She Built the Firm She Couldn’t Find: Allison Mahoney on Survivors’ Rights & Tech Abuse

Allison Mahoney, Esq
ALM Law, LLC

What does it take to leave a big law career and build something from the ground up—one that actually changes lives?

In this powerful episode of What She Does, we sit down with Allison Mahoney, founder and managing attorney of ALM Law, a firm dedicated entirely to survivors of sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, technology-facilitated abuse, and children harmed in foster care and juvenile justice systems.

Allison opens up about why she chose this emotionally demanding work, how she manages secondary trauma (yoga, skiing, and very firm boundaries), what clients are really looking for in a trauma-informed attorney, and why she believes taking risks is the most important advice she could give her younger self. She also shares a remarkably honest look at the business side of building a purpose-driven law firm—and why AI might be the next frontier of abuse cases.

This is one of those episodes that will stay with you. If you’re a woman who’s ever thought about taking a leap into something bigger than yourself, Allison’s story is exactly the inspiration you need.

In this episode:

✦  From big law to prosecutor to founding her own firm – why Allison had to build the practice she couldn’t find
✦  Managing secondary trauma without burning out: boundaries, yoga, and Colorado mountains
✦  What clients in this space are really looking for and why specialization beats firm size every time
✦  The class action on behalf of thousands of children that defined her career
✦  The personal experiences that deepened her commitment to this work
✦  The rapid rise of deepfakes and image-based sexual abuse cases – and what lawyers actually do about it
✦  AI as a tool for perpetrators and an operations tool inside the firm
✦  Risk, pivoting, and the advice she’d give her younger self

MBTI vibe: INFJ / ENFJ / INTJ / ISFJ
Values-driven motivation • Deep empathy • Active listening • Long-term thinking • Strong personal integrity

Listen to the full episode

Need to Know Facts*

* Bureau of Labor Statistics

About Allison Mahoney
Allison Mahoney is the Founder and Managing Attorney of ALM Law, a firm dedicated to advocating for survivors of sexual abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, intimate partner violence, and children harmed in child welfare or juvenile justice systems.

Before founding ALM Law, Allison served as Senior Staff Attorney and Interim Deputy Director at A Better Childhood, where she investigated child welfare systems across the country and litigated federal civil rights class actions on behalf of children in foster care. She previously worked as the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Project Attorney at Lawyers for Children in New York City and began her career as a litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers LLP.

Allison is admitted to practice in New York, Colorado, the District of Columbia, and Illinois. She serves on the Boards of Directors for the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Response Aspen, and YouthZone; sits on the policy committee of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault; is a member of the New York Cyber Abuse Task Force; and serves on the Advisory Council for the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Words.