Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Graham
Hi Stephanie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I got started, quietly, over 20 years ago when I established a probate estate for a dear friend who died due to medical malpractice. She suffered a sickle cell episode while visiting her parents in another state. She was married with a little girl at the time and I went to work establishing her estate to sue the hospital. Without the estate, the medical malpractice firm would not have been successful in its suit against the hospital.
Fast forward to November 2015. My maternal grandmother died and my supervisor at the time advised I did not have enough time on the job to attend the funeral having just started two months earlier. Well, I attended the funeral out of state and, after that, it seemed all of a sudden, nothing I did at the job was right for them. In September 2016, they escorted me out and, four months after that, I started my own law practice in honor of my grandmother so to speak. You see, I did not want to practice law any longer at that point. I was tired of the office politics with my last three jobs and it was mentally draining, too! One employer accused me of pretending to be injured in a near fatal accident to avoid going to trial when, in fact, I was injured so badly, I was in physical therapy for 18 months before surgery was recommended to place a medical pin in my hip. But, once I decided to do anything else except the practice of law , someone asked me “why did I attend law school in the first place.” And just like that, a flash bulb went off! My entire trajectory up until that point led me right here…starting my own practice in estate planning and probate. I worked in the banking industry during and after college for nearly 7 years. I observed customers, primarily women, come in to the bank and learn their money was gone; either because they chose the wrong person as power of attorney or the wrong partner. Tom Messina, my manager at the time, said we could not do anything because there was a valid power of attorney. I remember how helpless I felt when I couldn’t help our customers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My road started with moving to a strange new state, newly divorced, with a six month old baby girl. My daughter and I moved where no one knew my name and I loved it. However, I am certain that I struggled with post partum depression at the time but no one talked about it back then. I was functional for her during the day but at night I was curled up in a ball. Thankfully, my daughter was an easy child and we presented as tourists for over a year, exploring Atlanta and the parks every day. Eventually, my three year work sabbatical ended and I went back to the real world where I quickly discovered things were different here. My first job was great, it was contract work; something I had not previously experienced but I literally made my own hours and it paid well. I bought my Sandy Springs townhome, seven months later. Nearly three years later, the layoffs started; the recession hit. Job offers were far and in between for everyone. I did not find work for an entire year and but for the grace of God, I honestly don’t know how we made it. I learned no one wanted to hire a single mom or a black woman attorney with nearly ten years experience (and yes, I have specific instances with specific firms who made it clear they would not hire a single mom or a black attorney. I forgot I was now in the south and shouldn’t brag about my child if I did not have a husband to brag about, too.). I also had to compete with men who had one-quarter my experience but were paid more and I wasn’t accustomed to that, either, but I was also in survival mode. Meaning, my entire world revolved around my child. It has always been just the two of us. Nothing and no one else mattered except her. In fact, my daughter’s private school was the second reason for starting my private practice. They had odd dismissals and holidays and random discharge days. Since there was no one else to pick her up from school, my schedule had to be flexible which allowed me to attend everyone of her school plays and school activities. I can’t say that my struggles were extraordinary compared to others but my experiences made me who I am today.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in estate planning, probate and probate litigation. Our mission is to educate, educate, educate about estate planning and probate!
I am a workaholic but I work in spurts; it’s how I function. I love my job and my boss. She has extremely high expectations but she ‘s hot and pretty funny. LOL! There are no office politics and no whispers behind your back and, if you need a ‘me day’, or someone dies we won’t tell you, you don’t have enough time on the job. I work hard with lots of breaks in between. I’m an extrovert but you won’t know that until you get to know me. My office is transparent and we tell our clients the truth. We do not accept every client but when we do, we will not ground you or block you after we finish your probate like other firms do but we can’t always be available to answer every question one and one which is why we offer webinars and seminars for free. I am most proud of celebrating 7 years in business this year and that the community is learning and listening to our videos to take steps in planning and preparing for tomorrow. There isn’t much people don’t already know about me. I am an open book. My expectations for myself and my staff are fairly high, we customize or products and our plans. We sit down with our referral partners to meet their clients, our clients get to know our small team and if the team messes up, they tell us with love and we correct it, with love.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Everyone should have a mentor and a coach. Coaches have coaches. Unless you know everything you need to know about life, running and growing a business, you will need a coach and a mentor to be successful, preferably more than one. Throw in a therapist for good measure because we all need healing from something in our lives; each and every one of us. Pay attention to how you talk to yourself and how you talk to others; when you are triggered…that is trauma. The better you know yourself, the more likely you will know what you need in a mentor, a coach, a therapist, a relationship. For my mentor, I looked for someone who was doing what I wanted to do and doing it well and I reached out until I found someone I respected and who was receptive to me without trying to swallow me up or my firm and without having a scarcity mindset…stay away from those people. If you hang around a bunch of people who believe there isn’t enough for everyone, you will not grow. True mentors and leaders do not have a scarcity mindset. Remember real leaders, coaches, mentors want to see their team members surpass them; otherwise they are not successful leaders, coaches and mentors.
As for networking, I find that a little harder for me. I am an extrovert, I finally admitted it this year, but I am also an intuitive empath which means I truly see you even if you don’t see yourself. I feel everything including bad energy and too much of anything; noise, lights, scents, makes me want to flee the room. There are only 2.5% of us in the world on top of being 2.5% of black women lawyers, all of which makes networking difficult, at least for me. Currently, I network fully in one group, ProWin, which I love though I am seeking a few others. ProWin involves a group of entrepreneurial and business women who come together for lunch and to gain a little insight into their business or business mindset. I attend purely for the company with no other motive. I check out other events when I can but unless we’re broken out into small groups, I find I often don’t go back. It’s either too large, too loud, or too salesy for me…I am better one on one at brunch or coffee. I love brunch and coffee by the way and I’d love to be a mentor and be more involved in more non-profit organizations that support children.
Pricing:
- Call the office for pricing 1-888-419-4557
Contact Info:
- Website: https://grahamestateplanning.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trustattorneyatlanta/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grahamestateplanning
- Twitter: @spgrahamlaw
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@grahamestateplanning/videos
- Other: http://validtrust.subscribemenow.com
Image Credits
Kimazing Photos for all photos except the blue dress which was photographed by EWP Photos.
