and working hard,” she said. “I will also say it’s possible to be a mom and to also be a busy attorney. While difficult to manage both some days, being a working mom has changed my perception on my practice. I try to be as efficient as possible when I am at work and I try to shut work down when I’m with my family.”
-Melissa Reinert, RCN contributor
Photo: Melissa Doss (provided)