Why Lilac?
When we started on the path to open our own law firm, we knew we wanted to be authentic to ourselves and different than most lawyers out there. Both loving the color purple, we decided to name our firm the Purple Law Group. After a friend suggested selecting something more sophisticated, we selected Lilac. It seemed natural. Lilacs are the early flowers of spring, and they symbolize renewal.
We are not typical lawyers. We do not write in legalese for the sake of writing in legalese. We believe in plain English for important documents. We believe that everyone should have access to justice, and that high quality legal representation can be affordable. We also recognize that honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of our practice, and who we are as people. Thus, if we believe we can get your case resolved with just a few hours of work, that is what we will do.
We are lawyers who make house calls, and we will meet you in your home, if appropriate or requested. We may show up with non-traditional colored hair. We will meet in the evening or on a weekend if your schedule dictates. We promptly return phone calls and emails, which is one of the number of complaints about lawyers in general. We will put our heart and soul into resolving your problem.
Our Story
In May 1995, Lisa and Jennifer began working together in customer service for Working Assets Long Distance.
Around that same time, Lisa volunteered two days per week in the National Refugee Office for Amnesty International. Seeing the plight of asylum seekers, and dearth of attorneys to help them, she decided to apply for law school. Unbeknownst to her, Jennifer was also considering law school.
Fast forward to 2008, Lisa was in trial in San Francisco Superior Court and had lunch at Ananda Fuara when she ran into Jennifer. Jennifer was studying for the bar, having decided to attend law school after the troubling 2004 Presidential election. After their run-in, they remained in touch. Though both still progressive in their politics, they were far less idealistic as they had both lived some life since meeting in their 20s.
After several frustrating decisions from SCOTUS in 2014, including Hobby Lobby and McCullen v. Coakley, Lisa had an “aha” moment and realized she could no longer use her law degree in an unfulfilling way. She contacted Jennifer and together they started talking about what they could do to both find more fulfilling work. In relatively short order, they realized that meant opening their own practice and jumping into the deep end of the pool.
Older, wiser, and more pragmatic but still firmly progressive, Jennifer and Lisa ultimately want to heal the world by getting everyone to hold hands. Think “Hands Across America,” and then think Lisa and Jennifer.
While many attorneys focus on representing only one side of the equation, we believe that facts and circumstances dictate the needs of justice. This means that we will represent a landlord in some cases and a tenant in others.