Kane Shepherd is a man of few words, despite being an attorney. Instead of captivating juries with loquacious arguments or dominating the conversation during negotiations, he prefers to sit silently and review a contract or to sit silently and write one.
The key word in both scenarios is “silently.”
“I’ve always liked researching and writing more than talking, so reviewing and writing contracts is a natural fit for me,” says Shepherd, 31.
Shepherd’s work as a transactional attorney at Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison – where he guides startups and large businesses in real estate matters, financial and lending transactions, and mergers and acquisitions – provides ample opportunities for quiet analysis.
While Shepherd might favor evaluation over verbal sparring, he’s surely not alone in preferring the serener side of the law. Besides, as a son of a Montana rancher, he’s accustomed to tranquility as a way of life.
“People in Montana are few and far between,” Shepherd notes. “I’m from a town of 900, which is closer to the norm than not. High schools are so small they have to combine with other schools to make sports teams, and people have to drive 75 miles to shop at a Walmart. It’s a different way of life.”
Different, perhaps, but no less capable than a big city producing scholars.
Shepherd attributes his attraction to the law partly to the influence of his parents, including a father who’s also the silent type and a mother who served as a career clerk for the Montana Supreme Court before giving birth to him and his brother.
“Both of my parents are deeply analytical,” Shepherd says. “My dad is more of a listener than a talker, and my mom has the mind of an attorney. Those qualities naturally became a part of me.”
Shepherd says he also developed a strong work ethic while growing up on a ranch, where he began to corral cattle and bale hay at the age of 10.
“Much of the work ethic you need as a lawyer was programmed into me as I worked on my family’s ranch at a young age. It molded me in that way.”
As did Shepherd’s work as a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, which he served the summer after high school and during breaks from classes at the University of Montana.
Shepherd fought fires far from home, including in Arizona, California and New Mexico.
He was battling flames in the latter when the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona overran and killed 19 wildland firefighters with the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew June 30, 2013.
Shepherd says he never came close to meeting the same fate, although he did occasionally have to beat a path of retreat. “I had to walk brisky out of a few situations,” he says, looking like his lips are drawn together with purse strings.
After Shepherd’s last summer as a firefighter, he beat a path to Knoxville, where he earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Tennessee College of Law. He selected the school based on three factors: scholarship money, Tennessee’s warmer climate and a pace of life that seemed more laid back than that of a larger university.
Shepherd also wanted to attend a Power Five conference school, he adds with a smile. “As soon as I knew I was going to Tennessee, I converted to a die-hard Volunteer fan overnight.”
With the vast vistas of Montana still burned into his retinas as he approached Knoxville during his first drive to the city, Shepherd felt like he was entering a teeming metropolis rather than a college town, he says.
Nevertheless, Shepherd dove confidently into his studies, certain he’d chosen a profession that would serve him well and to which he could make a contribution, he says.
“I decided to go to law school when I was a senior in undergraduate school. Some of the ideas I had when I started college were more romantic, but I was knuckling down and thinking long-term, and law school seemed like a natural progression. I felt like it fit my interests and skillset.”
Before joining Grant Konvalinka in 2019, Shepherd clerked at the Hamilton County Chancery Court for the Hon. Pamela Fleenor and the Hon. Jeffrey Atherton. He then settled into a practice at the firm he calls home and focused on two related priorities: developing a transactional practice and avoiding court.
“I try to stay out of the courtroom at all costs. That’s not me. I’m an introvert, so I don’t care for that side of law,” Shepherd explains.
“But I enjoy real estate, which feels like a puzzle I have to piece together. The history of the properties (on which I work) and the nuances and characteristics that are unique to each one interest me.”
The board of directors at Grant Konvalinka appear to approve of Shepherd’s work, as its members recently promoted him to director, which is akin to becoming a partner at the firm. Shepherd says his advancement is an honor.
“It means people have faith in me and respect the work I’m doing, which I appreciate. I feel like I’ve achieved something important.”
Shepherd hopes to carry this sense of achievement home with him at the end of each day, as he’s purchased an East Ridge residence that needs a set of confident hands to right a few wrongs.
“I bought an older house a few years ago, and the previous owners were big do-it-yourselfers,” he laments. “A lot of things need to be repaired, replaced or organized, so I spend my weekends landscaping and fixing things.”
The landscaping is surely easy for a Montana native who began corralling cows and baling hay at the age of 10, but the home improvements are altogether another matter, Shepherd laughs.
“I have a love-hate relationship with home improvements. For the most part, I’m learning as I go. I spend a lot of time Googling how to do things.”
When Shepherd wants to decompress, he plays golf, makes full use of his season tickets to Vol football games and spends time with his fiancé, Savannah May, who also practices law at Grant Konvalinka. (See the Nov. 22, 2022, issue of the Hamilton County Herald.)
Before long, however, Shepherd’s practice is knocking at his door. To his pleasure, it’s a soft knock, and the work that lands on his desk is quiet and contemplative.