Part 2: It runs in the family

Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series about five Creston attorney families with daughters who have become second- and third-generation lawyers.

By IAN RICHARDSON

CNA staff reporter
irichardson@crestonnews.com

In a close-knit community like Creston, the five attorney families are aware of how the others have daughters in the field of law. It's even been the cause for a good joke now and then.

“Stu Nielsen ... thought they ought to form their own LLC and call it ‘The Daughters, LLC,’” Skip Kenyon said. “It would be interesting to get them all together in one place. I don’t know that I’d care to be on the other side of that case.”

While none of the daughters may be practicing together, many of them did return to work in Creston during the course of their education and post-law school experience — several with their own families.

Stephanie Miller joined the Nielsens’ private practice after graduating law school in 2005. She said she had to get used to some of her clients being people who had watched her playing in her parents’ office growing up.

“It is an interesting dynamic when you’ve seen these people and you’ve grown up and you’re like, ‘Hey, I’m not a teenager, I’m an adult now,’” she said.

Miller said the added dimension of being a business partner, as well as a daughter and fellow attorney, made working with her family unique.

“There’s always the dynamic in a private practice that you’re not just practicing law, you’re also running a business,” she said. “You’re not just their daughter, you’re also someone who’s keeping the doors open and helping to keep the bills paid, ... and you have to kind of set aside that familial relationship in order to achieve those goals.”

Ann Nielsen said although they had their moments, it was fun to have her daughter working with them for a time.

“It was good to know her as an adult,” Nielsen said. “Of course, we are mother and daughter, and mothers and daughters have their personality things, but in general it was fun to work with her.”

After working with her family for two years and realizing that this area of law wasn’t quite what she wanted to pursue, Miller began working part-time with Tim Kenyon, Union County attorney, doing juvenile work and mental and substance abuse committal. Now working an assistant county attorney in Kossuth County, Miller said this experience helped her decide to transition from private practice, which was what she did with her parents, to criminal law.

Along with Miller, Tim Kenyon has also at different times welcomed Loretta Harvey and his daughter, Elizabeth Lee, as interns.

“I was very lucky,” Kenyon said. “I had the luxury of getting to be around three very bright young minds and learn things from them.”

After taking the bar exam in 2013, Lee returned to work with her father part-time while waiting on her results.

Kenyon, who had in the past practiced with his brother Skip and their father, Arnold, now was the father in the relationship instead of the son. Like the Nielsen family, Lee found that finding the balance of working with family took some time.

“It was a little bit of an adjustment at first just to have a different kind of relationship,” she said. “It’s hard for both of us not to treat one another like, ‘Okay, you’re still Dad and I’m still child.’”

But despite the challenges, both said it was a positive experience.

“I learned things from her — and she might be surprised to hear that — but I did learn things from her, and I hope she learned a few things from me,” Kenyon said. “In the long run, I wouldn’t trade it.”

Loretta Harvey also returned to practice with her family. Since passing the bar in 2002, she has worked with her father, Ed, at the Mullin, Mullin & Harvey law firm in Creston.

Lee said while she worked in Union County, she and Harvey would see each other and talk about their shared experiences.

“It was nice to talk to her about also being a daughter,” Lee said. “We did talk about working with your father and what it’s like to be ... a woman in the field.”

During law school, Amanda James would often help her father by doing research at the Drake law library. She soon realized how this added a new, real-world dimension to her law studies. Over about a three-year period, James would work with her father on certain cases, as well as develop a new appreciation for his craft.

“Witnessing my dad as an attorney wasn’t anything new, but when it got to the point where I understood what he was doing rather than a daughter watching my dad push paper on a table ... that started to develop a whole different level of respect for him,” she said.

And for Marion James, it’s a joy to be able to talk about the career they have in common.

“It’s fun to talk about cases that she might be talking about or revelations that I might have,” he said.

Looking back on her days growing up, Amanda James said she’s thankful for her Creston roots.

“I feel like growing up in Creston has really prepared me for being a good lawyer in a way that maybe growing up in a large city wouldn’t have,” she said. “I feel like I have this stronger appreciation for people divulging their very personal, private matters ... and I think being in a real community where everyone’s so tight-knit helped me be a wiser lawyer.”

Angela Davis agreed.

“I’m very proud as an attorney that practices in Des Moines of being a native of Creston,” she said. “As I’ve gotten older, I can appreciate even more the type of community that we have in Creston. I’m always very proud to say I’m from Creston.”

Five attorney families. Five daughters. And while the families aren’t sure how something this unique happened, there’s another lighthearted joke that there may be more in the future.

“Todd Nielsen (Union County magistrate) also has a daughter, and he’s been reminded several times: ‘This could be your future. You might want to start looking at law schools,’” Lee said.

But that — or maybe even the next generation of family lawyers — is still a bit further down the road.