When attorney Bevin Branland-
ingham was laid off from a real estate firm in 2008, she decided to go it alone. Her practice, The Best Little Law Firm in Brooklyn, offers real estate and entertainment services as well as legal self-advocacy coaching; Bran-landingham frequently works with LGBT clients. “Being out has only enhanced my career,” Branlandingham says. “I think that other than legal expertise, the key element in picking a good attorney match for a client is personality. Being an out queer is an essential part of who I am and why my clients trust me.” Branlandingham finds work- ing for herself conducive to her other careers: performance artist, activist and “flamboyant femmecee” at Rebel Cupcake and other queer events. “Keeping my legal work focused on a couple of areas and keeping costs down enables the firm to provide clients with lower cost legal work and allows my work to be more portable,” Branlandingham says. “I travel a lot for performance opportunities and I work from the road quite effectively.”
