You might say the law is in Calvin Brown’s blood, quite literally. His father is a litigator. So was his grandfather. And he has aunts and uncles who worked as lawyers too.

“It’s always been kind of the family business,” said Calvin, a Chicago-based attorney in Goldberg Segalla’s Product Liability practice group. “My father really built up his own business, and growing up, I always admired how he was part of the community and how people really depended on and respected him. It’s something I always wanted for my own practice and my own life. So, watching Dad, and knowing that his father also was a litigator, it felt like the natural path for me.”

Natural, yes, but not automatic, even despite his pedigree.

Though having graduated from Boston College Law School, Calvin first went into finance. And oddly enough, it was while working in that profession that he found his legal calling.

“My firm was subpoenaed for a case and my boss said ‘You’re a lawyer, right? Can you help out with this?’ And so, I was working with our local counsel, and I just really fell in love with litigating at that moment. It felt like my brain was firing on all cylinders,” Calvin recalled. “The adversarial setting really piqued my interest. It felt like that was where I belonged. And though my grandfather was a litigator and my dad’s a litigator, I was very happy that I came to it through my own experience. I’m very happy that I got there on my own.”

That personal discovery led Calvin to take his first job in the legal profession as public defender in Chicago — a role that demanded he be in court five days per week. Talk about trial-by-fire.

“The experience of standing next to your client and having their lives and future in your hands, and dealing with a barrage of accusations and allegations knowing that in an adversarial setting your adversary is going to use everything they can grab onto to try to take down your client — that experience really translated to what we do here at Goldberg Segalla,” Calvin said. “We have plaintiffs’ attorneys who are resourceful and smart and witty and motivated, and we have to match that. So, after working in criminal defense and gaining experience in that defensive mindset, I wanted to develop that approach but in a more sophisticated and more civil setting, and that really motivated me to work at GS.”

Today, Calvin’s practice focuses on product liability, premises liability, employment litigation, and toxic tort matters. Since joining the firm, he said, his career has benefitted from working alongside top-notch veteran attorneys who, despite their own heavy caseloads, generously take the time to assist in his development. “The attorneys here are so dedicated to their craft,” said Calvin. “Jim Ozog, a partner in our office, is someone who early on in my days at GS really took me under his wing and took the time to literally sit next to me and go through motions line-by-line or an e-mail word-by-word and explain the impact of how I phrased things. Having attorneys like that in our office is just such a valuable thing because they’ve been around the block. Jim is someone for whom I’m eternally grateful for taking the time to nurture my career and my practice.” Partner Larry Mason is another GS attorney who Calvin said has guided him.

“I remember Larry Mason was the lead counsel on a case and before we got going with trial, he told me: ‘You’ll never be the same person and never be the same lawyer by the time this trial is over.’ I didn’t really understand what he meant. Now I get it,” said Calvin. “In every experience, there’s a lesson to pull out of it. Every motion, every argument, you’re adding a brick to that wall. My goal is to master my craft, and I feel like I’m just getting started.”

That said, Calvin already has developed an approach to his practice that distinguishes himself from other litigators.

“I think what sets me apart is relationship building — building a rapport not just with clients but also with our adversaries. It’s such a critical part in every case,” he said. “Plaintiffs’ attorneys are going to fight tooth and nail, and we absolutely are too. But cases aren’t always resolved by constantly butting heads, and I’ve found being able to establish human connections with opposing counsel has really benefited my own practice. I think that shows up in settlement negotiations and preparing for trial — being able to approach attorneys from a human side. I think if you’re able to connect with these attorneys, humbly and humanely, there’s a lot better chance that you’re going to be able to resolve things amicably.”

It all comes down to doing what’s best for your client, said Calvin, ensuring they achieve their goals so that they can move on with their business and their lives.

“People hire lawyers because they have to, because they’ve been put in this setting where they need someone with expertise to guide them and fight for them,” Calvin said. “It’s more than just filing motions and making arguments. It’s being there for your client. Sometimes you’re a therapist; sometimes you’re a consultant; sometimes you’re an advisor. Sometimes it’s just being their friend — being someone they can trust and rely on to guide them through a really challenging, intimidating, and scary point in their lives.

“A lot of our clients have never been involved in a lawsuit before,” Calvin added. “They’re scared, and something I’ve learned is just how important real honest communication is — talking to your client and giving them time out of your day, letting them vent, and breaking things down for them in layman’s terms so they understand.”

It matters. Consider this line from a letter received recently by Calvin from one of his clients:

“You really demystify the process and made it all feel a lot less overwhelming. I’m really grateful for your support and the way you showed up throughout. It made a huge difference.”

“Clients want to have options, and part of our job is to communicate those options,” Calvin said. “We might see a path to a resolution that’s very clear, but it’s going to be based on legal principles that a client might not understand, and being able to break things down in a clear, organized, concise manner and in a human way, too, allows clients to see we’re not just talking heads and not just suits, but people trying to help them. Once we build that rapport with our clients and we go to battle together, that’s where trust is built.”