Powerlist – Sheli Fulcher Koontz Attorney/Managing Partner Johnson May

Johnson May is an Idaho law firm serving clients statewide in various business, real estate, family law, estate planning and civil litigation areas. Attorney and Managing Partner Sheli Fulcher Koontz’s practice focuses on family law, estate planning and probate, and personal injury. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Idaho College of Law ― Boise Campus, where she teaches family law.

“Our law firm has … focused on professional and self-development with our employees, empowering them to collaborate and provide the kind of experiences we’d each want if we sought legal services,” she said.

Koontz said she loves teaching law students and witnessing the development of legal professionals.

“I am on fire to add more motivated, hard-working and fun-loving attorneys and support teams to our firm,” she said.

Koontz said she has grown as a person and in her self-confidence throughout her career. Not many women were involved in plaintiff-based work when she started practicing law.

“Through hard work and great mentorship … I gained both experience and confidence,” she said. “I learned that the courage to admit when you don’t know something and to ask for help is a superpower rather than a weakness.”

As president of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association in 2015-16, she realized how fortunate Idaho was to have attorneys who embrace professional civility and work together to achieve justice and peace of mind for clients.

“If I can help someone understand the law, how it applies to their facts, give them a roadmap to go where they want or redirect them to a better path, it’s been a good day,” she said.