Stephanie graduated in 2003 in the top 20% of her University of Kansas law school class. From her experiences interning at legal aid organizations in Kansas during law school, Stephanie knew that she wanted to work with senior citizens. She says, “It takes a special approach to work with seniors. Seniors require more patience and a slower pace. You must be prepared to listen to lots of stories about grandchildren…” So when she graduated from law school, passed the bar in both Kansas and Missouri and then saw her perfect job as staff attorney for the Senior Citizens’ Legal Services Project at Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation in East St. Louis, Illinois, she did not hesitate to accept the position when it was offered and to take her third bar exam.
Stephanie was right about her passion, and since 2004 she has remained at this position helping seniors with a myriad of legal problems including consumer issues, elder abuse and neglect (including financial exploitation), family law and advance directives. She loves her work and her coworkers. Currently, she is supervising her fourth summer intern and hopes to inspire her to pursue a career in legal aid.
A separate interest of Stephanie’s is swimming, and she teaches and coaches master swimmers, some of whom compete. “I think calming my swimmers’ fears is similar to working with my seniors at Land of Lincoln and calming their fears about the future and what the legal system holds for them.”
