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Stephenson smokes the competition

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//September 19, 2017//

Stephenson smokes the competition

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//September 19, 2017//

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Max Stephenson - Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown
Max Stephenson –
Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown

While he was in law school, Max Stephenson got a Christmas gift he was determined to try — a smoker. Despite it being 20 degrees below zero, Stephenson busted it out and sat it on top of a patch of ice.

It was the start of a hobby that would serve Stephenson well beyond law school.

“The stuff I do takes 24 hours straight, and I do it the old-fashioned way,” he said. “It involves lots of monitoring, tweaking and small adjustments. It’s relaxing, and at the end of it you get some good food.”

The attorney at Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown uses the hobby to disconnect from his work, which involves family law, including divorces, guardianships and paternity actions. One of the most challenging aspects of his work is the emotional side of it.

“That tends to cause a lot of stress, and clients aren’t the most receptive to hearing what they need to hear,” Stephenson said. “It becomes a game of repetition. … You can’t expect someone in that state of mind to remember what you said a week ago or a month ago.”

Stephenson notes that his practice area has a bad image generally because people fail to see the other, positive side of his work.

“I’m not going through a divorce every day,” Stephenson said. “I’m helping people through a divorce every day.”

GRGB partner Jason Luczak, who grew up on the same street as Stephenson, said his former neighbor has become an excellent lawyer, never forgetting the human aspect of his work.

“He is really caring and compassionate for his clients, who are going through a very difficult time in their life,” Luczak said. “I think he strikes the right balance of being a strong advocate when he needs to be and looking at the bigger picture of taking care of the people involved and not just looking at the legal issues, but also looking at the human side of things.”

In addition to the work he does for his clients, Stephenson has taken the initiative to give presentations on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges affects family law. He noted that not only is the case recognizing same-sex marriage something that people deal with often but it also affects state and federal laws — both of which he thinks needs to be more fair.

“We haven’t completely fixed the issue yet,” he said. “There’s still some cleanup work to do.”

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