A Happy Practice

Sherap Tharchen’s parents were refugees who left Tibet in 1959 to settle in Nepal. Without any formal education, they used the tenets of their Tibetan Buddhist faith to set the course of their rug-manufacturing company: Treat others with fairness and compassion; try to solve problems, not create them; contribute to the world in a manner that builds community instead of dividing it.

It was a successful approach. At its peak, the company employed more than 200 people and made products of such quality that one was even gifted to Pope John Paul II.

But not everyone lives by the same rules. In one instance, a European customer refused to accept and pay for the goods they had ordered. Tharchen’s parents “took a huge loss,” he says. “And there was really nothing they could do. You could only hope to recoup the cost by selling the products locally, but that’s about it.”

That’s one reason Tharchen chose to become a lawyer and help entrepreneurs build, maintain or grow their businesses. Now the proprietor of a solo practice in Genesee, he provides his clients with the support he wishes his parents had.

“My parents were small business owners and so are the people that I work with, but instead of Nepalese rupees, you’re dealing with U.S. dollars,” Tharchen says. “Other than that, it’s the same. It’s the same people with the same emotions and same problems.”

Born in Nepal, Tharchen received most of his education at an English-speaking boarding school in India. From grades one through 10, he spent 10 months of every year away from his family. “It’s very much like Harry Potter,” he says.

Tharchen chose to finish high school in Nepal so he could help his parents operate their business. He drove around Kathmandu with his father, taking orders and picking up supplies, and served as a translator when international clients visited.

But although they’d been successful in Nepal, the Tharchens dreamed of moving because “all refugees want to come to a place like the U.S. for the security,” Tharchen says. They already had members of their extended family living in Oregon and Washington. (In 1967, Tharchen’s uncle was one of the first Tibetan refugees to be granted asylum in the U.S., he says.)

“You can do very well in Nepal and India, but you’re always a foreigner with no rights or remedies. Once you make it in the U.S., you’re treated as an equal,” he says. “The Tibetan people have a reputation for being very kind and compassionate … so it was easy for me and my family to come to the U.S. and be accepted.”

Tharchen arrived in 2001—two years before his parents—to study mathematics at Linfield University, a liberal arts school in Oregon’s wine country. There he met his future wife, Eria. At one point while they were dating, he noticed she had a book by the Dalai Llama on her shelf. It had been translated into English by his uncle. The couple recently celebrated their 17th anniversary and have two young daughters.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Tharchen moved to Portland, Ore., working as a legal assistant to support his family and his parents, who’d come to the U.S. in 2003. In 2011, he began studying at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he thought he’d concentrate on international or human rights law. That focus shifted when he excelled in his business law classes. He earned his J.D. in 2014 with a concentration on business organizations and international law. 

His parents had initially been wary of his decision to practice law, thinking it too confrontational and overly focused on “winning,” which meant someone else was losing. 

“They had to consult a well-known Tibetan Lama to make sure I was doing the right thing,” Tharchen says. “Once we got those blessings … they felt better with my decision.”

They were also happy he picked business law. “In my line of work, both parties can win,” he says. “The fact that I help people get a good outcome—they love it.”

After law school, Tharchan decided to move to Colorado, attracted by its beauty and many outdoor sports opportunities. Living almost 8,000 feet above sea level also made sense, he says, thanks to his inherited Tibetan high-altitude gene. Tharchen’s ancestors lived in a remote Tibetan village with an altitude twice as high as his current home.

After a stint at Denver’s Minor & Brown, where he found lifelong mentors and built close friendships, he went solo in spring 2023. He approaches his work, and his life, with the same Tibetan Buddhist mindset his parents applied to the rug business back in Nepal. “I say mine is a very happy practice,” he says. “Being good to people, being compassionate, being understanding, helping people in day-to-day life—that’s the type of stuff I talk to my kids about all the time.”