Prior to becoming an attorney, Steven Lee spent two decades in the construction industry in New York City. But then the 2008 financial crash hit, drastically altering the nation’s economic landscape, and in its wake, many contractors were left struggling from the fallout.

For Steven, it was time to consider a change.

“I had parents who forced me to finish undergrad early on, and thank God for that, because I looked around and law school seemed like a good option,” recalled Steven, a New York City native whose parents emigrated from Korea and raised him in Queens. “I took my LSAT and I applied to law schools, and I got into Hofstra Law.”

Remarkably, during the three years in which he attended law school, Steven continued operating his construction business.

“And then once I became an attorney, I closed the business, and here I am,” he said.

Based in White Plains, Steven is a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Construction Litigation and Counsel practice group, counseling and defending clients in a wide range of commercial and civil litigation matters. With extensive experience in both state and federal courts, he also defends clients in general liability and employment matters involving New York State Labor Law, catastrophic fire loss, and complex litigation.

Though he started his career in general liability and immigration law, it soon became apparent that his background and experience in the construction industry would be valuable to prospective clients.

“My background in construction really helped transition me into construction law,” said Steven. “I love arguing, and love interacting with people. So, the litigation portion, whether it’s in general liability, whether it’s in construction law, really suited my personality.”

Still, while he could speak the language of his construction clients and understood their business concerns from his own firsthand experience in the industry, Steven credits the mentorship he received from an experienced partner for showing him what it truly meant to practice law.

“He taught me there was a level of conduct and a level of decorum that went with being an attorney and being part of the bar. When we represent a client, we go all out for them. We make sure we assert all their rights. We make sure cases are handled with a level of excellence. But it also matters how you handle cases. Never take things personally. At the end of the day, this is a profession. This is a job. It gets combative sometimes. Certainly, we have adversaries. So, it’s just a matter of perspective: Don’t let other people affect how you react and how you feel about certain things. How you act is important when litigating in an adversarial situation.”

The lessons learned through that mentorship, Steven said, “really stuck with me,” and established the foundation from which he has built his career.

“I like to bring some warmth in the way I present myself and in the way I communicate. I think that helps gain trust,” said Steven. “I try to keep things simple. I don’t overcomplicate things. What overcomplicating does is it causes you to lose communication with the client. It’s important to keep things very concise. If you take a complex situation and you add complexity to it, you’re just going to make a mess, and the most important part of client service is communication: Getting on the phone with the client early in the case, understanding what their needs are, understanding the landscape, and explaining to them what their expectations should be and how we’re going to go about handling things.

“Give them updates to let them understand what’s happening in their case and be responsive whenever they do have questions. And don’t overpromise,” he added. “You have to be realistic. A litigation can change over the life of the file. So, you have to manage expectations. I think that helps build trust with the client.”

Effective communication, Steven added, also involves listening to a client, which is just as crucial as imparting advice.

“I think listening, more than speaking, is really key to understanding the client. I like to present the case to a client and have them respond with what their thoughts are. If you give them an introduction and they’re able to fill in the blanks, you’re then able to go even further with the information that they provide you.

“If I don’t understand something, for instance — in an industry, or with a product, or if a product explodes and injures somebody — I’m going to listen to the client’s thoughts about the product, how it was manufactured, how it went through the chain of custody down to the retailer. That’s not only going to give me an understanding of the industry, it’s going to give me an understanding about their case and who I can bring into the case, where I can see risk transfer and what I would speak with an expert about regarding that product.”

At its core, Steven said, being a lawyer is about communicating and providing your client with the best representation possible. And, he added, it is important for all involved to recognize the process is often a crawl, not a sprint.

“Litigation is inch-by-inch,” he said. “Sometimes you have a great day — you win a motion, you win a trial, you have a really positive outcome for your client. Those are days that happen once in a while. But in general, a good day is you’ve worked your workday trying to get each of your clients closer to a positive outcome. I think it’s all about just gaining those extra inches in the day because at the end of the case, these things are what’s going to matter.”

Helping Steven bring his clients closer to those positive outcomes are his colleagues at Goldberg Segalla, where throughout its nationwide footprint, he said, there is a sense of “community” amongst attorneys — something that sets GS apart from most other firms.

“In this remote world, you see a lot of attorneys who are on an island, who really aren’t interacting much,” said Steven. “But at Goldberg Segalla, everyone’s door really is open. I speak with other attorneys here, not only in my office, but from other offices. The sharing of knowledge, I think, really makes a big difference in how we approach our cases, and the confidence with which we present our cases. It’s good to have 500 other attorneys behind you.

“I tell this to people all the time, and I really mean it: This firm is where you end your career. When you find a place where the people are great, and the environment is great, and you like the work that you do, you stay. This place makes it easy for me to stay motivated.”