Upon graduating, Nash worked for Esek Cowen in Saratoga Springs and later Augustus Bockes, both justices of the New York Supreme Court. He moved to New York City in 1845, where specialized in equity law, and from 1880 to 1881 served as president of the New York City Bar Association, of which he was a founding member. He worked with several partners, ultimately joining his son to form the firm of S.P. & J. McLean Nash.
^"Stephen P. Nash Buried"(PDF). New York Times. June 8, 1898. Retrieved 2012-10-10. Funeral services for Stephen P. Nash, the eminent lawyer, and for many years the head Warden of Trinity Church, were held in old Trinity, in lower Broadway, ...