It runs in the family—this idiom perfectly applies to Andrea Friedman, Managing Partner of Friedman & Friedman, PLLC.
Andrea’s mother, Sari Friedman, is a renowned attorney with over 40 years of experience whose law legacy Andrea is moving forward successfully while building her own—obtaining relevant skills and earning accolades to aptly adapt to the law methods that evolved in the last decades.
While her mother was a huge inspiration for Andrea, the journey itself was far from straightforward. It required perseverance, determination, and trust in herself—often during challenging times. Initially interested in other career opportunities, Andrea pursued law to positively impact society on a broader level, becoming one of the trailblazer women of the law industry.
Maintaining Positivity through Challenges
According to Andrea, the common character for overcoming any challenge or harnessing opportunities is rooted in self-confidence. With these traits, one can build a reliable support system and a network, impacting life for the better. Moreover, Andrea emphasizes that maintaining perspective, personal priorities, and boundaries are essential skills.
Over the years in her personal and professional life, Andrea has taken the best qualities of people she has met, interacted with, or observed. That also includes people outside the realm of law. To expand her leadership, she has learned from her own mistakes as well as from others while being self-reflective.
“Treating others how you would like to be treated” is a mantra that drives Andrea. As an employer, she recognizes that the employees spend a significant amount of time in the workplace and aims to make every second of it fulfilling. According to Andrea, cultivating an environment where opportunities are created is an ever-evolving process, at its core are respect, passion, and commitment.
“Sometimes opportunities have presented themselves, and even if I did not feel ready or it was not the right time, I pursued them anyway because of the possibility to develop something great.”
Empowering the People
Andrea is honest in her everyday approach. She has understood that being direct and honest reduces conflict and negativity, helping manage people’s expectations by fostering mutual respect. Innovation and Collaboration are the two pillars of a thriving environment. To cultivate such an environment, Friedman & Friedman, PLLC have an open-door policy.
As professionals working toward a common goal, Andrea tries to instill the importance of clients’ needs in every employee to achieve the best possible outcome. With this, each employee plays a role by being invested and involved in cultivating success.
Challenges are a part of any business. For Friedman & Friedman, a small business, the COVID-19 pandemic was a difficult period. Led by an overnight change of regulations, people were afraid and needed time to adapt to new lifestyles. Like other challenging situations, Friedman & Friedman overcame these changes by maintaining open and direct communication with all its employees.
“There are several different qualities we value in employees, including dedication, competency in this niche area of the law. It must always feel like a mutual, two-way relationship to succeed.”
Tech-Influence in the Legal Space
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, technological advancements have propelled the entire legal profession, especially the New York State Court system. The process evolved to Virtual court appearances, electronic filing, and storage of documents. While email became the primary form of communication, it also revealed the need to maintain boundaries.
AI has been making waves in various industries globally, and Andrea is curious to see how it fares in the legal industry and its communities. “It will never be able to replace an actual attorney to ensure the document is correct, but it certainly may help with automation and improve productivity,” says Andrea.
In an ongoing process, Friedman & Friedman is considering various platforms for better automation and functions to fulfill its needs. The firm believes the key is to find ways to be more user-friendly for clients. Cyber Security is always a crucial factor to the legal industry, and to manage it, the firm has security procedures to safeguard sensitive information.
Word for the Aspiring
“Every experienced Attorney whom you admire began their career at a beginning like you.”
It is a long road, and rather than worrying about the destination, try and enjoy the practice of law, says Andrea. It is so important to appreciate and celebrate wins. You will inevitably make mistakes, but you must learn from them.
Foreseeing an Optimistic Future
During her fifteen-year legal career, Andrea has witnessed the ease with which lawyers can access and transmit information which has grown significantly. She anticipates that this will only expand and the human need to maintain boundaries will continue to be vital. While technology is remarkable, it cannot replace human contact. As a result, creating in-person opportunities for clients will always need to remain a priority, especially in regard to the law industry.
