You're listening to Women Enfuse Radio, where women in the marketplace connect with purpose and spirit, where the conversation covers all things women, business and fascinating faith. And now, your host, Kristi Lynn Olson. Hello and welcome to Women Enfused Radio, episode 25. I hope you are enjoying my interview series with some of the co-authors of our book series, We Walk By Faith and Not By Sight, Women of Faith in the Marketplace.
I know that I've enjoyed our conversations with these women and truly they are amazing examples of what a woman of faith looks like in today's marketplace. And that is certainly true for my guest today, Victoria Soto. Victoria is lead counsel of the Law Office of Victoria Soto and concentrates her practice in defending physicians before the Texas Medical Board. She graduated from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was admitted to the Louisiana Bar in 1995 and the Texas Bar in 2001.
Beginning in 2001, Victoria served as a prosecuting attorney for the Texas Medical Board. She frequently speaks to hospitals and medical groups within the state of Texas regarding the Texas Medical Board and its disciplinary process. She has a regular speaker and presenter for the Texas Medical Association at their annual Tax Med, conferences and other continuing education seminars throughout the state. Victoria has an impressive list of credentials and she is extremely good at what she does.
But what has impressed me the most about her story is how grounded she is in her faith and how she has had to handle some extremely difficult work situations with grace, grit and determination. But above all, she has handled them with an obedience just to listen to God's spirit for direction and guidance and then walk that direction out by pure faith and resolve. And because of that, I believe God has supernaturally blessed her in the success of her business and in her ability to win a record number of cases for her clients, becoming a leader among her peers. She has owned her own practice for over 15 years now and continues to pray in faith and watch God move in both her personal and professional life.
Not many people wow me, but this woman of God did when I interviewed her. She has such a gentle spirit about her and you can't help but wonder how she does it all. As a matter of fact, on the day we had our interview scheduled, she discovered the night before that she had to attend something for her son at his school and so instead of canceling, she went out of her way to hold our interview on time and in the midst of her busy schedule. That's class and that's Victoria Soto.
She's a new friend to me, but I truly am excited to introduce her to you today. So let's listen in now to my interview with Victoria Soto. Victoria, it is such an honor to have you to take time out of your busy schedule today and so we want to welcome you to Women of View's Radio. Thank you so much.
I'm honored to be here. You know, in addition to the We Walk by Faith book series that you were a co-author in which we're so excited to talk to you about today, I also realize that you are currently on a book tour of your own with a national release and I want to share a little bit more about that. Tell us a little more about what you do as a profession but also how that book came into being and what is it all about. I know you're in the medical profession but you're in the attorney so could you share a little more about your journey, your professional journey and then how that book came about and what it's about?
My pleasure. Well, I've been an attorney for 20 plus years and I found myself working in the medical profession after being hired by the Texas Medical Board in 2001 as a board staff attorney and sometimes people refer to that as a board prosecutor. The medical board's job is to course license physicians to practice medicine in the state of Texas. It was honored to work for the state in assisting in doctors achieving their license and whatever processes that they would have to go through in order to have an active license and as an attorney we would come into play during the disciplinary process where a physician would receive a complaint against their license and they would have to defend that.
And after working there approximately four years, I transitioned into private practice where I was hired to create a separate division to defend doctors before that particular agency and I've been defending doctors ever since I've been doing it privately with my own practice for about 12 to 14 years and we're very blessed in honor to assist doctors who come from all over the country and achieving their license and defending them here in Texas and I also consult across the nation and partnered with an amazing law firm, the Lucas Law Firm out of Washington DC as well. And so we've gone throughout Texas and the country consulting with hospitals and physician practices in how to protect their license and to find themselves in a position where they can get the best medicine possible and wanting to leave something because none of us are getting any under. So wanting to leave something behind before retirement I saw that a common theme that ran through almost every case that I either prosecuted or defended was some sort of manner that could have been improved in some shape or form either it could be and of course it goes to the old adage of bedside manners the name of the book is world's best doctors how good old fashioned manners can improve patient satisfaction and lower litigation risk and so we found that with improvement in someone's manner either the doctor and or staff or just someone that the doctor may deal with how if we can assist them in that then that could improve medicine as a whole and wellness as a whole. Wow that is definitely leaving a legacy and I know there are a lot of medical doctor practices that I'm sure could take advantage of reading that book but the bigger thing to me is hearing you talk about legacy and kind of talk about the strengths and the gifts that you've had that kind of led you on your journey I know in the book you said a little on you were dubbed as a peacemaker and so I always like to ask what kind of skill set or strengths do you believe that God has given you that have really helped you or given you an advantage in the marketplace.
