From finance to sports, UC law student grows legal experience
Michael Goldman, College of Law 2L, used his background in finance to land an impressive law fellowship downtown, and still finds time to pursue his other passion: sports
For University of Cincinnati College of Law student, Michael Goldman (2L), combining all of his passions was the goal. Considering his first word was “ball” and his interest in sports never faded, Goldman is paving his own path to becoming a corporate attorney, with a sidegig in the professional sports world.
After working in finance for JP Morgan, Goldman knew that law school was the next move. At first, he wasn’t sure if Cincinnati Law was the right choice, but then “all of the stars aligned,” and he knew it was meant to be.
The deciding factor for Goldman to attend Cincinnati Law was a top-notch fellowship with national law firm, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Dinsmore is a full-service, nationally ranked law firm downtown. Goldman was the second Cincinnati Law student to be offered the Dinsmore fellowship, the first being Lindsey Boyd.
To solidify his spot at Cincinnati Law, Goldman decided to call the Admissions team to explain that he has been a Bearcat his entire life, and he wanted to make UC his next step. The Admissions team and Center for Professional Development identified Goldman as an ideal candidate for the position, and after he interviewed with Dinsmore, the fellowship was awarded to him.
“The Dinsmore fellows show promising legal skill sets and an interest in working in a major Cincinnati law firm,” says senior assistant dean of the College of Law Admissions Al Watson.
With his dream of working in corporate law in mind, Goldman made the most of his experience. He “picked up as many corporate projects as possible,” and learned all he could about what life is like as a lawyer. “Dinsmore opened my eyes to what being a lawyer really is,” he notes.
Legal Goals
When he’s not at Cincinnati Law or Dinsmore, Goldman can be found working as a legal intern in the offices of local soccer club FC Cincinnati.
Michael Goldman (2L) headshot.
In May 2018, it was announced that FC Cincinnati would become a part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) as an expansion team. “With the transition to the MLS, comes a lot of legal work,” Goldman adds.
By joining the league, FC Cincinnati now has to ensure they are aligned with MLS rules. This includes the roster rules and salary cap requirements, to name a few. Luckily for Goldman, these rules and regulations have interested him since he was young. “I’ve always been intrigued by the salary cap rules in the NFL and NBA, so learning the MLS system came quickly to me.”
And although it’s no secret that FC Cincinnati is joining the big leagues, everything Goldman works on is confidential. Which can be hard when his UC classmates want to know what he’s working on. FC Cincinnati plays their home games at Nippert Stadium on UC’s campus. Needless to say, student representation is never lacking.
“Sometimes people don’t realize that a sports team is similar to a normal business. Not only do we have to comply to MLS rules, but we also have general corporate issues as well.”
While juggling school and his internship can be challenging, Goldman knows that he is living the law student dream at Cincinnati Law.
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