Editorial
Front Page - Friday, December 4, 2009
Attorney fulfills childhood dreams, satisfied helping others
Stephanie Coward
Ask a child what career he plans to choose, and he may answer a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut or a pilot.Those dreams, however, generally fade and the children who dreamed them tend to end up in careers far different.
Attorney Norm Sabin is the exception to the rule.
“Way back when I was a child … you know, everyone wants to be a pilot, that was one dream but at that point in time, I also wanted to be a lawyer,” Sabin said.
Eventually, that lawyer dream faded. But after a career in data processing sales, Sabin decided to pursue his other dream – flight. He graduated Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in ’88 and went on to fly C-141s for the Air Force Reserves. After that, he landed a job with World Airways. With that company, Sabin would be “out in the system” for four to five weeks at a time, then home for the same length of time. And before long, the itch to go into law resurfaced.
“While I love flying, obviously, I just felt it was time to do it,” he said. On his next break at home, Sabin and his wife loaded up the house and kids and headed to Virginia Beach where Sabin was set to attend Regent University Law School.
“Worst case, I was based in Philadelphia (with World Airways) so I was actually closer to my base than if commuting from San Francisco Bay,” he explained.
After his first day of orientation, Sabin began debating putting law school on hold for another year. His family wasn’t in the ideal financial position, so he decided to return back to the airways. However, when he called his dispatcher, he was informed he’d been furloughed, or “laid off,” in pilot speak.
“So as a result, I’m standing in my kitchen without a job and I’m thinking ‘well, that answers my question. I guess I don’t have any choice, I start law school.’ And I did and everything’s worked out perfectly since then,” Sabin said. “It wasn’t an easy decision by any means. I had a family. I had two very little ones, so it was a major step.”
Many folks would be intimidated going back to school after having two previous careers, but Sabin used the opportunity to mentor younger students and credits his maturity to enabling him to process the experience in a healthy manner.
“Regent University is different, it’s a Christian law school so the attitude (among students) in general, from what I understand of other campuses and other law schools is different,” Sabin said.
Since his wife was working, he was able to focus entirely on his studies while attending Regent University.
“My wife was a great support,” he said.
From the start Sabin knew he wanted to specialize in estate planning and elder law, however it would be another 15 years between law school and reaching his goal. After graduating, Sabin joined the Law Offices of Morgan Adams and focused on litigation. Recently, Sabin made the leap, leaving Morgan Adams and starting his own firm with a focus on estate planning and elder law.
“That was our desire, to be able to work with families and have an ongoing relationship with the families,” Sabin said. “It’s very satisfying. You get a sense of satisfaction every time you have a chance to meet and deal with clients on that level.”
It took about a year of putting together the infrastructure for the firm, Sabin said. “I did not want to rush into it. I wanted to have it in position where once we started building a client base we were prepared to handle the clients.”
Sabin and his associate, Scott Maucere, are finishing up some litigation cases but when they’re done, that’s it.
As a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Sabin offers a specialized type of estate planning that focuses on more than just monetary wealth, called legacy planning, which encompasses assets, money and the like.
“Legacy kind of takes that and expands it and looks at it from a holistic approach saying the life stories you have, the wisdom you have, the values you have and the faith you have and want to pass on to your kids or to those that come behind you are also part of your wealth; it’s just that we can’t put dollar signs on it,” Sabin said.
According to Sabin, legacy planning is not something many people have heard of before. However, the legacy planning seminars he held a few weeks ago were “very well received,” he said.
Sabin plans to delve deeper into elder law in the future. An Air Force veteran himself, he also plans to expand into business planning and Veteran’s aid and assistance.
More information on estate planning, legacy planning, elder law and more can be found at the Sabin & Associates
Web site: www.sabinestateplanning.com.
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