Meet Steven Louis-Prescott | Attorney & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Louis-Prescott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?

I’m from a suburb of Detroit. I grew up with parents who worked very hard to support me and my two sisters. My dad was a theology teacher at a catholic high school and the varsity soccer coach, but also found time to coach each of our club soccer teams. My mom was the entrepreneur. She started as a high school teacher too, but opened a day care when we were kids so she could care for us and make some money. When I was in middle school, she opened a yoga studio and went on to run it successfully for 20 years before retiring.

My parents hustled. They did what they had to do (and enjoyed to do) to earn sufficient incomes for them and 3 kids. Growing up, you learn from your experiences, what you see. I saw my parents hustle. It turned me into a hustler. I was never entitled – we didn’t have enough money for me to become entitled. I started working when I was in middle school as a soccer referee and babystting for younger kids on the street. I kept working various jobs through high school and college. Some jobs I liked a lot, some sucked. I didn’t enjoy working just for money, the jobs that sucked I didn’t stick with and the jobs I liked I did everything I could to stick with and grow in. This is how I developed my belief that one of the best things you can do is open doors for yourself. You don’t need to walk through every door you open, but you put yourself in a position to succeed when you create options for yourself. In college, I got a degree in psychology because I liked it. I finished that degree halfway through my junior year. Then I got a degree in geology because it was practical. I still use teachings from both today, but it was certainly the geology degree that opened a lot of the doors I chose to walk through. My first job out of college was with the USFS, which brought me to Colorado. I took the LSAT during college, opening another door, which led to me going to law school and becoming an attorney. I joined an oil and gas law firm in Denver during law school and stuck with it after law school, inspired by my geology knowledge.

The first company I started was also inspired by my geology degree. We created models that helped predict the value of mineral rights, the rights to oil and gas under the land. This was important for a lot of farmers and ranchers up in Weld County, where oil and gas drilling was happening and a bunch of companies were contacting them and trying to buy their oil and gas rights for the royalty revenues. We advised the landowners on the value of their mineral rights when they wanted to sell and helped them significantly increase their sale prices. That company did six figures in profits in the first year. I started it and was running it while an associate at the law firm. My life was attorney for 10-12 hours by day, and entrepreneur for 2-4 hours per night and on the weekends. I was hustling.

My next company was a coffee company. I met a couple guys who started the company and it had amazing branding and the coffee was spectacular. I saw something there. They needed money and I was looking to invest and get back into the start up game. The mineral rights business had slowed down substantially. I was still working a lot as an attorney, on the verge of making partner but not there yet. I wanted to hustle, and I needed something else on my plate. I invested in the coffee company, became an executive, and we started to market and grow the business. That was a good time, we had a fun run. I became a partner at my law firm, which made me a partial owner of yet another business, and then I got married. At that point, I had to choose between the coffee company, the law firm, and my relationship. I knew I wanted to “hustle” in my relationship, and by that I mean be present and spend sufficient time together to be a great partner and build a great family. I saw my parents both working hard at their jobs, but working even harder on their relationship and their parenting. They were great role models for us kids. I also knew I wanted to keep pushing my legal career, both as a leader within the firm and an advocate for my clients. I had to walk away from the coffee company, mostly to make sure I stayed sane. That felt good. It gave me the time and energy I needed to focus on the things I really loved, notwithstanding (lawyer word) my love for coffee and the company I was walking away from.

Now, as a “boss” at the law firm with various employees, clients, and attorneys I’m managing, I think a lot about my parents and their roles as leaders, dad as the head coach of a premier varsity soccer team and multiple club teams and head of a department in his school, mom as the founder of a yoga studio. I think about how they led with love, managed difficult situations, and set expectations and boundaries for their teams/employees but also for themselves (making sure they’re more than their job and home for the important things). I rely a lot on my psychology degree, thinking about what people need to feel comfortable, safe, happy, which collectively support a good work environment and good work product. I keep hustling for my clients, employees, and business, and I keep hustling for my relationship and family.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

I’m currently one of four partners of a law firm in Denver. The firm opened in 1991 and I became a partner in 2021. As partner, I am an owner and director of the company. My income depends on the success of the business and I’m tasked with making decisions for the betterment (hopefully) of the business. It shocks me that law schools don’t require business management courses.

Rewind. I did not find law school particularly hard, but I also was not a “gunner”. Gunners are the people that compete with everyone else to get the As (law school grading is based on a curve, the same number of As need to be awarded as Cs, meaning most students get Bs) so they have the best class rank and get the best offers from the biggest firms. I was content to get the As and Bs and figure out my career as I went. One of the most memorable moments of my law school experience occurred in a course where the teacher required everyone in the class, 100 students or so, to take a Meyers-Briggs type personality test. He showed the results on a screen, with each student being a dot on a “personality map”. It is fair to say that certain personalities are drawn to the law, and this personality map confirmed that. Except for me. My dot was a lone ranger dot on a part of the map that no one would associate with being a lawyer. I took pride in that. I think it is part of what makes me a good lawyer.

