Real Talk: Exploring Who We Are, What We Do, and How We Came Together
In this week's episode of 'Real Talk,' Susan and Kristina uncover the secret to their successful partnership. Join them for a hilarious exploration of their working relationship, their practice,and the valuable lessons learned during their nearly decade-long collaboration. So grab a cup of coffee and join them for a candid conversation about what makes their professional bond so special.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:
-
https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Your-Kid-Parents-Todays/dp/1637743807
- https://www.instagram.com/stonesupler/
TRANSCRIPT:
Susan Stone:
Welcome back to Real Talk with Susan Stone and Kristina Supler. We are full time moms and attorneys bringing our student defense legal practice to life with real candid conversations.
Kristina Supler:
Susan ever since the Super Bowl.
Susan Stone:
Oh no, oh no. Don't say it.
Kristina Supler:
I have a secret guilty pleasure. I confess to you and our listeners out there like,
Susan Stone:
Oh my God here, it's coming.
Kristina Supler:
But I am totally, completely obsessed with the dunking Dunkin Donuts commercials, the Ben Affleck Matt Damon commercials. Did you see those during the Super Bowl?
Susan Stone:
Okay. Not only did I see them, but I saw us in Ben and Matt.
Kristina Supler:
That's what I thought.
Susan Stone:
I know.
Kristina Supler:
What is about those two. I was so drawn to it. I can't stop watching when they're there walking in. We got touchdown, Tommy. On the key.
Susan Stone:
You love that one.
Kristina Supler:
I love that one.
Susan Stone:
Touchdown Tommy on the keys. Okay, Because here's what it is. They've been together a long time working and kind of separating.Yeah. We're not childhood friends, but.
Kristina Supler:
No, we're not.
Susan Stone:
But it's been.
Kristina Supler:
It's been a minute.
Susan Stone:
It's been a second. Collaborating,
Kristina Supler:
Creativity
Susan Stone:
Creativity. And, you know, they drive each other crazy, which we do sometimes.
Kristina Supler:
We do. We do. But there's humor there. I can't even tell you how much it made me laugh when Matt Damon looks at Ben Affleck and he's like, how do you like them donuts?
Susan Stone:
Oh my God.
Kristina Supler:
I’m so sorry.
Susan Stone:
Okay. The line I loved is sometimes it's really hard to be your friend or remember, I would do anything for you. This is anything. And I know those moments because in our working relationship, in our friendship, we ask an absolute a lot from each other.
Kristina Supler:
Oh yeah. It's it's really it's been it's been quite a journey we've been on for the past.
I don't even know how long it's been.
Susan Stone:
for the listeners out there. And those of you who are in Greek organizations, I hard rushed Sue Blur to be my law partner. I remember saying, Join me in this practice. And you're like, Well, I still want my criminal defense and you still do.
Kristina Supler:
I still do. You do. I do.
Susan Stone:
But mostly we represent students out there and we do handle a lot of criminal defense and we deal do with that. We still deal with sex issues
Kristina Supler:
all day, every day.
Susan Stone:
It was a hard sell getting you in, but we made it and it's been actually almost ten years.
Kristina Supler:
So why are we talking about this today? Why what is the point of this episode of this topic?
Are our listeners are like what we're gone from done kings and Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to to the two of you are
Susan Stone:
Dunking’s or dukin?
Kristina Supler:
it's done Kings Kings because they're kings I swear folks she’s really smart
Susan Stone:
I just feel like what Dunkin Donuts like
Kristina Supler:
Yeah it is but in the commercial they were getting creative. Okay okay,.
Susan Stone:
Guys that's what life is like in the office and why I do
Kristina Supler:
And that by the way I knew when I met her I said, she's the one for me.
Susan Stone:
Absolutely. Guys, please stop. I'm menopausal I’ll pee in my pants. Okay, so how. Here's the thing, guys.
Kristina Supler:
For real.
Susan Stone:
For real.
Kristina Supler:
In all seriousness,
Susan Stone:
In all seriousness, we do handle your serious legal issues, but it's hard work and you really have to grind a lot of hours and there's got to be a lot of trust in the person you work with. And there's got a lot there's got to be a lot of synergy. And I think that we're doing this episode to show that we really are more than law partners, that we will be like being together.
Kristina Supler:
Absolutely. This is sort of a behind the scenes episode, if you will. And I mean, I think that aside from, you know, our spouses and significant others and friends and family member, people who know us really closely, some people are surprised to hear and learn of how much time we spend together. And we always say, well, it's good thing we really like each other because our work is grueling. There's so many hours and traveling and dealing with tough topics. It's important that we have a really good relationship with each other to get through it all.
Susan Stone:
Yeah, we don't get enough time being buds. We try, I agree with, but we really don't because at the end of the day we want to go home and be with our friends and our family and get a little break from each other.But it has almost been ten years.
Kristina Supler:
I know that's crazy to think about. So let's go back in the time machine and you tell our listeners, take it back a little. Austin Powers Yeah, How? Let's talk about how we met. Like what was our first encounter?
Susan Stone:
We met, Yeah, Yeah. So it's funny, I was a working at my old law firm and Cristina's boss at her firm actually merged into us for a hot sec.
Kristina Supler:
That's right.
Susan Stone:
Hot, sec
Kristina Supler:
hot sec. I just had my second child.
Susan Stone:
I can't believe that
Kristina Supler:
lot of professional transition going on, but, you know,
Susan Stone:
and we're talking high school for your oldest, and that little one is about to become his own young king in the theater.
