"Just because something is “standard” doesn’t mean it’s good."
In today’s exclusive interview with ValiantCEO Magazine, we’re excited to introduce you to Alyssa J. Devine, an accomplished attorney and the founder of Purple Fox Legal.
As a first-generation attorney with J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Indiana University, Alyssa has an unwavering passion for intellectual property law, which led her to establish her practice in Nashville, Tennessee. With her firm, Alyssa focuses on serving passionate entrepreneurs in the music business and other industries, providing tailored business and legal solutions to help them succeed.
Throughout her academic and professional career, Alyssa has gained valuable experience in market research, business planning, and intellectual property protection strategies, all of which complement her legal expertise.
As a dedicated attorney, she strives to provide transparent, customized, and easy-to-understand contracts and services for her clients. Alyssa’s unique approach to balancing business and legal concerns has allowed her to distinguish herself in a competitive market, offering creative solutions to those she serves.
Read on to learn more about Alyssa’s journey, her insights into the ever-evolving business landscape, and her advice for entrepreneurs navigating the challenges of today’s world.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Alyssa J. Devine: Becoming an attorney was the ideal career for me. It provided an intellectual challenge and touched every industry, while solving complex issues and creating value for communities. As a first-generation attorney, I take pride in my success, earned through perseverance and a passion for learning.
I earned my J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Indiana University. Pursuing dual degrees allowed me to perfect my time-management skills and collaborate with talented thought leaders, including my professors.
In law school, I participated in law review, competed in national moot court competitions, and was privileged to have the opportunity to intern with four judges at the state and federal levels.
I also made time to volunteer for community projects and was awarded the Norman Lefstein Award of Excellence for volunteering hundreds of pro bono hours during my law school career. In addition to these experiences, I gained valuable insight while working at a renowned intellectual property management company protecting deceased celebrities’ brands.
As an M.B.A. candidate, I gained hands-on experience in market research, business planning, revenue generation, and intellectual property protection strategies, which complimented my legal education.
During my academic career, I fell in love with intellectual property law and it became my professional passion. I recognized that, collectively, my interests best served the entertainment industry.
However, I knew from my first year of law school that if I chose to pursue this path, I would need to move to a thriving city where potential clients lived. This is why I chose to start my legal career in Nashville, Tennessee, where I focus on serving passionate entrepreneurs in the music business and other industries.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffet, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Alyssa J. Devine: Purple Fox Legal offers creatives and entrepreneurs customized business and legal solutions, including contract drafting, intellectual property protection, business plan development, process optimization, and strategy execution to increase business value.
We are diligent about responding to messages promptly and educating clients by simplifying complicated subjects. As a business owner, I also feel it is important to be transparent, and have published my pricing guide at https://purplefoxlegal.com/ so potential clients don’t have to be afraid of the cost, which is the top concern for most legal consumers.
Viewing issues from multiple perspectives, Purple Fox Legal works with clients to add value and create strategic legal solutions that do not compromise their business values. We educate others about the law to inspire appreciation for the value and beauty of intellectual property and how to use legal principles to grow businesses.
One of my most important principles is that contracts shouldn’t use outdated language. If a client doesn’t understand a contract I wrote for them, then I have more revisions to make.
The purpose of a contract is to document a business arrangement that all parties understand and agree to. If the contract is difficult to read in terms of the language used or is drafted with a poor document design format, then that contract needs more work.
Just because something is “standard” doesn’t mean it’s good. I also emphasize intellectual property because it seems to be a topic that is often overlooked even when it directly applies to a specific situation.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, are an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle keeping talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are adapting to the current shift we see?
Alyssa J. Devine: Leaders need to understand people, what motivates them, and what impedes them. To attract and retain top talent, employers need to improve their practices.
For example, there must be a substantiation change in the recruitment and hiring process. For example, if you require a resume, do not also require candidates to insert information into fillable boxes. If you require a cover letter, then read the cover letters.
Perhaps most importantly, employers need to start providing salary ranges for every position posted. Transparency goes a long way in earning an employee’s trust.
Additionally, employers should limit the use of noncompete agreements. The purpose of noncompete agreements is to help business owners protect certain company data and operations, including specialized training or proprietary information. Noncompete agreements are responsible for limiting an employee’s ability to work for a competing business in the future.
While noncompetes help businesses, they restrict employees from changing roles or starting their own businesses. However, fair noncompetes have clear limitations in duration and geographic scope. The challenge of creating fair noncompete agreements is balancing a company’s legitimate interests with an employee’s right to pursue a chosen profession.
Put simply, treat people fairly.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Alyssa J. Devine: I started Purple Fox Legal during the pandemic, which ultimately proved to be advantageous for me.
The legal industry is traditional and slow to change, especially when it comes to technology. When the pandemic started, most law firms struggled to adapt their operations from working in person to working from home. Because I was starting my business at this time,
I was able to initiate operations that addressed the requirements of safe distancing and similar concerns. In other words, I didn’t have to change my habits; I created habits that took virtual opportunities and new technology into account.
Being able to start a business with that mindset, as opposed to being forced to quickly transition away from ingrained practices, leveled the playing field.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Alyssa J. Devine: The challenge for businesses right now is distinguishing themselves from competition in an authentic way. The market is overflowing with media with the goal of grabbing consumer’s attention, but trying to create viral content is not strategic.
However, a brand’s reputation and ability to distinguish itself isn’t just about marketing or the products and services offered. It’s also about how that brand conducts business.
Is that company transparent about the duties and rights in the contracts it sends to customers? Are the company’s contracts extremely long and complicated? Is it easy or difficult for a customer to get in touch with the company?
When customers schedule appointments, do those appointments start on time?What is the tone of the communications between the company and its customers?
Does the company speak with actions or just words? In other words, does the company put its money where its mouth is?
Consideration of these questions when developing business practices can help a business to distinguish itself from others.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Alyssa J. Devine: One of the most underestimated parts of running a company is the responsibilities of being a trademark owner.
Before even starting a business, entrepreneurs need to conduct a trademark clearance search to ensure that their chosen business name does not infringe on another’s trademark rights.
When an individual formally creates a business entity with the applicable state agency, it is that individual’s responsibility to conduct a trademark clearance search, not the state’s responsibility.
Additionally, it is the responsibility of trademark owners to monitor and enforce their intellectual property rights. Failure to monitor and enforce trademarks could result in losing trademark rights under the laches doctrine or through naked licensing.
The laches doctrine describes a situation in which a party has delayed in asserting its rights, and, because of this delay, that party is no longer entitled to bring an equitable claim. In other words, it would be unfair to allow a party to assert their rights after a substantial period of time has passed since the infringing act.
Naked licensing is a term used to describe an intellectual property owner allowing anyone to use their intellectual property without any regulation or oversight, and this can cause an intellectual property owner to lose enforcement rights.
By documenting and regulating the use of a company’s intellectual property, these issues can be prevented.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Alyssa J. Devine: Omnifabrication, the ability to invent and create anything, would be my superpower of choice.
Innovation happens because we want to improve something that already exists or we want a solution to a specific problem or obstacle. With the superpower of omnifabrication, I would be able to create a solution for any and every problem I encounter while growing my business.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Alyssa J. Devine for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Alyssa J. Devine or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