I think when you say peacemaker I have always been told and and I say told because my mother and father were the first to speak this upon me or pray this upon me that I was someone that wanted peace in the world and peace between parties that I saw that may have been at odds with one another and I've also been dealt as a nice lawyer in Texas so Texas is a big state so I know about that and I don't know if it was necessarily a compliment when I was dubbed that but. So I think the Lord has just put it on my heart that in any conflict there is his truth you know you always hear that there's the truth of side A the truth of side B and then the real truth and the real truth to me is this the truth God's truth and that is a silent peaceful and good thing and it brings peace to both sides and so in my work as an attorney you know I always I've always said that let the right thing be done and if the right thing is done then both sides will receive something good from that so when we say you know you're an attorney there has to be a win or lose situation well I never looked at it that way and I think because the Lord has blessed me to look at it through eyes of righteousness because of course he is our Lord is an example of all that is righteous and good that looking at it through those eyes and I'm not crushed if my side doesn't quote unquote win and and so if we could come to a decision that will help that physician or healthcare provider be a better healthcare provider from going through that and have the state or whatever entity that is in opposition also feel somewhat at peace because there has come there's a solution that is an answer to the problem then all sides went then right if right wins then all sides really went at the end of the day right and God being a righteous God I love how you refer back to that and that's really what you've based your practice on I mean prayer and faith but you've written in the book that from day one you declare that your practice would be a faith based practice and to me that is what being salt and light in the world is all about you know how has that declaration really shaped and molded your career as a whole? In every aspect Christy I you know I prayed my way through law school prayed my way through the bar prayed my way into the state of Texas and and and and I see it as a blessing you know sometimes we've heard we've all heard and I think I stated in the book how some of us don't really find that close relationship with the Lord until the plane is going down you know and that's when we drop to our knees or I don't think we can drop to our knees you know in the corridor and in the plane but that's when we call on his name I find that because my work is one of such intensity where lives are hanging in the balance because a position is blessed with the ability to heal and to save lives so if I'm blessed with the honor to protect that position then I feel I feel the weight of that and when I feel that weight I call on him I call on the Lord to bless us with victory to bless us with with release and rescue and I'm doing this on a daily basis and so one would say you know is this a stressful job it absolutely is apparently we thrive at least I thrive in that stress because it allows me a call on him and he then answers in a way that is palatable visible and it's so very real you know our my hearings my informal hearings last between an hour to the 45 or our in 45 minutes and I say I'm an instant gratification girl so it's the one time where I'm blessed with a job that I can pray for a victory and inside of 45 minutes watch the Lord answer my prayer and so he's so integral we pray when we are blessed to receive a new client who needs our help we pray with that honor we pray when we find victory and that client is released from whatever grip of you know complaint or lawsuit or issue they may be involved in so we praise him in that we praise him in receiving and we praise him in the release of a case knowing that we have been successful so that person can go on and do what God created them to do. No I'm thinking not all of your clients would be Christian is that an accurate statement?
