Bio

Steve Telford joined Beard St Clair Gaffney, PA, in March of 2009, bringing with him nearly twenty five years of legal experience. Prior to joining Beard St Clair, Steve was in private practice with eight other attorneys at another local law firm in Idaho Falls. There, he practiced as a business and estate planning attorney, emphasizing in the area of asset protection. At Thomsen Stephens, Steve was one of six founding members and a full participating partner, during that entire period of time. Prior to working with Thomsen Stephens, Steve practiced with Wood, Stephens, and Telford, in Idaho Falls, where he was also one of three founding members and full participating partner. Prior to forming this firm, he worked for St. Clair, Hiller, Wood & McGrath also in Idaho Falls, as an associate, where he tried several major products liability cases and defended numerous governmental entities against tort claims of various kinds in litigation. Before moving to Idaho Falls, Steve practiced law with Elam, Burke and Boyd, in Boise in the area of commercial bankruptcy and transactional law, for a short period of time after graduating from law school.

Steve earned his law degree, with honors, from the University of Idaho’s College of Law in 1985. While in law school, Steve was a member of the Idaho Law Review. During his law school education, Steve was honored for his outstanding work in the areas of corporate law, partnership taxation, and business entity selection, as well as in the area of products liability. Prior to attending law school, Steve earned a composite degree in business finance, accounting, and economics, with a minor in international relations, from two different universities. After graduating from law school, Steve represented various domestic and international corporations, several state and federal governmental entities (including the State of Idaho, and the Department of Energy), and numerous individuals with significant net worth, in the areas of business litigation, tort liability, and products liability. He has also been intimately involved in assisting his clients over the years, in all kinds of complex contractual matters, and in creating and structuring sophisticated entities for maximizing asset protection and a smooth transition to the next generation of owners.

Steve is presently admitted to practice law before the Ninth Circuit and all State and Federal Courts in Idaho. He is also a member of the Idaho State Bar Association and the Shoshone Bannock Tribal Bar Association. As a member of the Idaho State Bar Association, he has served on the Legislative Committee for the Probate, Taxation, and Estate Planning Section. He has also been an active member of the Governmental Entity and the Business Entity Sections, in the past. He is currently an active member of the Offshore Institute. While practicing law in Idaho Falls, Steve served as President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Eastern Idaho Estate Planning Council. He has also been a frequent lecturer on a variety of topics in the complex areas of estate planning and asset protection throughout Southeastern Idaho, as well as other parts of the State, and he has taught courses on these same subjects at the Eastern Idaho Technical College located in Idaho Falls and for SCORE, a group of retired professionals who assist small businesses to achieve success. SCORE is also located in Idaho Falls.