Norm Sabin, 1968
I guess it was my story about criminal defense attorney, Dale Rubin “Our own Perry Mason,” that prompted another attorney in our Burbank High Class of 1968 to write — it was so good to hear from Norm Sabin! Norm is presently living in Chattanooga, TN and is an estate planning attorney.
But law wasn’t Norm’s first or even second career. After spending four years in the Air Force (including one year in Thailand during the Vietnam War), Norm became a Systems Engineer, and worked for 12 years for IBM, Control Data and Storage Technology, finishing with Integrity Solutions as Vice-President of Marketing.
In the 80s during the economic downturn in Colorado, he went through a bankruptcy and ended up back in the Air Force reserves, flying C141s. He also flew for World Airways for about four years and had “numerous adventures including several inflight emergencies.”
In 1991, he went to law school at the age of 40, and graduated in 1994. The first fourteen years of his law career were spent as a litigator, first in insurance defense, and then doing plaintiff’s work. He formed Sabin & Associates 5-1/2 years ago and specializes in estate planning and elder law. His company helps families preserve their wealth during and after their lifetime, including wills and living trusts, legacy planning, family-owned businesses and farms, incapacity planning, IRA and retirement planning. He even addresses estate planning for the LGBT community and their unique needs, as well as protection for beloved family pets!
Proud parents, Norm and Pat Sabin, with daughter Daris
But it was the story on his company’s website that caught my eye — “Attorney Sabin Presents Daughter to the Tennessee Supreme Court,” In this story in the Hamilton County Herald, Norm got choked up when he presented his daughter, Daris Freeman, for acceptance to the state bar. “The realization of what she’d accomplished overwhelmed me,” says Sabin, who’s seated with his daughter in his 4th Avenue office, where his estate planning and elder law practice is based. “She’s done well. For the last four years, she’s been working 50 to 60 hours a week at … [Unum] while going to law school, which involved traveling back and forth between here and Nashville two or three times a week. And she graduated in the top ten percent of her class. When you put all of that together, it’s awesome.” Go back and read this well-written story by David Laprad by clicking here.
Norm and his wife, Pat, have three children, Daris, Kelsey, and Zachary, and two grandchildren. He says he doesn’t plan to retire until probably “48 hours before my funeral!”
Guess that’s going to be a l-o-n-g time from now!
I’ve known Norm Sabin from KINDERGARTEN days! Can you find him in this picture? Click to enlarge. *Hint: look in the back row
Burbank High Class of 1968 