Marianne Lawhead: Thoughts on Her Personal Life, Professional Challenges and Working With Deadbeats By: Melanie Kowal

“The office fits the personalities of the folks in the firm. It’s quirky like we are,” explains Marianne Lawhead as she guides me up the creaky staircase of the 19^th century Victorian house her firm calls home. Lawhead, the Atlanta Office Administrator of Shea Stokes Carter, is not kidding. The house, complete with turrets, 12 fireplaces and oddly enough a pool, is as individual as the firm itself. Speaking with Lawhead in her office which boasts large, stained glass windows, crown molding and rich hardwood floors, she seems a modern day southern belle.

An Atlanta native, Lawhead grew up in Sandy Springs and attended Auburn after high school. She started off her college years focusing on fashion merchandising, then switched to secondary education. During this time she met her husband, who received a tempting offer to join the management training program at Carnation Company. The opportunity necessitated moving to Charlotte, which the young couple did unhesitatingly.

“I worked there for awhile, but had babies right away,” she informs. Little did Lawhead know that fate was blazing a trail as she accepted a job with First Union. “I worked in the legal recovery department. It was my first taste of anything law related.”

How did she view her first experience with the law? “I thought there were a lot of deadbeats in the world,” she laughs, recalling some of the lame excuses invented by customers. Lawhead’s job was tracking down people with delinquent credit card payments. “If we could actually find them, then we would refer them to a local attorney or take them to court ourselves. I found it interesting, but frustrating.”

After two years in Charlotte, Lawhead’s husband accepted a job working for Fisher Price Toys in western New York, so the family headed further north. In addition to the obvious free-toy perks, they enjoyed the great people they encountered there. “We really loved living there,” Lawhead reminisces. “If it wasn’t for the weather, we very likely might still be there today.”

For the next four years, Lawhead focused all of her efforts on raising her children. However, they decided to head back home to be near family (and warmer weather). Lawhead’s husband moved into a commission-based career, and she decided to return to work in order to provide a steady income. Thus began her twenty-two year relationship with Arch Stokes.

“I ended up working in a law firm as a receptionist. Once again, I found myself receiving calls from various deadbeats,” Lawhead explains with a smirk. “I couldn’t get away from it.”

After two years in the role of receptionist, Lawhead was assigned as a legal secretary to Arch Stokes, a name partner of the firm. In 1992, Stokes formed Stokes & Murphy based in College Park; Lawhead followed under the title of office manager. The fledgling firm soon grew to include offices in Santa Monica, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Orlando and New York.

How did she tackle these new responsibilities?

“I struggled along for a good seven years, just trying to figure things out by myself,” she states honestly. “I had nobody. I didn’t know about the ALA then.”

Lawhead encountered challenges such as setting up a billing system, wrestling with new computer programs and finding vendors, all things that had already been in place at her former firm.

“Working with a start-up law firm is so much fun, but so crazy,” she informs, recalling late nights spent around her dining room table trying to piece together insurance plans.

 “I don’t know how I put it all together,” she states. “The skills I learned during those years are the skills that have served me best.” Stokes & Murphy, which provided labor and employment services to elite clients in the hospitality field, took off running. They increased rapidly, bringing on additional staff and associates to manage the thriving business. However, despite the presence of staff that handled each component of the firm, Lawhead remained involved in all aspects

In 1997 she took on yet another role, that of building management. “We were in a small office building before. It’s different when you own your own building. We’re our own landlord. We have to call to fix the air conditioning, change the light bulbs and get the pool cleaned.” (Pool cleaned? Don’t you feel sorry for her?) The firm struggled to find a building to suit its identity. After much searching, Lawhead and Stokes’ wife, who was also a partner at the time, came across the beautiful 1892 house by mere happenstance. They immediately bid on the house, but faced a long battle with the city and historical society. After many visits to the City of College Park, and a door-to-door petition campaign, the city acquiesced and full-time renovation began.

In 2004, 12 years after the firm’s inception, they merged with Shea McNitt & Carter, a West Coast firm with offices in San Diego and Los Angeles. “The merger was really healthy for the firm,” states Lawhead. “It’s grown us in a new direction.” The firm, now under the banner of Shea Stokes Carter, has grown from five attorneys in 1992 to 30.  In spite of its old-fashioned setting, the firm is very entrepreneurial and innovative, leading the pack in the fields of litigation management, labor and employment and mass tort litigation.

Using the Mississippi River as the great divide, Lawhead manages the east side operation, while her counterparts in Los Angeles and San Diego head up the west. (Not to be outdone by its eastern partner, the San Diego office has recently moved into converted loft space in the Gaslamp District.) Since the merger, Lawhead has been able to focus more on human resources, and less on finances. “I want to make sure that everyone is fulfilled,” she explains. “If there is something anyone wants to learn, I want them to have the chance.” The extremely low turnover at Shea Stokes Carter attests to Lawhead’s success in meeting the needs of the staff. She enjoys being available to counsel them and provide support.

Lawhead herself found immense support when she joined the ALA in 2000.

“One of my newsletters mentioned the ALA,” she explains. After focusing a solid year solely on getting the new office space secured and ready, Lawhead felt as if she had let her other responsibilities fall to the wayside. The ALA was a welcomed discovery.

“I had no resources. I felt isolated down here without other firms. I needed a professional organization of people who would listen and give me good advice.”

Lawhead has particularly benefited from the small law firm group, which she has found an excellent forum for venting, asking questions and finding solutions. Although she could’ve benefited from these resources during the initial years of the firm’s start-up, she firmly believes that her managerial skills have grown exponentially since becoming a member. Her involvement in ALA activities increased in early 2005 when she began serving as the ALA Branch Office Section Chair. 2006 promises even further interaction, as she has recently accepted the role as Director of e-newsletter.

With the firm racing full-speed ahead and a core group of professionals at her disposal, Lawhead may actually have time to pursue her own interests. A self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades, she hopes to solidify her broad knowledge by taking the CLM in the near future.

“I also never want to become a dinosaur,” she says, explaining her goal to never fall behind technologically. “I want to stay as abreast of everything as I can. Even if I’m not an expert on technology, I want to know what’s going on. I never want to be outdated.”

As with many professionals, Lawhead is surprised with the course she has taken. “I never set out in my life to do what I do, but I don’t know if I could ever envision myself doing something different,” she explains. Having reached such success in both her personal and professional life, Lawhead should feel nothing but pride for her accomplishments.

Melanie Kowal works as a freelance writer in Atlanta. She can be reached at melaniekowal@hotmail.com.

Editor: Brian Gedeon (BHGedeon@duanemorris.com) (This publication is the property of the Atlanta Association of Legal Administrators. Reproduction or reprint without prior permission is strictly prohibited. Click here to request reprint permission.)

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