Mirna Grande

“Be present and be available for the people that you love and care about.”

(Excerpt from an interview with Cynthia Grande, Founding Attorney of The Grande Law Firm, Public Speaker, Business Owner, Leadership Consultant, Advocate for Immigrant Families)
California, USA

My mom, Mirna Grande, is a bright light of possibility. She was born in El Salvador and came from a home with very little resources. It was really tough for her growing up. Her mom was a single mom raising three daughters, and she had to learn a lot fast as the oldest daughter to take on big responsibilities at a young age. She came to the United States in her late teens (or maybe early 20s) to pursue a better life for herself and her family and that's what she's been able to accomplish. She's just been an extraordinary role model for me, for our family and for the people that know her. And in her journey, what I truly admire (and what I believe other people say about her as well) is that she lives her life with a lot of generosity and love for the people in her life, and she's incredibly hardworking.

My mom being a great role model of hard work, grace, and power influenced me to approach life the same way. I’m proud that I am lawyer and that I’ve been able to pursue a career that I've wanted since I was a child. I'm proud of the relationships I have with my loved ones. I have very fulfilling, happy relationships with my husband, with my parents, my siblings, my in-laws and I have an amazing group of friends and community around me. It's incredible to have those people that you can really count on and have them support you while you support them. And I’m also proud that I had the courage to start and build my own business. I was 27 years old when I decided to start my law firm and only been practicing for about two years. I just jumped in and did whatever I needed to serve our clients and grow a company. I am proud to have team members, employees that really enjoy what they do and are fulfilled by the work that they do at The Grande Law Firm.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my mom is to “be present and available for the people that you love and care about”. She is truly a demonstration of this. She worked every day while I was in school, and somehow she managed to always be there to pick me up, available to take me to whatever extracurricular activities I had. She was always there to support me with whatever I needed. In looking back, I see how much work she had to do for me, my dad, and I have two siblings from my dad side so she was a step mom to them too. Mom just did everything with so much love and grace. And I think that has really taught me the value of showing up for people in my life and being present during the great moments and the challenging moments as well.

This is very evident in the culture of our law firm. I think it’s one of the things that makes our law firm stand out, at least from what I gathered from our clients. They tell us that when they talk with any person on our team, they really feel valued, seen, and heard and that there's someone who cares, and make them feel they matter. And that’s a reflection of what I learned from my mom, and it’s definitely how we’ve been operating our business/law firm. It’s probably for this reason that we have been recognized as a Rising Star for the National Latina Business Women's Association for Los Angeles and nominated as an inspirational leader for the LA Times business to business awards for entrepreneurship.

With my mom, she's the one that helps me with problem solving. She taught me that whatever problem there is, there's always a way to resolve it. She always helps me stay grounded. When I get really stressed out or anxious about how something can go, her presence definitely calms me down. I am fortunate to be running the company alongside her. As the owner of the company and one of the lawyers too, there's just different hats that I'm constantly having to take on and off. There are days that are crazy like when there's a trial coming up, a client interview, and administrative issues that need immediate attention. Sometimes it gets extremely overwhelming. And my mom would say “Let’s take a breath. Let’s find a solution. What’s the first thing that you can delegate? With the things you cannot delegate, what’s the thing that can get done most quickly.” We work through it piece by piece until we get everything taken care of. My mom definitely has a way of staying calm under really stressful circumstances.

It’s also very comforting to know that my mom is always just a phone call away. I'm grateful that I can call her when I’m feeling really stressed or upset about something. I usually request for 30 seconds or a minute to share upsets or frustrations with her. And the topic ranges from a client who does something that frustrates me or my friend says or does something I am reacting to or something happening out in the world that I just got reactive about. Mom’s really a great sounding board and she allows me to share and she listens without judging. This happens pretty regularly and each time our call ends, I am back feeling normal or empowered again.