Absolutely accurate. Okay so in this but it's just society that we live in I'm sure you have multiple cases many of them are not believers you have mentioned repeatedly that you serve a God who is God of the impossible you know how have you seen God read life into some of those impossible situations and even as it refers to being salt and light you know how can you pray for someone who doesn't have the same belief system you do especially when you're on the job how does that look like for you? Well you know they're believing in the Lord has never predicated whether or not I would pray for them because I see all human beings as children of God whether they come to know him at the beginning of their life or at the end that's between them and God but I know that if God brings that person through my door for me to represent them it's for his purpose it's for his ultimate good so I praise him in that and I give that person every ounce of experience that I have in me every experience that I have lived through has brought me to that moment that will somehow and I will see that God will somehow use it for the good and so I not of course Jesus never from what I see in my interpretation pushed anybody to believe there was never a force to believe it was just a realization and and awe when it was when it was just it became a profound understanding of whatever individual or whoever he encountered while he walked this earth to realize that they were in the presence of the Almighty and so I am not bringing up Jesus not being the first to bring him up just from what I've been told spending enough time with me they come to ask me what fuels you why do you see this impossible situation as something that we can actually get through on the other end and I say I have faith that we will get through I cannot promise you anything doctor I cannot promise you anything nurse what I can promise you is that I'm going to bring everything that I had in me to see you through and and so I once had a client notice one of my many bibles because just like my reading glasses I have them all over the place you know we all have a you know except when we need the reading glasses you know that's fine exactly and so you know I had someone who was not of the Christian faith spot a Bible in my office and and and state do you actually believe what's in those pages and and I said yes I actually do and and it was a gafah or you know something that came out of that person and you know I say to myself you might not believe in him but he believes in you wow and because he believes in you you walked through this door and this child believes in him and I'm going to pray for you and you know my prayer warriors who God has blessed me to encounter you an amazing prayer warrior the people that I work with amazing prayer warriors you know I'm on my way to a hearing I will say pray for me sister pray for me brother and when I walk into that building but the building that I practice in downtown Austin, Texas when I walk into that and it's huge uh whoever knows me personally they have said we've seen you walk through the door and we know what you require as a fellow child of God you have asked me to pray for you and I pray for you and your client every time I see you in this building and so I am so blessed to know that but yes clients have come to me and say you know I have no belief at all or I have a different faith at all and I said well and I respect your you're right to believe what you would believe and but that has nothing to do with how I'm going to run this case I'm going to run this case with the experience and the know-how that I've been blessed to have and if you ask whether or not I'm going to pray for you I will say yes I will pray for you and I've had clients tell me at the end of the day and I don't know that is in the book but I've had them say you know maybe there's something maybe there's something to this God of yours maybe there's something to this faith of yours because what just happened I never dreamed what happened and that would be our becoming victorious in this case well and you've met them it is the perfect example of what Jesus would have done is you met them where they were at you offered truth with grace and gave them the free will really to make a decision but it goes back to the point you did write about in the book is you said if we stand on truth we will never be tripped up and I think that really encapsulates everything you've just said and with your clients I can't promise you the outcome but I can promise you we're going to stand on truth and that is powerful and that is something that I think we don't think we're going to find in the legal system sometimes and I've heard that you know I've met young lawyers who've watched television programs with what they felt a lawyer should look like or a shaker you know should be but I've always been just Victoria and and you know praying my way through school and and and through all things and through every exam the Lord I'm sure he heard me calling and so those are not easy and so I just have steadfast remained who I am not trying to mimic what I thought a lawyer should sound like should look like should walk like or talk like but because I know that his eyes are on me and he put me in this position I can't not be me to my God because he knows me and because his power is here and he is an ever-present living God he's not an entity that we pray to or pray at or you know but he's literally a living God and with that that understanding from a very young age it would be like lying about who I am in front of of my early parents because I would say you know what who are you trying to fool Victoria you know we know you and so I can't be anyone but me and in front of my God and that's that's just how I have to be and and so when we're going into a scary situation I tell my clients even if they ask a question we haven't prepared for the simple and perfect answer is the truth and if you go from that you know who you are as a physician as a health care provider you know who you are as a human being that cannot change you know we try to write something down so that because sometimes it's so heavy in that room you could forget your name you could forget the power you can lose the power of speech I've seen it I've seen it happen so I always tell them write down your narrative so that you can let these people know who you are as a human being so that they could get to know you and sometimes you know the judges might say put that piece of paper aside and so I tell my clients in case they say that then you wrote it so pull it from inside of you right right right that's where it came from you did and you're really teaching them to be true to their identity and not sway from that you know I think sometimes we can also get in difficult situations and so our character our faith our values can really be challenged and I know you've had a couple experiences one I believe you were actually chastised for winning your cases too quickly and too completely can you tell us a little more about what that challenge was like and how do you resolve something