Justice Law Collaborative Celebrates Three Years of Compassionate Advocacy

Attorneys Paula Bliss and Kim Dougherty met for lunch before the holidays in 2020 – during the depths of the global pandemic – and decided to start a new law firm. At the time, both Paula and Kim managed teams of lawyers at their respective firms but were frustrated by the lack of autonomy they had in litigating the cases they believed in. Paula said, “Let’s start a firm, follow the path we’ve been talking about for years, and create our own future.”

On March 1, 2021, Paula and Kim founded Justice Law Collaborative, and several clients followed them to the new firm. When colleagues learned the two long-time friends had partnered, referrals began flowing in. Many of those referral cases were on behalf of women and children who were survivors of sexual assault. Kim says, “Having our own firm means we can represent survivors in a way that is trauma-informed and compassionate, and that puts their needs first.” For Paula, compassionate advocacy means, “making sure that those who don’t think they have a voice are heard.”

After three years, Paula and Kim are proud of the team they have created, and their success allows them to focus on cases that they are passionate about. Kim says “We are excited to be working on more social justice cases where we have an opportunity to make the world a better place.”