The Quest for a Satisfying Career

Rachel Brimm, a second year student at the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School, recently interviewed Samantha as part of a class project called "The Quest for a Satisfying Career." With Rachel's permission, here's a synopsis of the interview:

Last week, I interviewed Samantha Shepherd for this project. She is a solo practitioner who specializes in Elder Law. Samantha graduated from Boston College Law School in 1994. She began her legal career working with children’s legal issues while in college and law school. Her first job as an attorney was working as in-house counsel for a bank. However, she did not feel that this job fed her soul. Under the tutelage of a mentor, Samantha embarked on a rewarding career helping the elderly, those with disabilities and their families.

When asked to define success, Samantha replied that success occurs when one can go home at night and feel good about what they did. She elaborated by explaining that the law gives her the power to help people navigate the legal system. It was evident from talking with her that she was able to successfully retain autonomy over her work. She gets involved with clients to the extent that she wants to be involved. For example, the day I met her she was planning to meet a client’s daughter to tour a nursing home. This had nothing to do with the legal work she was performing for her client, but because she had developed a positive relationship with the client’s family they had invited her to join the tour and she happily agreed. Another way she retains autonomy over her work is her choice to only go to court when there is no adversary. For example, she assists clients with uncontested guardianships but chooses not to get involved in disputes.

Overall, Samantha radiated happiness with her chosen profession. She is truly passionate about what she does and believes she is pursuing good for other people. I think one source of her happiness is the close relationships she is able to develop with not only her clients, but also their families. On a day-to-day basis, she receives hugs from clients. This really struck me because it must feel wonderful to have clients express on a daily basis how much they appreciate you.

She also talked about how the nuances involved with high-net-worth can be intellectually stimulating. She said that clients are so relieved to give her their problems involving estates, trusts and Medicaid planning. And while some aspects of her job can be more tedious than others, the key is that she has found her passion and purpose in life.

In addition to her law practice, Samantha is also the mother of four and very committed to her family. When asked about maintaining the work/life balance, she gave the following advice: It helps to remember that until your kids are completely grown, there is no right answer. When you are at home, you think you should be at work and vice versa. Having these thoughts is the norm. She also said it is helpful to realize that we are fighting against the cultural assumption that moms will be more involved in their kids’ lives than dads. For Samantha, her purpose of practicing law is helping other families. Thus, in order to effectively help others it is important that her own family comes first.

She elaborated by explaining that sometimes this means she does not get as much sleep as she would like. Other times, things like getting her nails done takes second place to spending time with her kids. She also talked about the importance of accepting help. She hires someone to clean her house because it is efficient and frees up time for her to spend time with her kids. These are just some of the personal choices that she has made to maintain the balance between her work and family life.

I am personally interested in the area of elder law and asked Samantha for advice on finding happiness in that specific area. She advised that it was a relatively young area of law and encouraged me to seek out a mentor in the field. She cautions young attorneys not to start their own practice until they have had both a mentor and years of experience in practice. She said there are two ways of learning: (a) find someone whose expertise you find valuable and has a good reputation to mentor you or (b) learn by trail-and-error which is very painful for the client.

Samantha impressed me with her ability to find happiness within the legal profession. She admitted that she did not know anyone from her law school class who is happy doing what they are doing. However, her own story showed me that it is possible to find happiness within the field of law. Her ability to retain control over her work and the amount of gratitude she receives on a daily basis from her clients inspired me. Hopefully, one day I too will have a career in which I am truly passionate.