We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ashly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Please tell us about starting your own firm and if you’d do anything different knowing what you know now.

In May of 2020, in the middle of a global pandemic, I did something that most people told me was crazy: I started aCAUSE Law from my dining-room table.

I had just moved to Florida in July 2019, knew almost no one, and had spent the prior months watching the world shut down. But something inside me had reached its limit. After years of working for firms whose priorities and values didn’t match mine, I was done building someone else’s vision. I wanted to create a place where clients didn’t feel intimidated or nickel-and-dimed; where they left our conversations feeling understood, confident, and taken care of. I wanted a law firm that was professional without being stuffy, efficient without being cold, and always human-first.

So I took the leap.

I decided from day one that we would only offer flat-fee pricing; no billable-hour surprises, no anxiety-inducing invoices. Transparency had to be non-negotiable. Next, I set out to find (and train) team members who actually liked people, who saw practicing law as a service instead of a status, and who believed that being kind and being excellent weren’t mutually exclusive.

That part was hard. I had no local network, no referral base, and the world was still figuring out Zoom. Marketing a brand-new law firm during lockdown felt impossible some days. Thankfully, I had a secret weapon: my husband, Joe. He’s a marketing genius (and yes, I’m biased, but I’m also right). Together we built a plan: one postcard, one Facebook post, one Google ad, one coffee chat, one referral at a time.
Slowly, then quickly, people found us. They told their friends. The friends told their friends. And aCAUSE Law started to grow.

We eventually trademarked the phrase that clients kept using to describe us: “Non-Stuffy Attorneys®.” It became more than a tagline; it became our promise.

Looking back, the only thing I would do differently is start sooner. I spent too many years worrying about failing on my own when the truth is I would rather swing and miss doing work I love; work that makes me feel alive and actually helps people; than spend one more day grinding away at something that didn’t.

Five years later, aCAUSE Law isn’t just a dining-room-table dream anymore. It’s a team of remarkable people who show up every day determined to make the legal process easier, friendlier, and more human. And every time a client says, “I’ve never had a lawyer explain things this way before” or “I actually felt comfortable calling my attorney,” I’m reminded why we started in the first place.

We’re still growing, still learning, and still refusing to be stuffy.

And we’re just getting started.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It all started with a conversation with my mom. She looked at me one day and said, “You’ve always been the kid who could talk anybody into (or out of) anything, who never let a bully get away with picking on someone smaller, and who would stand in the gap for friends who couldn’t fight their own battles. You should be a lawyer.”

She was right.

I went to law school not because I dreamed of courtrooms and gavels, but because I saw the law as the ultimate tool for protecting people and fixing things that are unfairly broken. Years later, that’s still exactly what gets me out of bed in the morning.

At aCAUSE Law, we focus on estate planning, probate, elder law, and business law because these are the areas where regular people—families, retirees, entrepreneurs, caregivers—most often feel trapped, confused, or taken advantage of. The legal system is full of hidden traps and fine print deliberately designed to trip people up. My favorite part of this job is walking alongside someone who feels overwhelmed, translating the legalese into plain English, and then handing them back control over their money, their business, their future, and their legacy.

Every day we get to solve real problems for real people:
• Keeping a family’s inheritance out of probate hell after they’ve already lost a loved one
• Protecting an elderly parent from financial predators
• Helping a small business owner finally sleep at night knowing their company (and their family) are safe no matter what happens
• Turning years of frustration and dead-end advice into a plan that actually works

What makes me proudest isn’t anything with my name on it—it’s my team. I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with brilliant, big-hearted people who genuinely want to help. We think outside the box, but always inside the rules, and we refuse to give clients cookie-cutter answers when a creative, practical solution is possible. Time and again clients tell us, “No one has ever explained this so clearly,” or “You fixed something three other lawyers told me was impossible.”

Nothing makes me happier than when a client calls or emails to rave about one of my team members. That’s when I know we’ve built something special. We joke that we’re a squad of superheroes in business casual, swooping in to remove the legal landmines from people’s paths so they can live their lives (and one day leave this world) with peace, dignity, and zero unnecessary stress.

My mom was right about law being the perfect fit for me. But the real magic happens when you get to practice it with a team that cares as much as you do—and with clients who let you fight for them every day. That’s not just a career. That’s a calling. And I’m grateful for it every single day.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think the biggest factor in building my reputation has been treating clients like real people, not just file numbers. From day one, I’ve made it a point to be radically open and honest—even when the news isn’t good. Clients always hear the truth from me first, not from the other side or a Google search at 2 a.m.

If a client is upset, they deal directly with me, not a paralegal or an assistant. That availability builds enormous trust. When I’ve dropped the ball—and it has happened—I own it immediately, apologize sincerely, and fix it at my expense if needed. People remember that level of accountability far more than they remember perfection.

Finally, I spend a lot of time educating people, both my own clients and the public. In the office, I break down complicated legal concepts into plain English and never make anyone feel stupid for asking a “basic” question.

Outside the office, I do the same thing on YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms—short, no-jargon videos that explain things like “What is a Lady Bird Deed” or “How to qualify for Florida MediCaid.” Those videos have reached hundreds of thousands of people in our community, and a surprising number of my best clients first found me because a 60-second TikTok answered a question their last lawyer brushed off.

At the end of the day, people don’t just want a good lawyer—they want someone they trust, who respects them, and who makes the law feel approachable. That combination of honesty, accessibility, accountability, and education is what I believe has set me apart and built the reputation I have today.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’d love to share a real turning-point moment in my career.

In 2019, my family and I made the somewhat sudden decision to leave California and relocate to Florida. It wasn’t part of any long-term business plan; it was a deeply personal choice, primarily to be closer to extended family and to raise our daughter in a different environment. But professionally, it felt like hitting the reset button at the worst possible time.

I had a cushy job as an in-house counsel in California, and moving meant taking (and passing) yet another Bar exam. Florida law is dramatically different from California law in many areas, and, in some cases, the rules are almost the polar opposite. On top of that, I made the move without a job lined up, which was terrifying. We just knew it was the right thing for our family, so we leapt.

For three months, I studied eight hours a day, seven days a week, while helping my then eight-year-old daughter settle into a new state, school, and friends. I passed the Bar on the first try, which felt like a huge win… until I started looking at the Florida market for the same kind of work I’d been doing. The salary ranges were substantially lower, some 40-50% less than what I’d been earning in California. That was a gut punch.

A close friend casually mentioned, “Why don’t you just start your own practice?” Honestly, starting my own firm had literally never crossed my mind; I’d always worked for established practices. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea grew on me. I realized I finally had the chance to build something exactly the way I wanted: client-focused, efficient, and without the bureaucracy I’d grown frustrated with in larger firms and companies.
So that’s exactly what I did. I founded atCAUSE Law from scratch, starting with one client, then two, then five. We bootstrapped everything, kept overhead low, and focused obsessively on delivering results and exceptional service. Today, the firm is thriving, we’ve built an incredible team, and I can say without hesitation that I’m prouder of what we’ve created on our own than anything I accomplished working for someone else.

That move to Florida forced a pivot I never would have chosen on my own, but it turned out to be the best professional decision I’ve ever made. Sometimes the biggest pivots come disguised as the scariest disruptions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atcauselaw.com
• Instagram: thenonstuffyattorney
• Youtube: atCAUSE Law Office
• Other: TikTok: thenonstuffyattorney