I didn’t start as a “good” lawyer. I don’t think anyone does. Practicing law is very different than law school. My first boss told me, flat out, “hey, when you’re doing work for clients, just remember, you can’t be wrong.” Geez. I had just been told that As and Bs aren’t good enough, you have to get 100% on every test. That’s a powerful thing to hear as a young attorney, and while it may not have been great for my anxiety levels, it definitely gave me perspective that I needed. A lawyer that does decent, okay, average is usually going to do a worse job than a lawyer that does great. The law often pits attorney versus attorney, especially litigation which I do. The most prepared typically wins. The one who is right typically wins. The one who is smart but didn’t work very hard on the case typically loses. Another thing that made me a good attorney was my propensity for hustling, or grinding as me and my wife call it, which I discussed previously. I like to work, as long as I enjoy the work. On that same page, I learned about 10,000 hour rule while in law school and quickly applied it to my practice of the law. To really by good, you need to be an expert. To be an expert, you need to spend a lot of time with something. I worked a lot of hours early in my career. I still work a lot of hours, mostly out of necessity today, but early on I worked a lot of hours because I wanted to become an expert. When I became an expert in oil and gas law, meaning I could analyze cases without having to do research and know exactly how strong the case was, my career took off. I started being asked to speak on panels, guest lecture at law schools, and develop my own book of business.

Since becoming comfortable with oil and gas, I switched firms because I wanted to expand my expertise. My first firm was not going to expand beyond oil and gas so if I wanted to expand I needed to work with people that were experts in other areas. That’s why I joined my current firm. I wanted to expand into adjacent areas of law – eminent domain, land use, property. This, also, took time. A difficulty was balancing my oil and gas cases with the cases I was asking to get on in these other areas. One of the busiest years of my career was my first year at the current firm, when I was trying to keep existing clients happy while learning as much as I could about new practices. Fortunately, I joined a firm with great partners, attorneys, and staff. I got a lot help. I was able to walk into a partners office, ask questions, and just be a sponge. I learned a lot about a lot.

I quickly became a partner myself, due entirely to my oil and gas expertise and book of business developed from that. The work and time I put in early paid off. As a partner, I spend a lot of time running a business in addition to spending a lot of time managing cases. I have the benefit of relying on other attorneys to help on my cases, but no one else in the firm is an oil and gas “expert”. There is still a lot I cannot delegate. My favorite part of practicing law right now is taking cases to trial with one of my partners in a new area, like eminent domain, where they are experts and I’m an aspiring expert. These are the best learning moments for me as an attorney. As a business owner, a manager, I’m constantly learning. Fortunately, my partners have been doing this for a long time, and I get the benefit of stepping into a relatively well-oiled machine. But like any person, a business can always be better. That’s my biggest goal right now. I don’t necessarily believe we need to be bigger or make more money, though that’s never bad for business. I want to build our brand though, I want more people, inside and outside the legal world, to know that we are a firm that does excellent work and is comprised of excellent people.

The people part of it is particularly interesting to me. Each partner has a specific role, and mine since day one of being a partner has been people focused. I do a lot of our interviews. I do most of the mid-year reviews. I handle a lot of personnel issues. I really care about the wellness of the employees. During covid times, I was reading a lot about employee well being. I want the firm to be a good business but also an enjoyable job. For the attorneys in the firm, having a good business necessarily means working a lot. Attorneys don’t make money if they’re not working, the curse of the billable hour. So if we’re all working a lot, my goal is for it to be enjoyable work. This comes in many colors, such as establishing collaborative methods and being a resource or providing access to resources that make work easier. I’m still reading a lot, and listening to podcasts, and speaking with other leaders about managing a business and people. This, too, I hope to become an expert in.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m going to assume it’s a summer visit. I had a client recently do a tour of the capital building, which I’ve never actually done, but he said it was pretty sweet. Great views from the top with really neat architecture and artwork. I’d start with that on day 1 as a cool new experience. Then I’d recommend Pint’s Pub for some British fare, good beers, and an incredible scotch collection which is nearby. On day 2, I’d want to do something active. Another thing I’ve never done is the Manitou Incline, but I’ve heard it’s a great experience. Plus, Manitou Springs is a cool town and on the way back you can stop off in Colorado Springs for lunch and a beer at Cerberus Brewing Co. They’d definitely have to check the Red Rocks concert calendar, no way anyone would want to miss an opportunity to catch a show there. In fact, I always recommend that a trip be scheduled around a certain band being in town and playing Red Rocks. I really like golfing at Fossil Trace in Golden, followed by a not so cold “cold plunge” in Clear Creek near the Golden Library. Nearby is the Golden Mill for sushi and/or chicken sandwiches too. For a long hike, I like Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It is easily accessible but rarely gets too crowded. I’d highly recommend getting some time in the mountains and particularly enjoy Granby which is only an hour and half from the Highlands neighborhood of Denver. I like to go fly fishing in the Fraser River and grab dinner at the Tabernash Tavern, one of the best kept secrets in the Fraser Valley. It’s always fun to catch a Rockies game and go for a unique dinner experience at the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver too. The food and atmosphere are like nothing else downtown.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many answers to this question. Today, the answer is Rob Chidester. He’s been a great friend, squash opponent, wedding officiant, business partner, and confidant. We have standing weekly phone calls to discuss our roles managing law firms and to seek/share advice. We have ad hoc calls a few times per week to discuss life and how we can do better. There have definitely been times when we kept each other sane.

Instagram: @stevenlouisprescott

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-louis-prescott-bb7ba82b/

Image Credits
Selfish Pricks Team Photo and Coffee Photo: Roman Tafoya, @rmtafoya, roman@themilehighcity.com Wedding photo: Trent & Stacy Gillespie, Gillespie Photography, @gillespiephotog