Posted in: Public
It’s easy to identify a need in the community, but few rise to the challenge to fill the gap.
Tiffany Provence is one of the few.
For her efforts in creating the online support website and community My Legal BFF and giving back to the profession and the Charleston community, Tiffany was named the 2019 Solo and Small Firm Section Award recipient.
“I'm not aware of another attorney so willing to offer her time to assist others without opportunity to personally benefit,” said Summerville South Carolina attorney David Causey, who nominated Tiffany for the award and is her law partner. “My Legal BFF is an example of her leadership and altruistic actions that perfectly match this award.”
My Legal BFF started out online as a Facebook Community but has blossomed into much more.
“My Legal BFF was a concept that came to me after speaking with several women who seemed to be suffering in silence from the perils of practicing law as a female, mom, wife, daughter, caretaker, sister, friend,” Tiffany said in reference to the community’s origins. “The practice exhausts us emotionally and can often leave us feeling alone and afraid to admit any weaknesses. My hope was to connect 200-300 female lawyers to rally around each other. I never imagined it would grow to over 2,000 members in just a few months.”
Tiffany went above and beyond to fulfill My Legal BFF’s mission of supporting female lawyers by single-handedly seeking out and hiring a psychologist to teach a free substance abuse and mental health webinar on work-life balance related issues. She’s funding the webinar and other expenses of the group in order to support other female attorneys throughout the state. Her goal is to create a space where women feel comfortable letting their guard down.
“One of my male trial lawyer colleagues told me once I needed a wife, and I realized he was absolutely correct. I was trying to be everything to everyone, including my employees and clients, and burning myself out in the process. We’re just doing too much for too many and we need to be there to support one another when we inevitably run out of steam,” she continued, “I’m hopeful that My Legal BFF is a place we can just be there for one another.”
A partner at Provence Messervy in Summerville, Provence practices fiduciary and probate litigation as well as related wrongful death matters. She also loves to mediate. In addition, she serves as local Drug Court Judge, teaches over 40 hours of continuing legal education courses and volunteers at wills clinics, at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with the SC Supreme Court Mentoring Program, and on the SC Bar Pro Bono Board as First Circuit Representative.
Presented by the Solo and Small Firm Section Council, this annual award honors altruistic actions by a solo practitioner, small law firm, or single lawyer in a small law firm as demonstrated by recent service or outstanding leadership to the public or fellow lawyers. Read more about the award and past winners.