Kristina Supler:
Yes. He is a man of the art. Yeah, But yeah, I mean, I remember it was like 2013 ish, maybe even further back than that, b
Susan Stone:
But a little bit closer to when the Obama regulations came out in 2011.That’s scary guys.
Kristina Supler:
I know. And I remember I'm plugging away doing my thing. Susan's in her world of what At that point, general litigation in special education.
Susan Stone:
Well, and I was in the beginning of starting my own practice, and I knew I didn't want to do it alone. I knew I needed a buddy with me because it's just let's face it, it's more fun.
Life is more fun with a friend. And we had a project, a case came in that required both skill sets.
Kristina Supler:
I remember I got a call for a student at a very reputable university in the area, very infamous school in terms of Title nine. And I got the call saying, Hey, do you do title 9 work? My son's got this issue.He's been accused of sexual assault. And at the time I vaguely knew what Title nine was, but I knew that I knew sex, sexual assault. Right. And so, like,
Susan Stone:
just came out so awful. It's like you just keep it all, you
Kristina Supler:
I know, the how you try to avoid the the puns. They're just right there and you fall into
Susan Stone:
Keep it clean. Keep it clean This is a family show.
Kristina Supler:
But I remember talking to you and saying, Susan, I have this case. I feel like you would be, you know, good person to partner with on it. And you're like, Yeah, I've done some of those as well and the rest is history.
Susan Stone:
And you know what's interesting to talk about, when we get tense at those moments of tension, it's usually fear.
Kristina Supler:
I agree.
Susan Stone:
When we have fear
Kristina Supler:
uncertainty, fear
Susan Stone:
or exhaustion.
Kristina Supler:
That too,
Susan Stone:
I do have to share a story with what a good law partner Kristina supler is. And what a good friend. Supler is. my gosh. Two weeks ago I got hit with the virus. It was one of the nastiest viruses in my life. I will say for me, it was worse than COVID.
I was.
Kristina Supler:
You were so sick. I don't. I don't know the last time I've seen you that ill. I mean you were writhing in pain. You were literally lying on the floor of your office.
Susan Stone:
yeah. Guys, I was in a dress with heels,
Kristina Supler:
a Prada dress, I might add.
Susan Stone:
It was a beautiful vintage Prada, and I had a very nice bike.Black heel, little Lu bu little red showing on the bottom. Loved it. And I was in so much pain and I was sweating. And we actually had a very important 3:00 meeting and I had to be there. I laid on my floor because I was not going to miss that meeting. No holding my stomach got up, turn my camera on and would turn my camera off to puke.It was so ugly. And then you drove me home and I wore to Mass. And then you got sick. So that's just like crazy,
Kristina Supler:
I’m still on antibiotic .
Susan Stone:
Just the gift that keeps on giving.
Kristina Supler:
That's right.
Susan Stone:
So, what we get out of it is really important. I think the feeling of you always have my back and I always have your back. And
Kristina Supler:
Absolutely. Because, I mean, so much of our work is rooted in absolute uncertainty and there's very little like black and white, you know, clear answers for our cases. And so you're sort of working in a lot of gray and working off of instinct, and sometimes you're not sure what to do. And clients are upset. Everyone's upset. It's tough emotionally.
And it's just it's so rewarding to have someone there by your side go through it with you.
Susan Stone:
You do take it for granted. You forget, my gosh, that's your reality. But you know, look, we see clients at our worst and people say and do things when they're in crisis that they would regret later or Yeah, they feel like I've got to take it out on somebody or, you know, not everybody's so nice.
Newsflash, I tell that to my kids all the time. Not everybody's nice.
Kristina Supler:
This is one of life's big lessons for many of our clients, unfortunately.
Susan Stone:
Interesting that I want to go back to Matt and Ben. Yeah, I feel like I know you, Matt and Ben. If you're out there listening, check that out. And Ben. Yeah. Do you think they're going to listen to this podcast?
Kristina Supler:
I'm sure they will. And they probably already know me because I went to Boston University and they're Boston people. So like, I feel a connection, right?
Susan Stone:
Okay, that's true. Yeah. Yeah. Hello. And maybe J.Lo
Kristina Supler:
Do you feel a connection with J.Lo.
Susan Stone:
Absolutely. Not even a little connection, but. But I love you. I love you out there. But we have sort of merged because I would say when we began, you were always much more structured. So I would want it. When we started podcasting, I was podcast and you'd be like, we’ve got to get ready. No, no, no, we've got to do it now. I think now I take a little more time and you've got a lot more of that spontaneity. And we just over the years, I think, honestly, ages mellowed me, and you've gotten a little more spark maybe because you're coming into your own.
Kristina Supler:
That's it. That's right. It's funny you always say we're just like an old married couple. But it's true
Susan Stone:
It's True.
Kristina Supler:
It really is true. We can finish each other's sentences. We do mind melding. Remember back in the day when we did improv lessons together,
Susan Stone:
Do you think Matt and Ben did improv to get ready for the dunking? Is it really dunking?
I'm stuck on it. I can't get off of it. Guys who knew I like that you’re such a moron
Kristina Supler:
Anyone who watched the commercials. But that's okay.
Susan Stone:
I was very focused on Tom Brady. Okay.
Kristina Supler:
Touchdown, Tom. Tommy on the Keys.
Susan Stone:
He's kind of cute.
Kristina Supler:
That's my line. I
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