The Law Office of Shauna Hill in Las Vegas serves as a new powerhouse that provides solutions to legal issues in the domestic, social and criminal setting. Being a relatively smaller firm serves as an advantage to its customers as they assure in both doing and bringing complete justice to every client’s legal needs.
Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
The Law Office of Shauna Hill is a small law office handling cases in the areas of personal injury (car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, and dog bites), family law (divorce, custody and support), criminal defense, and civil litigation. We are located in Las Vegas, NV. Our goal is to provide our clients with honest, open, and dedicated legal support from beginning to end.
Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
I was raised in San Diego, CA where I attended law school at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. I am licensed to practice law in Nevada and New Mexico and have been practicing law since 1998. I began my attorney career as a prosecutor in New Mexico where I prosecuted a wide variety of cases and gained valuable trial experience. After leaving the district Attorney’s office, I joined forces with my husband and became his partner who is also an attorney. During this time, I mostly handled family law cases with a mixture of criminal defense and personal injury cases. After moving to Las Vegas in 2006, I was a stay at home mom, spending time with her two daughters. In January of 2010, I opened The Law Office of Shauna Hill.
What ignited the spark in you to start a new Business Venture?
Shauna opened her own office with the intention of providing personal, ethical representation. Shauna is the type of person who cares about her clients, and wants them to receive the best representation possible. Simply put, Shauna began her own practice because she believes she can provide the best legal service available.
How important have good employees been to your success?
Having good support staff is critical. You have to have trust worthy, dependable help to insure that clients are well taken care of.
What three pieces of advice would you give to college students who want to become entrepreneurs?
The advice I would give to college students would be to go for it. You cannot sit around and talk about what you want to do, at some point, you have to get off your behind and do it. Secondly, I would tell them to talk to others. See what works and what has not worked. Having experienced people to go to when you have questions is extremely helpful. The third thing is that you need to be honest. When you say you are going to do something, do it. Integrity goes a long way in everything you do.
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
If I had to start over again, I would focus on areas that I enjoy. I would find that one niche that excites me and drives me and I would put all my attention and focus into that area.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
The top three skills are drive, means, and dedication.
How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
You need to stick to an idea until you feel that it is time to evaluate where you are.
How many hours do you work a day on average?
The amount of hours I put in depends on the needs of the day. They can range from 7 to 12 hours.
How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Sometimes when you start a new business, it is stressful. You have to learn to put it into perspective and keep them as separate as possible.
What motivates you?
My children and happiness motivates me.
How do you generate new ideas?
I do not know how I generate ideas. Sometimes they come to me at the weirdest of times.
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ideals?
How do you define success?
I define success as happiness. If you are happy, then you are successful.
Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
In law, you usually do not have investors. There are ethical rules which regulate what you can and cannot do with all aspects of the legal field. So, most law offices have to have the capital to stay afloat until you start getting clients.
How do you build a successful customer base?
Building a successful customer base in the beginning is difficult for law offices. The only thing you can do is advertise. Once you get clients, word of mouth is the key to successful law office.
How did you decide on the location for your business?
We decided on location based upon office price, and distance to our house.
Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
The five key elements to starting and running a successful law office are: a)desire, b) dedication, c) commitment, d) integrity, and e) knowledge.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
My most satisfying moment in business has been, and is, the appreciation of satisfied clients.
What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
The biggest difference between working for yourself and working for someone else is the freedom. You have the freedom to work when you want and to pick and choose what you work on and who your clients are.
How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Today, we are using the internet to market our law office. We have created web sites that inform potential clients who we are and what we do.
In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
One word characterizing my life as an entrepreneur would be challenging.
What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
One of my biggest mistakes so far in my career has been not turning down cases that I know I should have turned down. I have to remind myself that I am in a business and that I have to think of paying my bills at the end of the day.
What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
In my free time, I spend as much time as possible with my daughters.
Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
I admire small offices that are able to compete with the big money firms. I admire firms and attorneys who have an impeccable reputation amongst their peers.
Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?
I see myself in 10 and 20 years being financially stable, being able to dedicate my time and efforts to my office and those who need my help.