Career Path Of A Partner At Dinsmore And Shohl LLP
Christopher's career path began with a debate team interest in college, leading to a switch from business economics to political science, and an Americorps Justice Corps experience that fueled their interest in law. After law school, a summer internship solidified their preference for litigation over family law, and a job at Mulvaney Berry, a smaller firm, proved fortuitous amidst the 2008 financial crisis, providing immediate client interaction and valuable experience.
Legal Career Path, Litigation Experience, Networking and Internships, Career Decision-Making, Early Career Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Christopher Ghio
Partner
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
UCLA 2005
College of William and Mary School of Law; Juris Doctor
Political Science, American Studies
Law
Legal
Honors Student, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Christopher's participation in the debate team in college sparked his interest in law and influenced his career path.
2. His experience in the Americorps Justice Corps program provided valuable legal experience and solidified his interest in pursuing a legal career.
3. His decision to work for a smaller firm in litigation after graduating from law school gave him hands-on experience and client interaction early in his career, which proved to be a smart career move during a time of economic uncertainty and the financial crisis of 2007-2009.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs before your current role?
At UCLA, I was a member of the debate team for my first two years. This continued an interest in speech and debate that I had in high school. Through that process, I learned about a potential career in law.
I switched from being a business economics major to a political science major. In my senior year at UCLA, from 2004 to 2005, I was part of the inaugural Americorps Justice Court program. I was assigned to work in the family law facilitators office at the Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles.
I did that for my entire senior year while going through the LSAT and law school application process. That experience continued to fuel my interest in going to law school and becoming a lawyer. It essentially kickstarted my legal career.
I then went to the College of William and Mary's Marshall Wythe School of Law from 2005 to 2008. During my first summer at law school, I interned with a family law office in San Diego, where I was from. I decided that law was for me, but family law was not.
During my second year and second summer of law school, I focused more on business law and other areas like litigation that really fueled my interest. I ended up interning during my second summer with a local firm in town called Mulvaney & Berry. I accepted a job offer from them and worked there for the first 14 years of my career after graduation.
I also split that summer working for the then Attorney General Virginia Bob McDonald in the child support enforcement division. This gave me the opportunity to use my third-year practice certificate, which Virginia provides to law students to practice as rising third-years. This gave me more court experience as I entered my third year, reinforcing that this was the career path I wanted to take.
The firm I had interned with, Mulvaney & Berry, offered me a job, which was a paid clerkship. I took it, and it was a litigation-heavy role. In retrospect, I'm glad I took it. Many of my classmates and I had received offers at larger law firms in their transactional departments.
However, this was in 2008, and most of those transactional departments focused on collateralized debt obligations, which became a concerning topic during the financial crisis of 2007 through 2009. It ended up being a smart career path to get into litigation and join a smaller firm. This allowed me to take charge of matters right away, have client interface, and gain the experience I needed.
This experience helped me confirm that this was the right career path for me, as my interest and passion lay there. It also gave me the opportunity to have hands-on interactions with clients and gain valuable experience as a young lawyer.