Christina M. Verone Juliano is an accomplished litigator and trial attorney accustomed to helping clients successfully navigate through some of litigation’s thorniest issues in commercial, toxic tort, environmental, product, professional and employment liability. The reputation and future success of these businesses are often on the line, and for Christina, the professional becomes the personal and she meets her clients there — by building that foundation of trust.

Ask Christina what sets her apart from others in the profession and she says without hesitation: “I never forget the human side of what we do.”

“When a client approaches me with an issue, it automatically becomes a personal issue for me. So, anything that’s of concern to them is of concern to me,” said Christina, who’s based in the firm’s Syracuse office.

“I am always thinking about what the client is experiencing,” she added. “I always take a moment to think of who they are, how they got to this point and what they could be feeling. Part of my job is not just to obtain a good result, but it’s also to hold their hand throughout that process, explain things so that they understand what’s going on, so that they feel that they’re part of the process and that they are playing an active role.”

Knowing some clients have never faced a lawsuit or litigation previously, anxieties are often exacerbated simply by the fear of the unknown. As such, one of Christina’s priorities is ensuring that those she represents feel comfortable.

“It can be a very overwhelming and scary and, sometimes, frustrating experience for them. So, when a client comes to me with an issue, I sit down, and I really listen. I listen to the background, how they got to this situation, and I ask them a series of questions,” Christina said. “I try to really understand their business on a deeper level so that I can best address their concerns in a way that makes the most sense for their business. I try to put together a course of action that would most effectively execute their end goal. Sometimes, just by talking through those issues with a client in detail, they can come to a conclusion that maybe what they originally thought they wanted isn’t really their end goal.”

The comfort and support which Christina wants her clients to feel with her is the same comfort and support she, herself, has felt since moving her practice from a midsize Syracuse-area firm to Goldberg Segalla, a nationwide firm of more than 400 attorneys.

“I feel like I could pick up the phone at any given time to talk to a partner in another office — someone I’ve never even formally met — to give them a rundown of a case or to ask a question, and they’ve been willing to jump in and help,” she said. “I didn’t expect that when I came to a firm of this size and so that was a really refreshing experience for me. It’s just been a great experience all around.”

“I feel very lucky to be in this profession,” Christina said. “And as a woman in law, I feel like we are a close-knit group. We support each other. I feel that women in the law, especially working mothers, have a real unique strength to them because they have the ability to handle multiple issues that may arise at any given time. They are great multitaskers. They have attention to detail. They have a way that they can see a problem and kind of cut through a lot of red tape to get to a solution, and that just comes from their experience in balancing those two different worlds.”

Whether it’s with her clients, colleagues or other female attorneys balancing their personal and professional lives, Christina’s work thrives on building relationships — on that “human side” of what it means to be an attorney.

“I strive to have my work speak for itself and let the good work make connections with other colleagues and clients,” said Christina. “When I meet a new client, I want them to feel comfortable. I want to know as much about them as possible so that I can understand their business and provide insights that may be helpful, either on a particular matter or broader scale. I want them to feel comfortable with me, to feel that they can ask questions, that they can call me, that they can run ideas by me and not feel as though any question is too small, or too outside of the scope.”

It’s through that connection that Christina is able to effectively litigate successful outcomes for her clients, which sometimes requires thinking outside the box in order to achieve a client’s goal.

“When a client comes back and tells me, ‘I just feel so comfortable with you, I trust your judgment and know that I can ask you anything, and you always get back to me in a timely fashion,’ it doesn’t feel like a hired relationship, it feels like a friendship. Those are the types of relationships that make my job worthwhile and put me first in mind when an issue arises. The trust that my clients have in me is what drives my passion for the law.”