Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Louie.
Hi Stephanie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born and bred in California and never thought I would find myself in Texas. My life was lovely but relatively boring for the first 30 years: I came from a good family, was well educated (UC Berkely and University of San Francisco School of Law), and got married to a man I met in college and had dated for 10 years (yes, that’s right 10 years!)
On 10/20/2018, my son Nathan was born, but he died within minutes, never taking a breath on his own, due to a heart defect that hadn’t been detected during pregnancy. “Devastation” doesn’t come near to describing my state of existence: I expected to bring home a baby, and instead I brought home a box of ashes. My husband and I needed a fresh start, and we felt God was calling us to Texas. We knew it was God because there was no way WE would have thought to move to Texas on our own! We found ourselves living in Round Rock in September 2019. We had no real connections here – no friends, no family, no jobs! But we were determined to build a new community and a new life. I reached out to local attorneys to see if they would be willing to get coffee and talk about how they practiced law here — I quickly learned that people were much friendlier in Texas than California and that the laws here are very different as well! One of the attorneys I met over coffee invited me to work part-time with her, and it was the biggest blessing I could have asked for. Amy Bloomquist is an amazing attorney and an even more wonderful person. I have learned so much from her over the last six years.
As Amy is considering her next steps into retirement, I decided to start my own law firm because Amy has spoiled me to the point where I don’t think I can work for anyone else! Now having a two year-old daughter where I need some flexibility in my schedule, it made sense to embark on this new venture, nervous as I was about being a business owner. The thing I love most about the work I do is being able to talk to clients about their families and make practical plans for the continued care of their loved ones in case, God forbid, something tragic happens to the client. As a former litigator who argued in Court all the time, it’s nice to have less yelling and more problem-solving occurring on a daily basis in my line of work. Estate planners are some of the nicest and most “normal” attorneys you’ll ever meet! It’s truly an honor to walk alongside my clients as they check estate planning off their “adulting” bucket list. With my probate clients who have recently lost a loved one, I feel even more blessed to be a source of encouragement and support as they navigate the legal process and wrap up their loved one’s estate, all while dealing with the struggles that come with the seemingly uninterrupted continuation of time after a loved one has died.
I’m where I am today because my world was turned upside down and inside out. I took a step of faith in the midst of tragedy, and because God is always faithful, it’s been the best move I’ve ever made. I’m taking another step of faith now; every single day this year of being a business owner has been a step of faith believing God will provide and equip me for every need. It’s not easy, and it’s not always fun, but it’s worth it. Keep on going: do my best, love and serve my clients, and in the end, know that God has not wasted a single drop of my pain. It’s a life well-lived!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’m lucky that I don’t have to worry about being the breadwinner of the family, per se. My income is important but it’s not what we rely on to survive. I have the freedom and flexibility to make choices. That being said, navigating time between generating clients, maintaining the business administratively, and doing actual legal work has been challenging, not to mention finding balance between my professional life and my home life (I’m a wife and mom to a toddler!) Coming up with my business plan and model, saying “No” to things that I want to say “Yes” to, experimenting with organizational systems and trying to be more efficient in my work while maintaining excellence – it’s something every business owner faces, and I’m no exception. I think the hardest challenge has been moving from a small firm environment with a few other colleagues to going solo and feeling a lot more isolated and lonely. Especially because I have restricted hours, needing to be home to pick up my toddler from daycare by 5pm and putting her down for bed by 8pm, I don’t have as much opportunity for networking within the professional community, and I’ve had to be creative not only in how I find opportunities but also in how I utilize the relationships and connections I already have.
As you know, we’re big fans of Louie Legacy Law, PLLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am an attorney practicing in Wills, Trusts, and probate. This means that I help people prepare Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, and Power of Attorney documents BEFORE they pass away (estate planning) and I also help people go through the Court process AFTER someone dies, with or without a Will. On the probate side (AFTER someone dies), I only take uncontested cases (i.e. nobody is fighting). I offer free 60-minute consultations and really focus on client education because it’s really important to me that my clients understand what is going on, what their documents mean, and know what needs to happen with the documents if someone dies. Some of the best compliments from clients have been that I am a good teacher, that my clients feel a lot more knowledgeable after speaking with me, and that I made the process easy for them. I especially love working with clients who have young children because I started my legal career as a volunteer minor’s attorney with the Los Angeles County Juvenile Dependency Court (i.e. Child Protection Services), and I want to make sure parents are taking care of the most important thing in the world: their young children! As a parent with a toddler myself, I also unashamedly try to make friends with fellow parents and get tips on everything from potty training to tantrum de-escalation.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Looking forward to meeting you!
Pricing:
- I offer free 60-minute consultations via Zoom, phone, or in person (if you’re within a 30 minute drive of Round Rock)
- For estate planning, I work on a flat-fee basis
- For probate cases, I work on an hourly fee basis
- I will drive to you if you are within 1 hour drive of Round Rock to assist you with executing your documents
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.LouieLegacyLaw.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-louie-90350bb/
