For Women Who Are Unapologetically Ambitious and Fiercely Informed

 Back to school - while I welcome the quiet house, I hate the early morning alarm clock. I'm not a morning person. It's also a reminder that a woman’s work is never done. We’re expected to crush it at home, kill it at work, and still carry the fight for rights and legacies that should have been secured long ago. Few people embody that fight more than Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen who I interviewed recently on the podcast. She clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg - YES RBG!! -  on a landmark gender-equality case nonetheless. And today, she’s channeling that same fire into protecting women’s family legacies and co-founding ClutchKit, a company built to ensure women are never left unprepared. Lisa’s story is a battle cry: progress isn’t handed down, it’s protected and preserved by those that come next. And then pushed forward by women like you who refuse to play small. On Takin’ Care of Lady Business®, she shows us what it really looks like to stay in the fight and win.

With Love & Lady Business,
JJ

In today’s edition:
— A Life in The Fight for Women with Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen
— Executive Coach, Attorney, Or Both?
— She Didn’t Get The Job - So She Bought The Company

“One thing Justice Ginsburg taught me is that you stand up and fight for what you believe, but you try to do it in a way that brings others along”

Key Takeaways:
 — Why reproductive freedom is the foundation of women’s equality
— How women’s voices transform business, policy, and culture
— What she learned working alongside Justice Ginsburg
— The red thread that connects women’s rights, business strategy, and leadership
— How ClutchKit is shifting access to reproductive health

Executive Coach, Attorney, Or Both?

I had a client say to me while negotiating her severance deal "I know you aren't my therapist but..." and proceeded to vent about an issue she has at her company.  I responded, "I have news for you - while I am representing you, not only am I your lawyer, I am your therapist, your executive coach and your part time bestie" because true representation really takes listening and understanding what a client wants and needs.  Which brings me to what is the real difference between an executive coach and an attorney:  

1. Growth vs. Protection
An executive coach can role-play with you before a big board presentation so you show up confident, calm, and commanding. An attorney, on the other hand, will tear apart the fine print in your board agreement so you don’t accidentally give away your voting rights or get boxed out of decisions.

2. Inspiration vs. Negotiation
A coach can help you practice asking for a raise without apologizing. But only an attorney can sit across from your employer and negotiate your employment contract, secure that extra $100K in base salary, and make sure your stock options actually vest if the company sells. A pep talk can get you in the door; a lawyer makes sure the deal is worth walking through it.

3. Personal Power vs. Legal Power
A coach might help you reframe being called “too aggressive” as a strength. An attorney will make sure your severance agreement has non-disparagement clauses that stop anyone from damaging your reputation when you walk away. Coaches protect your mindset. Lawyers protect your legacy, your paycheck, and your freedom to move forward.

Ideally, you want both. Good news, we provide both here at The Justice Dept!  Reach out and let us know how we can help.

She Didn’t Get the Job - So She Bought the Company

Built Applebee's, told she'd be CEO, when time came, her boss said no. So she went to IHOP and bought Applebees. Guess what she did next. It's not often women get the last word so when I saw this story of Julia Stewart getting hers, I knew it had to be in this newsletter.   

Lady Bits:

🎙️: "I didn't get this far just to buy another Celine Bag" 

👀: @arikraemerhq Using makeup metaphors the way men use sports metaphors at work. If I hear one more time - “skate to the puck”  

👏: Daniella Pierson started The Newsette using the “think like a man” archetype and made $220M - read how and what she learned 

🎧: If you have a tween - Manchild - Sabrina Carpenter 

😳: Epstein victims have to resort to naming names - why can't we just believe victims.  

🤖: Reese Witherspoon urging women to tap into AI 

📖: So late to this party but I cannot put down “Demon Copperhead”

Hi, I’m JJ.

Since starting the Justice Dept, we have increased women's wealth by over $100MM in just over 5 years. Want to know what inspires me to do this work, other than making women money? My clients' surprised reaction when we manage to get them much better terms for themselves and their companies, whether via talent agreements, employment, severance, partnerships, asset sales or investments. They often admit that they never thought they could get that result. Not even hoped. This blows my mind. As we know at The Justice Dept. you are all worth everything you ask for and more. Reach out and we’ll show you how!
x TJD

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