Significant Career Lesson From a Partner at Dinsmore and Shohl LLP
Christopher, a Partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, emphasizes the significant impact of "being nice" in legal practice, noting that referrals often stem from maintaining civility with opposing counsel, even during adversarial proceedings. This approach, combined with readily accepting diverse case opportunities, regardless of size, has yielded unexpected growth and substantial career advancement.
Networking, Professionalism, Communication, Case Selection, Client Relations
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. Maintain civility and professionalism in interactions with opposing counsel to foster referrals and build relationships.
2. Take on diverse cases to gain experience and develop valuable relationships, even if they seem small or insignificant initially.
3. Be open to new opportunities and collaborations, as they can lead to unexpected career advancements and larger cases.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
Being nice is important because you never know where your next case will come from. There's a tendency in the legal profession for people to bloviate or be hard-nosed and attack opposing attorneys. While that's appropriate for trial or motion practice, you should never cross the line into being rude.
I've received so many referrals from people who were opposing counsel on a previous case. They refer clients to me when they have a case they can't handle but know I can. If you've called them names or gratuitously threatened sanctions motions in a rude way, they're not going to pick up the phone and call you.
Civility and being nice to other lawyers you may have a case against is crucial because you never know where your next case opportunity will come from. I would say the same thing to young lawyers starting out.
Take all the cases you can. If a partner offers you an opportunity, you should take it, especially if it's something you're interested in learning more about. If it's not, be honest. But if it's something you want to work on or learn about, take a case no matter how small.
You don't know what kind of relationship you might develop from that one small case. I've had countless small cases turn into referrals for much larger cases when you've put yourself out there, taken a risk, tried something new, and said yes to an opportunity to work with a partner. That's a very important lesson.