Stephanie R. Gilford
Education
- J.D., Notre Dame Law School, ‘01
- B.A., Anderson University, Christian Education, ‘97
Extracurricular Activities While at NDLS
- Women’s Legal Forum
- Irish Law Society
- Moot Court Appellate
Employment
Associate, Stites & Harbison PLLC
Lexington, KY
Insights Regarding My Area of Practice
- I am currently an associate at Stites & Harbison PLLC in Lexington, Kentucky. Before moving back home to Kentucky, I practiced in the Santa Monica and Orange County, California offices of Bryan Cave LLP. I am licensed to practice in both Kentucky and California. Since I began my career, I have practiced in the areas of commercial litigation, products liability, class action defense and torts and insurance litigation. In the past, I have represented clients in complex asbestos litigation. This afforded me the opportunity to develop my skills in numerous depositions and court appearances at a very early stage in my career. I have also had the opportunity to be a part of a team that won a major victory by defeating class certification on behalf of a client. On a day to day basis, I interact with clients, participate in depositions, hearings and settlement negotiations, coordinate discovery efforts and draft motions. And now that I am in a smaller market and am entering my fourth year of practice, I have the exciting opportunity to also begin to focus my efforts on client development.
On Professional Opportunities
When I begin a job search, my first and always most productive step is to call a Notre Dame Alum. When I was a first year law student, I knew that I wanted to spend my summer in Cincinnati, so I opened up the alumni directory and started calling people. Soon after, I had a summer associate position at a major Cincinnati law firm. After interviewing on campus for my second summer associate position and being offered the job in Santa Monica, California, the managing partner of the office where I worked told me that he had made Notre Dame Law School one of his focus schools for recruiting because he believed they produced quality lawyers who were a good “fit” with the firm’s philosophy. And when I decided to move back to Kentucky, I went through the various Lexington and Louisville firm’s websites, looked for the Notre Dame lawyers and called them. The job I have now is partially the result of one of those first phone calls. The name recognition, reputation for excellence and respect associated with your law school are second only to the valuable people you will meet and relationships you will form during your three years at Notre Dame Law School.
On Classmates and Friendships:
“My law school experience and, I think, that of my classmates’ was highly unusual. Other lawyers are constantly amazed when I tell them that I LOVED law school. I developed the most amazing and genuine friendships and encountered truly quality people. Particularly, the support network of strong, independent women that I met at NDLS helps me on a daily basis to deal with the unique struggles of being a woman in this profession.”
On the General Perception of an NDLS Lawyer:
“I was recently in the office of opposing counsel when I looked at his wall and saw the he had a Notre Dame diploma. Excited to see it, I told him that I went to Notre Dame Law School. I could see the relief he felt as he told me that he was really glad to hear that. Though he went to ND for undergrad and not law school, it really gave him faith that I was an ethical person and he told me that he was going to communicate to his client that she could be assured they were dealing with quality lawyers on the other side.”
