Page 39 - Miami Vol 7 No 2
P. 39

MIRANDA
LUNDEEN
SOTO
The Power of One
AALM: What accomplishment are you most proud of achieving?
Soto: Without question, becoming board certi ed in civil trials was one of my proudest professional mo- ments. In Florida, there are approximately 1,000 lawyers who are board certi ed in civil trials. Of the 1,000 law- yers, there are approximately 60 women lawyers.
AALM: What do you  nd rewarding about being an attorney? What do you  nding challenging about your practice and how do you overcome those challenges?
Soto: I truly enjoy mentoring younger lawyers and learning from them in the process, but unfortunately mentoring can be time consuming. I  nd that time man- agement is incredibly challenging especially in a pro- fession where every minute counts. One of the things I have in my o ce is a large, framed sign that reads 1440. I got this from Kevin Kruse’s book, “15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management.” It’s a constant reminder to me and anyone that stops by my o ce that you only 1,440 minutes in each day, so it’s imperative to make every minute count!
AALM: What case most de ned or rede ned your practice?
Soto: In 2011, a lawyer in California that I met at a conference recommended me to Shell Oil to inter- view for a special trial counsel position for one of the largest franchisee/franchisor cases in the history of Shell Oil. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Angela and Aliette were both invited to interview for the same position. As it turns out, Angela had a conflict with the trial period. Shell Oil could not decide between Aliette and I, so Shell Oil hired us both. Aliette and I worked tirelessly on the case for eight months be- fore it settled in pretrial motions. After the case set- tled, Aliette recommended me to a client to handle a large, legal malpractice trial. Altria (Philip Morris) sent a representative to evaluate me during the legal malpractice trial and I was ultimately approved to try tobacco cases. From the Shell Oil case, I ended up try- ing six Engle tobacco trials and two legal malpractice cases in four years!
I call this “the power of one.” Never underestimate the power of one simple act of kindness. One recom- mendation can change the entire trajectory of a per- son’s career.
AALM: How do you personally try to help women fol- lowing in your career path?
Soto: Earlier this year before I made the move to Shutts, I was honored to be the recipient of the Dade County Bar Association’s Women of Distinction Legal Maverick Award. In what would turn out to be a very prophetic set of circumstances, the award was presented to me by my now colleague and partner Angela de Ces- pedes. I sat in the audience along with several hundred South Florida lawyers and judges and listened to Angela speak about my achievements and how inspired she was by all I had been able to achieve thus far (alongside my youngest daughter who had secretly requested she be al- lowed to be on stage and say a couple words as well), it was never more clear to me that having role models and people you respect around you is critical to achieving success in all aspects of life. Other women, other law- yers, students, and young girls like my daughter are all watching what my colleagues and I do, even when we are not consciously aware of it – they are following our examples.
AALM: How are you involved in the legal community and the local community?
Soto: I am an active member of the Miami chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates; the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel; the board of directors for the Dade County Bar Association; the board of coun- selors for Drake Law School; and a grievance committee member for the Florida Bar.
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