Anne Hamer is a top-rated family lawyer based in Nashville, Tennessee, whose path to success was anything but traditional. After years in corporate and plaintiff work, and even a decade as a stay-at-home mom, Anne returned to the courtroom with a new sense of purpose. In this episode, she shares how to change your legal career at any age, how her own divorce reshaped her understanding of family law, and why it’s never too late to find work you love.
Family lawyer Anne Hamer proves it’s never too late to reinvent your legal career and build a practice that fits your life, your purpose, and your strengths.
Born and raised in Memphis, Anne Hamer has spent much of her life in Tennessee, with a detour to New York for law school at NYU. She laughs now about being the Southern student with the unmistakable accent that made her memorable in class but also taught her to adapt and connect with people from every background. After graduation, she weighed a fast-paced life in Manhattan against a more balanced one back home and chose Tennessee.
"I just knew I was not going to have any kind of life if I stayed in New York. I wanted something different," shares Anne Hamer on You Are A Lawyer.
Anne’s career began in corporate law at a large Nashville firm, where she handled IPOs and mergers but found herself uninspired by the work. After trying litigation, plaintiff work, and even stepping away from practice for 10 years to raise her children, she returned to law with a renewed sense of purpose. Today, she’s one of Tennessee’s most respected family lawyers, recognised by Super Lawyers for her compassionate yet strategic approach to high-conflict and high-asset divorce cases.
For Anne, law school was more than an academic challenge, it was an act of independence. She attended NYU partly to be near a boyfriend, but ultimately, the experience became hers alone. She loved the intellectual rigor, the energy of the city, and the exposure to brilliant legal minds who broadened her perspective.
"It was a fabulous experience. I broke up with him before I even started, but I loved law school, and I’m still close to my classmates 30 years later," reflects Anne Hamer on Episode 104 of You Are a Lawyer.
While NYU prepared her for the technical side of law, it didn’t prepare her for the realities of career evolution; the twists and restarts that would later define her journey. Anne now encourages law students to focus less on prestige and more on sustainability.
Anne Hamer’s career is living proof that a law degree doesn’t lock you into one path. She’s worked in corporate law, litigation, plaintiff’s work, and family law, and each phase taught her something different about herself. Early in her career, she followed the money, chasing stability and status. Later, she learned to follow meaning instead.
"Don’t be discouraged if you’re not happy with what you’re doing right now. You can do a million things with your law degree," explains Anne Hamer, on this episode of You Are a Lawyer.
When she began practising family law in her 40s, Anne discovered the perfect intersection of her skills, empathy, and life experience. Now, she reminds other lawyers that passion often follows competence, once you find your rhythm, success and satisfaction grow together.
Anne doesn’t run a separate business or creative venture, but the impact she makes extends far beyond her day-to-day practice. In addition to managing a demanding family-law caseload, she speaks at professional events, mentors younger attorneys, and represents her firm in the broader legal community. Her work is rooted in service, education, and leadership; roles that allow her to influence not just her clients but the direction of family law itself.
“I love what I do. I love the clients I work with. I love our attorneys. I love our staff,” shares Anne Hamer in Episode 104 of You Are a Lawyer.
Her passion for helping families navigate high-conflict situations naturally lends itself to these additional responsibilities. Whether she’s presenting to colleagues, guiding clients through some of the hardest moments of their lives, or educating the public about the realities of divorce and co-parenting, Anne uses her expertise in ways that extend her impact beyond the courtroom. In many ways, these efforts function as her version of a side hustle; a commitment to shaping a healthier, more compassionate vision of family law.
Anne is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Nashville.
This episode is produced by Skip The Boring Stuff, a podcast strategy company for business owners and creatives.
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