We recently connected with Alyssa J. Devine and have shared our conversation below.
Alyssa J., looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I created Purple Fox Legal as a reflection of my appreciation for entrepreneurship and passion for intellectual property. The name was created from my understanding of trademark law as well as my research on color psychology and marketing. I asked myself what looks good, sounds good, has an available domain name, has available social media handles, isn’t already being used, and would serve as a strong trademark on the trademark distinctiveness spectrum.
Eventually, I came up with Purple Fox Legal. Purple represents wisdom and creativity, both essential qualities of entrepreneurs Fox represents cleverness and also getting out of tricky situations, which is something attorneys often help their clients with.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I wanted a career that was intellectually stimulating. Law fit the bill because it touched every industry, solved complex issues, and created value for communities.
No one in my family was an attorney or worked in the legal field. Although my cousin is currently pursuing her JD at Indiana University. As a first-generation attorney, I take pride in knowing that my success is a result of my perseverance and passion for learning.
I earned my J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Indiana University. Pursuing a dual degree granted me the opportunity to perfect my time-management skills as well as learn from and work collaboratively with talented thought leaders.
During law school, I participated in law review, competed in national moot court competitions, and was privileged to have the opportunity to intern with four judges at the state and federal levels. I also made time to volunteer for community legal projects and was awarded the Norman Lefstein Award of Excellence for volunteering hundreds of pro bono hours during my law school career. In addition to these experiences, I gained valuable insight while working at a renowned intellectual property management company protecting deceased celebrities’ brands.
As an MBA Candidate, I participated in the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Discovery, Innovation, and Ventures Enterprise (DIVE) as a Student Consultant. My DIVE project tasked me with creating a commercialization strategy for a first-of-its-kind healthcare technology application developed by a team of university researchers. This project gave me hands-on experience in market research, business planning, different ways to generate revenue, and intellectual property protection strategies. My MBA education has served as a valuable complement to my legal education and I believe I received the best of both worlds in the Indiana University JD/MBA Program because I learned from multiple perspectives. All of these experiences solidified my passion for entrepreneurship.
During my academic career, I fell in love with intellectual property law and it became my professional passion. I recognized that, collectively, my interests best served the entertainment industry. However, I knew from my first year of law school that if I chose to pursue this path, I would need to move to a city that served as a major entertainment industry hub. I knew I needed to be where my potential clients lived. Because of this, I chose to start my legal career in Nashville, Tennessee, where my focus is on serving passionate entrepreneurs in the music business and other industries.
Purple Fox Legal offers creatives and entrepreneurs customized business and legal solutions, including contract drafting, intellectual property protection, business plan development, process optimization, and strategy execution to increase business value. We are diligent about responding to messages promptly and educating clients by simplifying complicated subjects. As a business owner, I also feel it is important to be transparent, and have published my pricing guide on the Purple Fox Legal website so potential clients don’t have to be afraid of the cost, which is the top concern for most legal consumers.
Viewing issues from multiple perspectives, Purple Fox Legal works with clients to add value and create strategic legal solutions that do not compromise their business values. We educate others about the law to inspire appreciation for the value and beauty of intellectual property and how to use legal principles to grow businesses.
One of my most important principles is that contracts shouldn’t use outdated language. If a client doesn’t understand a contract I wrote for them, then I have more revisions to make. The purpose of a contract is to document a business arrangement that all parties understand and agree to. If the contract is difficult to read in terms of the language used or is drafted with a poor document design format, then that contract needs more work. Just because something is “standard” doesn’t mean it’s good. I also emphasize intellectual property because it seems to be a topic that is often overlooked even when it directly applies to a specific situation.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The pandemic forced me into becoming an entrepreneur, but it seems to have been a blessing in disguise. However, starting a new business during the pandemic came with many challenges. I had to spend many hours researching options and the areas of my business I needed to prioritize. One of the things I was adamant about was offering a self-scheduling feature on my website. As a consumer, a self-scheduling feature is very appealing to me because I am a night owl. I wanted to offer convenience to my potential clients-convenience they probably struggle to find elsewhere.
One of the most difficult aspects of starting Purple Fox Legal was entering a market I wasn’t familiar with. I am from Indiana and had not spent a significant amount of time in Tennessee before starting my business. I was careful and intentional about who I was going to outsource work to. For example, I interviewed between 5-8 different marketing firms before choosing one to develop the Purple Fox Legal website. Another challenge was finding a physical space I could work in. I intentionally chose a locally-owned coworking space and was pleasantly surprised with everything it had to offer. I have also been fortunate enough to grow alongside the coworking space’s community of like-minded women.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
If not for my perseverance, I likely would not have even gone to law school let alone become a practicing attorney. When I enrolled in law school, I knew I was not signing up for a vacation. It was hard, but rewarding, work. It is not a matter of if, but when, life throws unexpected twists. I cannot control many things, but focusing on the things within my control and moving forward with that mindset has proven to be an extremely useful skill.
Being an active listener and knowing how to get the information you need from clients with different personalities can be difficult. Reading body language is part of this process, but the more an attorney gets to know their clients, the easier the attorney can build rapport and to communicate with them.
Humility is another quality that has been instrumental in my success. There are far too many stereotypical attorneys that talk down to their clients or bully others. The practice of law is not about arguing. It’s about persuading. You cannot persuade someone you are arguing with. It doesn’t matter whether you are communicating with a client, a judge, or opposing counsel. Arguing is not the same as persuading and attorneys who argue, rather than persuade, do their clients a disservice.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://purplefoxlegal.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purple_fox_legal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purplefoxlegal
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/purplefoxlegal/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/purplefoxlegal
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@purplefoxlegal
- Other: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Purple+Fox+Legal/@36.1528781,-86.8318584,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xdf172d0adde14153?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjl6NGb57TzAhWDPM0KHQBlCmsQ_BJ6BAhiEAU
Image Credits
Amy Allmand Photography