Our Professionalism Spotlight series highlights Illinois legal professionals who demonstrate the ideals of professionalism in their careers.
In this Professionalism Spotlight, we spoke to Miranda L. Soucie, a Partner at Spiros Law, P.C., in Kankakee, Champaign, Danville, and Mattoon.
Miranda represents individuals and families in serious personal injury matters, including medical malpractice, birth injury, trucking and automobile collisions, and other catastrophic injury cases.
Outside of her practice, Miranda is the Vice Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee, serves on the Board of Managers for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and is a Past President of the East Central Illinois Women Attorneys Association. She is a member of the Champaign County Bar Association Board of Directors and of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Miranda received her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.
What is the biggest challenge impacting lawyers today?
One of the biggest challenges facing lawyers today is the increasing weight of the work, and the isolation that makes it harder to carry.
In my practice, clients often come to us during some of the most difficult periods of their lives. While we are not social workers or counselors, we inevitably become part of their support systems.
We listen to their fears, their frustrations, and their grief while helping them navigate complex legal problems. That is a privilege. It is also a significant responsibility.
What makes it harder is that lawyers often do this alone. The way we bill, the way we compensate, and the way we structure our practices all create a lot of solitary time. There are not many built-in moments to process what we carry.
The lawyers who sustain this work long term have usually figured out how to carry it without carrying it alone. They find mentors. They build peer communities. They create space to commiserate, to debrief, and to remind each other that what they are feeling is normal.
As a profession, we need to be more intentional about building those structures. Not just talking about wellness in the abstract, but creating real opportunities for connection. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. For most of the lawyers I admire, it has been a sign of self-awareness.
How can the legal profession address workplace bullying?
First, we need to recognize that bullying is not advocacy. Litigation is adversarial, and lawyers have an obligation to advocate zealously for their clients, but there is a meaningful difference between being a strong advocate and engaging in conduct designed to intimidate, demean, or sideline someone.
I experienced this early in my career. There were opposing counsel who discounted me, who tried to exclude me from important conversations, who simply did not take me seriously.
What made the difference was having a Partner, Jim Spiros, who noticed and did something about it. When I was being sidelined, he made sure I had a seat at the table. He did not make a speech about it. He just did it — consistently — and it mattered more than I can fully express.
If you are in a position to speak up, whether that comes from experience, confidence, seniority, or simply being in the room, be the person who does. You may not realize how much it means to the person impacted.
The profession also needs to treat bullying complaints with the same seriousness it gives other professional conduct concerns. Expectations without accountability are just suggestions. Clear reporting channels, mentorship programs, and leadership that models the behavior it expects are places to start.
Civility and effectiveness are not in conflict. Some of the strongest advocates I know are also the most composed. They do not need to intimidate anyone. Their preparation does that work for them.
How do you remain civil in tense situations?
I remind myself that civility is not softness. It is professionalism, and it is usually more effective.
Some of the most contentious cases involve people on all sides who are carrying significant loss and emotion. That context matters. I try to focus on the issues rather than the personalities, and I try to remember that opposing counsel is doing a job, the same as I am.
What helps most, honestly, is preparation. When you know your case, you do not need to perform. You do not need to raise your voice or throw sharp elbows to make your point. The work speaks for itself.
Lawyers who rely on intimidation are often compensating for something. The ones who are genuinely prepared can afford to be composed.
Civility also gives you credibility. Judges notice it. Jurors notice it. Over time, opposing counsel notices it too.
What is an attorney’s role in furthering public confidence in the rule of law?
Public trust in the legal system is not built by institutions. It is built by individual lawyers, in individual interactions, over time.
Part of that means getting out from behind the desk. Being present, not just with clients, but in the community. Volunteering. Showing up. Reminding people that lawyers are human and that most of us came to this work because we genuinely wanted to help someone. That visibility matters more than we give it credit for.
Every conversation we have with others impacts how that person understands the justice system. Every exchange with opposing counsel, every appearance before a judge, every moment a juror watches us work, these are all opportunities to either reinforce or erode confidence in the process. We further that confidence by acting with integrity, honoring our ethical obligations, and treating people with respect regardless of which side of a case they are on.
But I think the deeper answer is this: remember why you became a lawyer in the first place.
This work can harden people. The days are full of difficult moments, and if you are not careful, the weight of it quietly changes how you see things. We become indifferent or jaded. Staying connected to your why is what keeps the work honest. It is what keeps it human. It keeps us grounded in what really matters: making a difference in the lives of others.
What do you do for fun?
I am in a season of life where most of my time belongs to my family. I have a nine-month-old son.
This profession is not a nine-to-five. We take our clients home with us. Our cases live in our thoughts, whether we are in the office or at home. Navigating that reality with a baby in the house has taught me something I did not expect: the antidote to that weight is usually right in front of me.
Every giggle. Every raspberry. Every new thing, he figures out how to do. Those moments do not solve the hard parts of this work, but they remind me that life is full of joy and purpose. You have to let yourself notice it.
My family is Canadian, born and raised. My brother and his daughter are still there. One of the things I look forward to most is watching my son grow up knowing his cousin, spending time at the lake in Northern Ontario, and understanding where he comes from.
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