Doug Stephan: Listening and Advocating for Insurance and Healthcare Clients
(originally published in March 2021)
The first thing you notice when you meet Doug Stephan is that he is interested. In you, in your background, in your issue, and in how he can help you. Working in insurance and healthcare law, his ability to listen carefully and parse out critical information has made him a strong advocate for his clients and a long-term successful litigator.
Doug has successfully represented the insureds of national insurance providers and has tried more than 100 jury trials in auto accident cases in dozens of Kentucky counties, as well as in federal courts in the eastern and western districts of Kentucky. He has also been successful in obtaining summary disposition and resolution in multiple courts on claims against long-term care facilities and has facilitated hundreds of successful mediations and jury trials for health care, and other institutional clients, throughout Kentucky.
“Whether it’s a long relationship or we’re starting a brand-new representation, when a client calls, I always ask, ‘how can I help you?’ They share the details, we focus on the issues, and we develop an initial plan to move forward finding effective solutions.” — Doug Stephan
He doesn’t come from a family of lawyers. No one from his family had ever gone to college although, growing up, his parents always told him he was going. As an undergraduate, he studied calculus, surveying, economics, chemistry and other sciences. And his transition to law re-emphasized communicating clearly and effectively, which is a big part of his job as a lawyer.
“I am eternally grateful to my parents who were lifelong advocates of education. A friend suggested I consider the legal profession, and from there, my determination to learn the law was cultivated by excellent mentors. I had the good fortune to work all three years of law school with five great trial attorneys (I still practice law with two of them). That experience opened doors and turned out to be a great career fit.”
He’s practiced in many areas of the law, but Doug focuses on insurance and healthcare law because of how they affect everyone. “When disputes arise that cannot be resolved, these areas of the law can have long-term consequences and significantly impact society beyond the litigants. Each client is unique. Whether it’s a long relationship or we’re starting a brand-new representation, when a client calls, I always ask, ‘how can I help you?’ They then share the details, we focus on the issues, and with their approval we develop an initial plan to move forward finding effective solutions.”
As a lawyer at Sturgill Turner, Doug says, clients and attorneys benefit from the value of the whole team. “The characteristics needed to be a good litigation lawyer are to be a good speaker and writer but be a better listener. Our “roundtable” discussions help us creatively address complex legal issues to find alternative approaches.”
In addition to his experience and team, Doug takes inspiration from various scholars, religion and music. “Abraham Lincoln taught young lawyers in his time to ‘leave nothing to tomorrow which can be done today.’ This is still good advice for attorneys today. I am still learning every day, but decades of experience has shown I can succeed for my clients by always being prepared, doing the best I can, being diligent and prompt, working hard for each client, taking nothing for granted, and always keeping my client informed.”
He enjoys being an attorney because it affords him the ability to help others. “It’s a ‘calling’ that grows with time, experience and relationships, and because lawyers, by furthering the goals of their clients with success, advance the public good. And none of this would be possible without my wonderful co-workers and supportive family.
“As Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, ‘to know even one life has breathed easier’ by your efforts is ‘success’ and that lesson applies daily to my work.”
Doug has been named Best Lawyers in America Lexington “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of Insurance Law, is recognized as a Best Lawyer in both Insurance Law and Health Care Law, achieved an AV Preeminent peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.