Lawyer With a Mission: Sandy Kuhn

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Lawyer With a Mission: Sandy Kuhn
by Emily Pietro

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It is no secret that in this day and age, lawyers are not always portrayed in the most positive way. Many people have
fueled the stereotype that lawyers are sneaky, conniving, and will do anything to win a case and earn a large sum. It
is also no secret that in most cases, this stereotype is the furthest from the truth – many lawyers make it their
mission to help people the best they can, and many simply aspire to make a difference in their clients’ lives. One of
these lawyers is Sandy Kuhn, Vice President of FAMILYLEGAL, a law firm with Ten (10) offices servicing clients in
New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

Sandy first realized her interest in practicing law in high school, when she discovered her talents in arguing and
debate. This interest was reaffirmed during her undergraduate years at the University of New Hampshire, when she
joined the debate team. While she was in law school, Sandy initially thought that she would pursue a career as a
divorce lawyer but after doing some work for the bankruptcy court she changed her mind. “I was hired by a
bankruptcy court, and although it had never even crossed my mind to look into this area, I ended up loving it,”
recalls Sandy. When asked if her parents were supportive of her career decisions and if they inspired her to realize
her goals, she emphatically responded with a yes: “My parents were extremely supportive of me throughout my
years in school. In my upbringing, they stressed that I shouldn’t have to rely on anyone and that I could do anything
that I wanted to do. They also stressed that my career is just as important as my family. They really inspired me to
pursue my dreams and their support kept me on the right track.”

After passing the bar exam, Sandy worked for Pancoast Professional Association, but ended up parting ways with
them to start her own law firm in 1995. During this time she became friendly with other lawyers, including Jeff Runge.
So when in 2004, Sandy found herself at a turning point with her own practice, Jeff suggested that Sandy join
Family Legal.

“I’d have to say that the most rewarding element of being a lawyer is just helping out my clients. When I do a good
job and they are appreciative of what I’ve done for them, like solving a difficult financial problem, that is what is
rewarding for me,” Sandy explains. “There are of course the challenges, though. Lawyers cannot always meet all
their client’s needs – people have a certain perception of things that we can do when somebody wrongs them,
which many times they have gotten from media. You feel badly for the person, but there are certain areas that our
training doesn’t provide for. For example, ex-spouses who are bitter and make difficult financial times harder for a
client by aggravating an already existing humiliation.”

Sandy has recognized a change in the climate of the legal profession as well. “People are not as civil as they were
before, even in bankruptcies. Creditor harassment has gotten a lot worse than it has been in the past and people
are much more litigious.”

With the economy in its current downturn, one would assume that Sandy’s practice has picked up rapidly over the
past year, but the increase in business actually began in 2003 and reached a whole new level in 2005 with legal
changes. “When the laws on declaring bankruptcy changed in 2005, we started filing a lot of cases. Before, you
didn’t have to do credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy, but now you have to do that; after you file you have
to take a financial management course, and you even have to pass a test to see if you qualify for filing. We
definitely do have a higher volume now because of the economic downturn” Sandy explains.

There are many common mistakes that people make in order to avoid filing for bankruptcy. Sandy says that the
biggest and most common mistake that people make is living off of retirement funds which eliminates their safety
net. Another is paying credit card bills instead of mortgage payments, and running up credit card bills before filing
for bankruptcy.

“These are all huge mistakes. People make them when they think that they don’t qualify for filing for bankruptcy.
They are not familiar with the laws, they don’t get legal advice, and they generally make many large blunders before
coming in and working with us. There are a lot of situations where people have the best of intentions but they are
not making the best decisions, necessarily. The most important piece of advice I would give is to make mortgage
payments. People think that if they file for bankruptcy they can keep their house and get rid of the mortgage, and
unfortunately, it just does not work that way – there is no such thing as a free house. If you keep up with your
payments, there is a much greater chance that you can keep your house or car.”

When asked about how lawyers remain friendly with colleagues that they argue with on opposite sides in court she
replied that, “When you have cases against people that you like, it’s awful to fight and argue, but at the end of the
day, you respect the person that fights with you and you are actually able to form friendships. It’s much easier to be
friendly with someone you respect; if someone doesn’t do a good job, you don’t respect them or want to spend time
with them. Good lawyers hang out together because we respect each other both as people and as professionals.”

A lawyer who is accomplished, friendly, realistic, keeps the client’s best interest in mind, AND gets great results?
Sandy Kuhn is one woman that we can all be inspired by.

For more information about Sandy you can reach her through the Concord office at 603-225-1114 or visit the
website at www.Callfamilylegal.com. FAMILYLEGAL also has offices in: Dover, NH; Methuen, MA; Malden, MA;
Marlborough, MA; Springfield, MA; Braintree, MA, and; Providence, RI.