Dozen: Griffin makes helping women her law
By:
|
The Daily Progress
Published: December 27, 2011
Published: December 27, 2011
When Yvonne Griffin is not fighting for her
clients in the courtroom, she is fighting to empower other women in the
legal profession.
“She’s done a lot for the field of law in Virginia.
She’s done a lot for women,” said Mike Griffin, Griffin’s husband of 31
years.
Yvonne Griffin was made a partner at Tucker Griffin Barnes, P.C. in 1997. Mike Griffin works as the firm’s business manager.
“She’s really been a great mentor to the women
coming through the firm. She always takes the young attorneys under her
wing,” he said.
Of the seven partners at Tucker Griffin Barnes, only
one, founding partner Bill Tucker, is male. Tucker said this fact is
due largely to Griffin’s influence.
Together, he and Griffin founded the Women’s Legal
Group at their firm, which provides legal counsel “from a woman’s point
of view.”
“A woman lawyer sometimes has a different
perspective,” Tucker said. “We [men] don’t have feelings, but a woman
does. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing in the law.”
Sometimes, Griffin noted, clients are drawn to Tucker Griffin Barnes because they are seeking a female attorney.
“When you run your own business, you are constantly
looking for ways to differentiate yourself,” Griffin said. “I’ve had men
who’ve hired me who have said ‘women are meaner than men,’” she added.
Griffin is known to be an “aggressive advocate” for
her clients, Lynn Bradley, another partner at Tucker Griffin Barnes,
said, but outside of the courtroom she said Griffin is very
even-tempered and approachable.
“She’s never too busy to answer a question. I think
everyone feels comfortable knocking on her door,” Bradley said. “I think
she’s a really good mentor for attorneys whether they are male or
female.”
Griffin is active in legal organizations that serve
men and women alike. She serves on the governing board for the Virginia
Trial Lawyers. In the past she has been a member of the American Bar
Association, the Thomas Jefferson Inn of Courts and the Association of
Trial Lawyers of America.
Though Griffin is a successful full-time lawyer, it is hard to find a more dedicated wife and mother.
Even with a lengthy list of college degrees,
personal achievements and community involvement, she lists her marriage
and son, Sam, 20, as her proudest accomplishments.
Perhaps that is why Griffin is such a strong
advocate for other women who are juggling their professional lives with
their responsibilities at home.
Together with Tucker, Griffin started the Bring Your Babies to Work program at their firm nearly two decades ago.
After one of Tucker’s paralegals became pregnant,
the firm was faced with the possibility of losing a strong member of
their legal team.
“We decided we would rather have her at 80 percent
capacity than at zero percent capacity,” Yvonne Griffin explained, and
so the firm began to allow mothers to bring their infants to work with
them every day, rather than spending money on costly child care in the
first weeks of life.
This allows mothers to spend more time with their
children, but also brings them back into the workforce sooner after
giving birth, even if they may be a bit distracted.
“It’s important for babies and mamas to bond,” Griffin said. “It’s been a good thing all the way around.”
Though Griffin did not enact this company policy
single-handedly, she was instrumental in making it “more than words on a
page,” Bradley said. She added that Griffin went out of her way to make
women feel comfortable with the unusual policy, and encouraged them to
bring their children to work.
When Bradley was an associate with Tucker Griffin
Barnes she became pregnant with her daughter. The firm allowed her to
work part-time — as little as two days per week — so that she could
spend more time with her child.
“As a lawyer, that’s practically unheard of,” she
said. As her daughter got older, Bradley added more and more time to her
workload before coming back full-time after her daughter started
kindergarten.
“They didn’t penalize me in any way when I came
back,” she said. In fact, the firm welcomed Bradley as a partner just
one year later.
Griffin said she knew she wanted to be a lawyer as
early as the fifth grade, and has been practicing law since graduating
from the College of William & Mary’s law school in 1988. For the
past 18 years, she has served exclusively as a personal injury lawyer.
Her caseload deals with car wrecks, wrongful death and medical
malpractice.
“I enjoy helping people who need help,” she said. “It’s one of the paramount reasons I’m a lawyer.”
Griffin’s caring and generous spirit is evident
outside of the office, as well. She is involved with the Blue Ridge
Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she served as
vice president from 2004 to 2005 and secretary in 2006.
“Being a part of the community where you practice is
also very important. I like doing things that make the community a
better place,” Griffin said.
Griffin’s husband noted her involvement with efforts such as the Toy Lift and Buford Middle School’s Rule of Law Day.
In 2000, Griffin and her law partners put on the area’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration.
“There just wasn’t another organization that would
or could take the necessary steps to make this important and historic
event happen,” Mike Griffin said, adding that Yvonne was involved in the
production of the fireworks show for several more years.
Despite all of her accomplishments, Griffin is
humble and grateful to her coworkers at Tucker Griffin Barnes for their
expertise and dedication to the legal field.
Yvonne T. Griffin
Tucker Griffin Barnes P.C.
Charlottesville, VA
434-973-7474
www.TGBLaw.com
Inquire@TGBLaw.com
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