Chris Pham

 Chris Pham is a partner at Fredrikson & Byron P.A., a law firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a total of 8 office locations.  He has 12 years of experience in representing a wide range of clients, such as start-up businesses, professional athletes, and nationally known companies.  He also serves in various leadership roles within the firm, such as Co-Chair of the Sports & Entertainment practice group and Chair of the Inclusion & Diversity Committee.

 Chris grew up in a single-parent, low-income household.  He ended up in the field of law by accident.    He originally went to college for pre-med since it was his mother’s dream for him to become a doctor.  During his sophomore year in college, he knew the medical profession wasn’t for him.  That is when he worked up enough courage to tell his mother he was changing majors.  When she asked which one, he then made a quick decision to say law.  However, at the time he wasn’t sure he wanted to go into the legal profession.  But he knew it was a degree and a profession his mother would except.  After college he wasn’t ready to go to law school.  Instead, Chris moved to California, and while pursuing his master’s degree, on a whim he took the LSTAT and got accepted into a couple law schools.

 Like all professions, there are pros and cons.  One of the pros for Chris is that the legal profession is very entrepreneurial, and Chris always viewed himself as an entrepreneur.  For example, in the practice of law, you can develop your own business and pursue the types of clients you want to work with.  Another pro is that you get to manage your own calendar.  A couple of cons for pursuing a legal career includes (1) having to get through law school, which is extremely difficult and takes up a lot of time; and (2) it is expensive to attend law school.  Once you get through law school, another con is that your cases can be demanding and stressful depending on your client and case.  One of the cases he is currently working on has been the most complicated so far in his career.  The case has been dragging on for several years and the exposure to potential damages that his client faces is extremely high in the billions!  However, at the same time this case has also been the very rewarding and has provided him with the most experience so far in his career.

 The legal profession is very non-diverse, which has been an obstacle Chris has had to navigate.  Chris learned during his last year of law school how “white” the profession is, meaning there are very few diverse attorneys.  He recalls appearing in front of a judge early in his career and the court clerk asked him to get his attorney, not realizing that Chris was the attorney.

 Terry Fleming is someone Chris gives a lot of credit to in helping him develop as an attorney.  Terry is his mentor and sponsor; someone Chris greatly admires and appreciates Terry is truly invested in Chris’s success and growth.  He took Chris under his wing and “showed him the ropes.”  They consider each other family.  As Chris told me, “Nobody gets to where they are on their own, if they are successful.”

 When Chris is asked to participate as a guest speaker at various schools and colleges, he talks about his experiences from law school to the legal profession and always provides advice for the students.  He shared with me a couple of the topics he would often touch upon:  (1) Why do want to pursue the practice of law?  Most law students do not leave law school and make a huge salary right away like most people think, money shouldn’t be your only reason to pursue law; (2) it’s hard to get into a large law firm, which is where you have higher income potential; and (3) you should have a passion for wanting to develop as an attorney and to develop business. 

 Being persistent and having perseverance has made Chris successful.  He has been fortunate enough to have the ability to overcome a lot of adversity.  He is also great at networking which has helped him develop great relationships with his clients and other professionals.  And of course, having great people by his side such as his family, friends, and mentors.  Establishing boundaries is one way he navigates work-life balance.  He does admit it can be hard at times, especially since he has had demanding cases where he was sometimes working around the clock.  However, he learned that blocking out time on his schedule for family activities and hobbies helps establish such boundaries.  Chris appreciates the work-life balance that he has developed more recently as a more experienced attorney.