Balancing Motherhood, Mental Health, and Business Growth in Family Law With Valerie Fenchel

Valerie Fenchel is the Founding Attorney and CEO of Fenchel Family Law, a San Francisco-based firm that helps clients navigate divorce, custody, and other complex family law matters. She advises clients, crafts strategies, and collaborates with therapists, actuaries, and forensic accountants to resolve disputes. Valerie also serves as the Secretary of the Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco and leads pro bono legal efforts for survivors of domestic abuse.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[02:56] Why Valerie Fenchel was drawn to rules and fairness from a young age, and how that shaped her path into law
[04:23] What Valerie learned from failing the bar exam on her first try, and how she bounced back
[06:38] How working at an electronic discovery company taught Valerie unexpected business skills and introduced her to early AI tools
[09:23] Key steps for launching and growing a family law firm from the ground up
[16:58] Strategies for scaling a remote law practice while balancing motherhood and mental health

In this episode…

Growing a thriving business while raising young children can feel like an impossible balancing act. Add the emotional weight of leading a law firm through a pandemic, and it becomes even more challenging. How can entrepreneurs protect their mental health while managing explosive growth and the demands of family life?

According to Valerie Fenchel, a seasoned family law entrepreneur, the key lies in embracing resilience and setting clear boundaries. She highlights how early career setbacks, such as failing the bar exam and navigating a male-dominated tech environment, built the grit needed to start her own practice. Launching a fully remote firm before the pandemic allowed her to adapt quickly when it hit and positioned her business for growth. Even while becoming a mother of two and facing the loss of key team members, she doubled her firm by focusing on high-caliber hires and prioritizing mental well-being. Her journey shows that sustainable success comes from aligning personal values with business strategy.

In this episode, John Corcoran sits down with Valerie Fenchel, Founding Attorney and CEO of Fenchel Family Law, to discuss balancing motherhood, mental health, and business growth. They explore how to recover from professional setbacks, strategies for scaling a remote law practice, and lessons learned from hiring senior-level attorneys. Valerie also shares insights on protecting mental health while leading through rapid change.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments

“I always thought I wanted to be a writer, so I was writing these little sample things to submit to publications.”
“I hired attorneys that had like 20, 30 years experience to work at my firm so that I felt like the most immature person in the room.”
“I never got angry or upset about it, I just said, okay, I’m gonna figure this out.”
“I ended up doubling my firm because I was so responsible where I found really, really high-caliber, incredible attorneys.”
“Mental health is this huge elephant in the room that no one really wants to talk about.”

Action Steps

Embrace setbacks as learning opportunities: Turning failures like an initial bar exam loss into lessons builds resilience and confidence.
Hire for experience and expertise: Bringing in senior-level talent raises service quality and strengthens the firm’s reputation from day one.
Prioritize mental health in business planning: Protecting emotional well-being prevents burnout and supports sustainable long-term growth.
Adapt operations for remote flexibility: Building a paperless and remote-ready firm enables continuity and rapid response to unexpected crises.
Align personal values with business strategy: Ensuring your company reflects your principles creates a stronger mission and lasting motivation.

Sponsor for this episode…

EO San Francisco

This episode is brought to you by EO San Francisco.

The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 14,000+ influential business owners with 198 chapters in 61 countries.

If you are the founder, co-founder, owner, or controlling shareholder of a company generating over $1 million a year in revenues, and want to connect with other like-minded successful entrepreneurs, EO is for you.

The EO San Francisco chapter enables leading entrepreneurs in the Bay area to learn, grow, and achieve greater success.

The EOSF chapter was founded in 1991, and today we have over 100 members in industries ranging from marketing to agriculture to tech and professional services.

To learn how it works, or to come do a test drive come join us at www.eonetwork.org/sanfrancisco/.

This episode is also brought to you by my company, Pacific Crest Group.

Pacific Crest Group provides outsourced CFO, Controller, and bookkeeping services. You can learn more about us at https://www.pcg-services.com/

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