Karlee Pogirski

My name is Karlee and I’ve called Alaska home for over 20 years. My legal journey began in an orphanage in Romania. I was there to teach English, but at the end of my trip, I was enrolling in law school. Countless families were broken apart due to poverty and human trafficking. I wanted to make a difference, offer justice and hope; and most importantly, bring families together after loss or pain…so, I enrolled in law school.

Initially, I was a corporate attorney practicing in a variety of business transaction matters in Virginia and Ohio. While I learned a lot about the business world; corporations; contracts; federal government matters related to lobbying and federal procurements; what I really wanted was to work with families. I wanted to help families come closer together. I just was unsure exactly how to do that. 

I returned home to Alaska after 14 years and I was eager to work directly with families. I began working for the Office of Public Advocacy, as part of the State of Alaska Department of Administration. I represented families and children in Child in Need of Aid cases, general child custody matters, and domestic violence protective orders. I loved working with families and knew I was becoming one step closer to the perfect career.

I had tossed around the idea of estate planning for a year or so, but believed the myth estate planning was for the super wealthy or elderly. When I started researching the NLBM way and becoming a PFL, I was intrigued because it was not a controversial, adversarial environment, nor was it a transactional one-time deal. It was a relationship. It was personal. It captured that question of “Who am I?” “Am I a litigator who argues day in and day out and my clients exhaust me and take me away from my own family, am I corporate transactional attorney who doesn’t know my client at all, or am I a personal lawyer who cares deeply about the client, their children—ultimately, their legacy?” 

Being a Personal Family Lawyer is more than merely sitting down with a client and figuring out where their stuff goes when they die. I want to really get to their heart and advise them on issues they may never have contemplated before walking in my office. To me, estate planning is a journey and the journey can be challenging, but it may allow a person to really consider, “Who am I and how do I want to leave this world?” We are always changing, our spouse is always changing, our children, and the list goes on. We have only this life to make a difference and leave our legacy.

My goal in becoming a PFL was not to learn how to draft and fund a trust; yes, that is important. My goal in joining was to learn how to build a relationship with a person who values their legacy. 

The industry is moving toward a holistic approach to wealth management, and a PFL is akin to their Financial Advisor or CPA. As a PFL, I get to walk the journey with my client in both the good times and during the tragic times.

While going through the New Law Business Program, I also started reading a book entitled, “Living Fearless." He writes about finding our God-given identity. After the first chapter, I felt God saying, “Karlee, I call you Faithful Advocate.”

I become a PFL so I can be a faithful advocate to those around me. I want to faithfully execute clients’ estate plans advocating for their wishes, desires, and for their loved ones. As a wife and mother, the reality the unexpected can happen is ever present, and I want to use my own personal successes and hardships to help clients find their God-given identity and leave a lasting legacy.