Rosemary Attor has always been fascinated with the field of law. She admired lawyers as a young girl and would watch legal shows on TV all day long, sometimes even recording them. It was this passion that led to her pursuing a law career. Attor attended The College of New Jersey for her undergraduate studies before going to law school at Seton Hall University, where she attained top honors. It wasn’t long until this bright student found herself hired by one of the biggest firms in NYC, and she went on to shine there as well.
In the two years that she worked as a legal associate, Attor was named an associate of the year. She then leveraged this success to start her law firm, and it has been a huge success in the New Jersey area. Attor handles everything from family law, personal law to real estate law. Besides work, Attor is a philanthropist and has taken part in multiple charities aimed at helping needy children all across New Jersey.
What is Attor Law all about?
Attor Law is a full-service law office with 40+ lawyers and staff on call 24/7. We have the experience to handle any case, no matter how big or small it may be. With offices in New Jersey (Hoboken), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia heartland), and Washington DC metropolitan area, we’re always available when you need us most. Our specialty is in personal law, family law, and real estate law.
Tell us a bit about your background and how you started your company?
Growing up, I always dreamed of being a lawyer. And after spending some time working as an associate at one top law firm, I got a strong desire to create my own company. Setting up shop wasn’t easy, and it was tough at first getting people to trust me. However, after handling the first few cases with a high degree of success, clients started coming in with even bigger cases and real estate transactions. The rest, as they say, is history.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
- First, you need strong leadership skills to succeed as an entrepreneur. When you lead a team, the tone of your voice should showcase leadership skills and indicate understanding for those following. It’s essential not to use power because someone is beneath us in rank; daily, we must earn our stripes with hard work and dedication.
- A successful entrepreneur also needs to have strong communication skills. To be a successful lawyer, one must have excellent communication skills. These are needed because they allow people from all walks of life an opportunity to present their issues in the best way possible, which in turn means the lawyer can handle the case in the best way possible. It’s a skill that I believe applies to all entrepreneurs.
- Last but not least, an entrepreneur should be open-minded and always ready to learn. The life of an entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. But it’s not just the occasional rough patch that can make or break your company—it will also depend on how well you handle these fluctuations in business success. You need both a strong mental capacity for learning, as well as motivation to keep trying even when things don’t go according to plan
What are your plans for the future, and how do you plan to grow this company?
No one truly knows what the future hold. However, I would like to continue helping my clients win cases. By delivering on what the clients want. I believe the business will only get bigger over time. It’s pretty much how the business world works. You provide services, and if customers love them, you win more of them.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
My company was greatly affected by the lockdown, and I had no choice but to only deal with business that could be done online. This was tough on us as most of our business comes from face-to-face interactions.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
My law firm has invested heavily in customer support. Our employees are trained to be approachable and available to our clients, which is important because we know how crucial it can feel when you need help. To ensure that they give our company the best image, our customer service is among the best-paid staff at our office. This approach has made us a favorite with new clients over other law firms around.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
I have made many mistakes in my business, but the three below are the most memorable.
- The first one was trying to multitask as a way of cutting costs. Working alone was fine when I first started the company, but it became clear that there were too many things for one person to take care of after some time. It’s important not just in business decisions-sometimes; even small choices can feel overwhelming if you have no partner or assistants around.
- My other mistake was trying so hard to please clients even when I felt like things may not go their way. I learned that the best way to retain clients long-term is to always be forthright with them, regardless of their expectations.
- Last but not least, I made the mistake of investing so little in marketing. While trying to cut costs, I ended up losing on so many opportunities.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I am currently learning more about how to use Abacus NEXT. Abacus neXT is a great way to streamline a law firm’s operations. The customizable features make it one of the best software programs for law firms, and I intend to learn about it as much as I can.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
Everyone is a genius in hindsight, and it’s always easy to imagine how we would do things better if we went back in time. However, the perfect world does not exist and it is mistakes that make us who we are. That’s why I wouldn’t do anything differently if I were to go back in time and start my business again. Rather than spend time thinking about what I could have done right, I focus more on improving on where I am today.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
Stop thinking about it and take action. No one will know if you make a mistake or not because this is your time. Your life – live in the moment with no regrets whatsoever (and maybe some fantastic new adventures). It’s only by being bold enough to make moves that you can win as an entrepreneur. Simply put, entrepreneurship is all about taking risks. Without risks, you can’t achieve much.
What is your definition of success?
Success to me is pretty easy; it’s setting goals and meeting them. No matter how big or small a goal is, if I complete it, I am usually happy. This is something big for me because it keeps me going at all times.
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