Episode 041
Kathy Root
How do you turn a nearly 40-year legal career into a secure, million-dollar retirement? In this episode of Women’s Million Dollar Conversations, Alice Tang sits down with Kathy Root, a family law veteran who retired on April 1st after 39 years of practice. Kathy reveals the “long-term play” that allowed her to reach seven-figure status, including the importance of starting early and the role her husband played in shifting her mindset toward savings. Learn why Kathy believes money is a tool for personal security and travel, and how she stayed resilient through decades of market ups and downs.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
"Mentorship and having a good solid group of professional collegues and personal friends that you can rely on and reach out to is extrememly important and has been a valuable component of my life."
[00:00:00]
Welcome to Women’s Million Dollar Conversations with Alice Tang, where we share stories from successful business women who have saved, earn or sold over a million dollars and discuss how they build their success and insights to help you achieve your goals. Now let’s join the conversation.
[00:00:18]
Alice Tang: Good morning. I am Alice Tang, the host for Women’s Million Dollar Conversation. This morning, I am very honored and happy to be with my guest, my friend, and my partner in my Portland, Oregon community, Kathy Root. So, Kathy, welcome.
[00:00:35]
Kathy Root: Thanks, Alice. I appreciate the opportunity.
[00:00:40]
Alice Tang: Awesome. Kathy, instead of reading a 500-word file of all the great accomplishments you’ve had in the past few decades and what you’ve done for our community, I’ll ask you to introduce yourself.
[00:00:55]
Alice Tang: Tell us about yourself.
[00:01:00]
Kathy Root: Well, until two weeks ago, I was a family law attorney in Portland, Oregon. Most recently, for the last 12 years, I worked with Gewurzmanashi, a family law and estate planning firm in Portland. My practice emphasized family and domestic relations law—divorces, child custody cases, modifications of custody and support arrangements, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements—pretty much anything related to family law other than adoptions.
[00:01:35]
Kathy Root: During the past 25 or so years, I had a special focus on interstate and international child custody cases, developing expertise in that subpractice of family law. I retired on April 1st—no April Fools—and I’m embarking on the next chapter of life following 39 years of family law practice.
[00:02:05]
Alice Tang: We met because we have a business relationship together, Kathy. I’m so grateful for that relationship.
[00:02:15]
Alice Tang: Since we are on the Women’s Million Dollar Conversation project, the first question I’m going to ask—
[00:02:22]
Alice Tang: What’s the value of money for you?
[00:02:30]
Kathy Root: I think the value of money is twofold: to provide personal security and opportunities for my family and me to do things we like to do, including travel, hobbies, and living in a nice home in an area of Portland. And also being able to make periodic contributions to charitable organizations that are important to us.
[00:03:05]
Alice Tang: Great. Money means security, financial freedom, and the ability to help others through charity.
[00:03:18]
Alice Tang: We’re going to focus on saving a million in this conversation.
[00:03:25]
Alice Tang: How long did it take for you to get there, Kathy? Do you mind sharing?
[00:03:35]
Kathy Root: I would say about 25 years. I started working in 1985 and I think it was around the year 2000 that I achieved the one-million-dollar mark.
[00:03:55]
Alice Tang: Wow—25 years. Actually, I thought it was 15 years—
[00:04:00]
Kathy Root: 15 years, yeah.
[00:04:06]
Alice Tang: Allow me—because I’m in the number world. If there’s anything I know very well, it’s numbers.
[00:04:18]
Alice Tang: So 15 years on your road to get to that million—
[00:04:25]
Alice Tang: What was your biggest bias, or the strongest resistance that stopped you from getting there?
[00:04:38]
Kathy Root: At first it was wanting enough funds each month for living expenses and short-term goals rather than longer-term goals. It was a challenge of balancing a budget that allowed for savings but also allowed present-day opportunities.
[00:05:10]
Kathy Root: I credit my husband—we’ve been married 31 years—for being more focused on savings. After some resistance, I came around and tried to be more restrained with short-term spending in favor of putting away more money for the long term.
[00:05:55]
Alice Tang: I’m going to summarize: short-term goals (living now) and future goals. It’s not uncommon for spouses to see money differently—it’s how you compromise. Sounds like a good marriage.
[00:06:20]
Alice Tang: Now I know people look at Kathy and think: 15 years to get to a million—I want to know her secret.
[00:06:32]
Alice Tang: What is the number one secret to get there?
[00:06:40]
Kathy Root: I don’t think it’s a secret—it’s having a plan and trying to keep to it, starting early, and being persistent.
[00:06:55]
Kathy Root: I was fortunate that my firm had a retirement savings plan, so I contributed early. Even when it felt painful to defer income into the plan, I tried to maximize contributions without being too pressed to pay bills and still have some money for fun.
[00:07:35]
Kathy Root: I also bought a home early with help from my father for the down payment. With Portland real estate, equity grew and we rolled it into larger homes over time. The combination of retirement savings and home equity is what got me there.
[00:09:05]
Alice Tang: Starting early, discipline, and staying consistent—beautiful. But nobody can totally control the future. We can control what we do today.
[00:09:40]
Kathy Root: And avoiding knee-jerk reactions during downturns. My father worked in finance and advised me: stay the course. Markets go up and down, but long-term you want to be in the market.
[00:10:50]
Alice Tang: Thank you for staying the course. Now—when you’re making a big decision over the years, like putting money away or buying a home…
[00:11:55]
Alice Tang: How do you make big decisions? Tell us about a big decision you made and your process.
[00:12:10]
Kathy Root: I try to get as much information as possible from reliable sources—realtors, financial advisors, research, friends and colleagues. Then sometimes you take a leap of faith.
[00:12:35]
Kathy Root: When we bought our current home in 2001, it stretched us. We cut back on some things for a year or two, but it was a wise decision long-term.
[00:13:35]
Alice Tang: Thank you for sharing. Now next question—
[00:14:55]
Alice Tang: What is one thing you would do differently if you could?
[00:15:05]
Kathy Root: I think focusing on career early is important, but I wish I had more balance between work and family—or work and exercise—in the earlier years. Not a huge regret, but something I reflect on.
[00:16:10]
Alice Tang: Thank you for being vulnerable. Wealth isn’t only money—health, relationships, and spiritual well-being matter too.
[00:16:55]
Alice Tang: Now, last question—
[00:17:05]
Alice Tang: What is one piece of very good or very bad advice you received that made the biggest impact in your life?
[00:17:20]
Kathy Root: It’s very important to have mentors and people you can rely on when you’re questioning yourself or making hard decisions. Reach out to trusted people instead of staying stuck in your own head.
[00:17:50]
Kathy Root: I had mentors early through women lawyer activities and tried to broaden that network over time. I’ve also tried to mentor younger women lawyers. That network helped me navigate difficult cases and decisions.
[00:19:15]
Alice Tang: Beautiful—having people who tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear.
[00:19:35]
Alice Tang: Last question—what are you grateful for?
[00:19:45]
Kathy Root: I’m grateful for a life that has been basically healthy and that I’m able to do things now that I enjoy doing. I’m grateful for friendships, my wonderful husband, my stepdaughter and grandchildren, and the professional contributions I’ve made. I’m also grateful for those who mentored me and supported me across my career.
[00:20:45]
Alice Tang: Kathy, we’re grateful for you. Thank you for making time in the first month of retirement to be our guest on Women’s Million Dollar Conversation.
[00:21:00]
Kathy Root: Thank you. It’s my honor.
