The company was established in 1973 by Sean Sheppard, initially as a solo practice. At the time he had practiced for almost ten years in large firms in Chicago and Indianapolis, but he wanted to return to The Gateway to the West to be closer to family.

Initially it was a general practice, doing contracts, divorce, real estate, referrals, and some litigation. But it wasn’t until 1978 that Sheppard and Associates had there any true associates. Besides Sean’s keen understanding of the law and his clear oral and written skills, he was also a very good judge of character. The next fifteen years saw a steady increase in the number of cases the firm handled, extending into various areas as some associates and eventually partners. Several of those who left and moved away joined large firms (where they are partners) or formed their own successful firms. But in general, Sean liked to keep the practice to a small “manageable” size with no more than ten lawyers on staff.

In 1994, he hired a new lawyer, with a handful of years of experience, with the bulk of it being outside of the U.S. But even though they had only spoken by phone and never met in person, Sean had a hunch that Regina Fulton would make a good fit at the practice. And he was right.

She was a great estate planner, but could see beyond the law and understood that in the end it was all about people and the future. She had a great knack dealing with clients, both setting up estates and trusts, and dealing with the consequences of probate from wills that she would describe with a gentle laugh as “not the way I would have done it.” Her success led her to becoming a partner in 1999 and a senior partner in 2005.

In 2008, Sean decided after 35 years that he wanted to pursue some other projects and retired from the firm. He teaches Legal Writing as an Adjunct Professor at Washington University where he can share his skills and insight with the next generation of lawyers.

Regina became the Managing Partner and over the next few years the firm focused more on Estate and Trust law and wound up referring more of the other areas to their friends and colleagues at other local firms. Rather than rename the firm after her, in 2010 she decided the firm would now be St. Louis Estate and Trust Law (or SLET Law as it’s sometimes called). Regina joked, “I don’t want to force the next person to have to deal with all the new business cards and logos if they don’t want to.”

Today St. Louis Estate and Trust Law is one of the most well respected firms in the St. Louis and Southern Illinois areas.

The firm respects its history and wants it to continue in the future.

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