like that because you know not a business is they're all about the mighty dollar and we as women of faith have to step in this space and change that so give us an example of what that looks like for you and how have you kind of worked to resolve or change that in the workplace well you know if I have a what you would call a boutique practice so owning my own practice I have a very small staff and so I'm I'm in a blessed position to be able to call the shots when it comes to what the hourly rate would be what the retainer would be depending on the specialty the seriousness of the case the size of the case but you know but I didn't I didn't always I wasn't always in this position so when working for other businesses you know I you know I was called in to say you know you really appreciate the fact that you've got this you know we can certainly promote the fact that you haven't lost the case we can certainly promote the fact that you know you're our Barry Bonds or you know whatever heavy hitter was was in the headlines at that point in time right but you know when you think about it Victoria if you were to actually lose the case at the lower level we can make some serious money and and what flew out of my mouth at the time was well but that wouldn't be I can't see myself purposefully going halfway on anything and and how does one go about losing a case and so then they said well how do you win all of these cases and I said well I pray and then I said no no seriously I need to know yes you know what's your secret formula yeah what's your secret and so I said well if you must know I pray and and I'm not trying to be smarter or or flip about this but I studied the case I pray for victory and and I have faith that my prayer has been heard and I walk in as though it has been heard and I walk out victorious and I'm thinking God for answering my prayer and and honestly I have been laughed at after saying that it's I've heard more gafaz but people who trust and believe in him have said it's a secret but it's not really secret is it right it's a worst kept secret it's yeah and so and so and so and then you say how are we going to make money that way we would make more money if you were to lose the case and I said well actually I beg to differ sir because because we're winning the words getting out there doctors are telling doctors telling doctors that they're telling this friend and that friend and that friend and and so we're getting business by word of mouth and then you know you want to say call it customer service call it what you will but they know that there's a deeper thing than money being a motivator where my practice has been concerned so I've had people call me I've had people call me say I want you to represent me I've heard that you're good and you know we we have to use our discernment in business and so I speak with that person for a bit and and when I realize that I'm not a good match for that person for you know whatever has been laid on my heart I would or there's a conflict of interest that I might discover I would say with all due respect I appreciate your wanting to hire me I don't know I don't know that that's necessarily a good fit or that my practice will allot this time to go into this this case at this point in time so I'm going to refer you to someone else and then they would stop me but you don't understand we want you they're going to or however much money you want and this is in all honesty I will overnight you check for 10,000 or 20,000 so that you can represent me I'll have that in your in your mailbox by Monday and and I would say um I appreciate that but um I cannot represent you did you not hear me say that I will overnight you this check yes sir yes I did and so then and I give them the very best attorneys I'm not the best attorney I'm just this attorney I am Victoria when you refer someone to another attorney it is I think it's our duty to refer them to the very best attorney that you can who who does what you do right and who can effectively represent that person so I make sure that I've got the best attorneys on the list to refer so that that person can know I care no I'm just meaning I care enough to send you to someone who can effectively represent you if I cannot do it myself and so when my colleagues tell me how can you turn that kind of money out the door or someone happens to be with an air shot with their mouth hanging open how did you do that I said the Lord will bless me because as soon as I do that um the Lord will bless me with enough to make up for what just went out of the door hey it's Kristi again don't you just love how Victoria remained true to who she is and refused to compromise her abilities just to make more money for another firm she is such a great example of what godly character looks like and how god blesses that obedience to excellence in all things I invite you to listen into the full interview I did with Victoria Soto where she tells us more about balancing her business and personal life through prayer obedience and faithfulness to be a good steward of everything he has given her even in the difficult times she had to navigate through by faith and not by sight while struggling with infertility and miscarriages she also shares on how to have victory through Christ arm yourself for the battle and overcome anything that comes your way the full interview is available exclusively on the women infused broadcast network which is a free app that streams our podcast radio show on demand the app is available wherever you download apps for your apple or android mobile device we also have a variety of broadcasters on the app who are all women of faith teaching you biblical principles on how to succeed in business and in life when you download the app register to log on the first time and then go to the channel icon on the bottom of your screen click on the women infused podcast channel to find episode 25 my interview with Victoria Soto we also want to give you a free downloadable e-book devotional entitled love notes of encouragement for women of faith in the marketplace it is a companion devotional and journal that highlights personal inspiration and a note of encouragement to you from our co-authors of the published book series we walk by faith and not by sight women of faith in the marketplace along with space for you to reflect and journal your own thoughts on each topic so go to women infused app.com for links on where to download the app and make sure you go to episode 25 to listen to the full interview and download your free devotional e-book join our community of spirit filled women and share your thoughts prayers and wisdom with us in the comment section on the women infused app and remember this alone you are significant but together we are amazing this has been women infused radio connecting women around the globe with purpose and spirit and we want to connect with you get your free gift unveiled voices six things you need to do to define your value voice and vision for more information on the free gift and links to join the conversation on social media visit us at christy lin else's dot com