Sheila Kadagathur, ’05: Finding a Calling in Family Law
After five and a half years at a big firm that she had joined right after graduating from the Law School, Sheila Kadagathur, ’05, did some soul-searching.
“For many people, working at a big firm is a great experience, but I wanted some things that I didn’t feel I was getting,” she recalled. “I wanted to be more in charge of my own situation; I wanted to do more personal one-on-one counseling; I wanted to see a more direct connection between my work and helping people. And as a new mother, I didn’t want to travel—I wanted to be present in my son’s life every day.”
Kadagathur decided to join a newly formed family law practice, Hostetter Strent. It turned out to be everything she had hoped for.
“I work with clients at what can be the darkest time of their lives, and I can help them to get through it, go forward, and thrive.” Sheila Kadagathur, ’05
“I work with clients at what can be the darkest time of their lives, and I can help them to get through it, go forward, and thrive. I am my own boss. I’ve helped grow the firm and I’ve built my practice. And I have been able to be present for my sons—all four of them, now—as they grow up.”
Now a partner at Hostetter Strent, Kadagathur has amassed accolades as a top-tier lawyer from many sources, including Super Lawyers magazine, the Washingtonian, and The Best Lawyers in America. She credits the Law School for creating the foundation for her success.
“I took some family law and liked it a lot—Emily Buss was an inspiring teacher—but it is really the overall learnings that have paid off most, like getting quickly to the core issues and thinking about them in creative ways. Family law is constantly changing, as societal conceptions develop about what ‘family’ means and lawmakers and courts react to that, so being able to quickly recognize the fundamental aspects of the issues and the law is very beneficial.”
Two other benefits have come to Kadagathur from her Law School connection. “I get some clients because people see that I have a UChicago degree and they figure I must have some useful legal smarts,” she said. “And I met my husband there.” She and Jake Phillips, ’03, were married in 2006. He is currently general counsel of GE Aerospace, and his previous responsibilities have included working at Boeing for 13 years and serving in the White House under presidents Bush and Biden.
She said she has just one Law School regret—having passed up the chance to take Con Law with Barack Obama. She has shown her appreciation and affection for the Law School by serving as her class’s reunion committee cochair for their 20th reunion last spring, as a mentor to young alumni women attorneys, and as a member of the 1902 Leadership Committee, a group of highly engaged graduates of the Law School.
Looking toward the future of her practice, she said, “It seems like big things are coming with AI, and we’re just beginning to experience that.”
And considering her own future, she reflected on the primary occupational challenge of her work: “Your responsibilities to your clients’ welfare are weighty. It’s a hard job, emotionally, and you don’t ever really get to walk away from it. The satisfactions are huge, but there is a toll that can wear on you. If it becomes so much that I don’t love going to work every day as I do now, I might have to look for something less stressful. But for now and the foreseeable future, I am all in.”
