Most parents will probably tell you their hope in raising their children is to provide their kids with the opportunities they never had themselves.

Certainly, it seems that was the case for Ghina Gharaibeh’s father. In fact, you might say that thanks to his guidance, she’s quite literally living out her and her dad’s dream now as she was recently admitted to the New Jersey bar, sworn in by her colleague and mentor, Goldberg Segalla partner Esther Omoloyin.

Former legal assistant Ghina Gharaibeh smiles as she’s sworn in to the New Jersey bar by her Princeton colleague and mentor, Esther Omoloyin, co-chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Worker’s Compensation practice group.

“My entire life, I knew I wanted to go into law,” said the firm’s new associate who is based in Princeton and goes by the name, ‘Nina.’ “I was introduced to the idea in middle school by my dad. He is not a lawyer. He wanted to go into it, but he wasn’t able to pursue it. But ever since he introduced the idea, I thought there was no better fit for me.”

She did consider other career paths, albeit briefly, but as she recalls, “nothing really suited me.” She could only see herself as an attorney, so in high school she became involved in mock trials and in college she pursued classes in pre-law. After three years of college, Nina joined Goldberg Segalla in 2019 as a legal assistant before being promoted to paralegal later that same year.

And she never looked back.

The LSAT followed and so too did acceptance into Rutgers School of Law. She continued working full-time while attending law school part-time. Juggling it all wasn’t easy, especially when it came time to take the New Jersey bar exam.

“I was not expecting to pass the bar to be honest,” Nina said. “I was very worried after the exam. Then, we got the results early, which I also wasn’t expecting. So that was kind of a shock. I couldn’t help myself; I opened the email and thankfully it was all good news. You almost prepare for the worst, but sometimes you don’t expect the best. I think that’s what happened in my case. Passing the bar was definitely a big weight off my shoulders.”

Nina said working at Goldberg Segalla while attending law school was a blessing. Her team in Princeton’s Workers Compensation practice supported her every step of the way throughout her journey, she said, and the opportunity to work for a nationally renowned firm exposed her to what day-to-day life is actually like in the legal profession.

“Ever since I first got the job here, I expressed that I always wanted to go to law school and my team was so supportive and helpful, even with applying to schools. I had attorneys reach out to me and offer help, and then especially after graduation, when it came time to take the bar, I was able to work out a situation where I was able to take some time off to study for the bar. GS has been by my side throughout the entire experience. I love my team.”

Nina now looks forward to the career ahead of her and she’s excited about the prospect of collaborating with clients and helping them succeed.

“I’m really looking forward to learning how to operate and conduct myself” in the profession, she said. “I’m so excited to get into all the nuances of law. I aspire to be the type of attorney that really listens to their client’s needs and comes up with a creative solution that works best for them. I don’t think that one-size-fits-all works. So, I’m really looking forward to being able to be there for somebody when they need to be helped in their own specific way.”

Knowing there are likely other law clerks, legal assistants and staff at Goldberg Segalla who also hope to someday make the leap to attorney, Nina urged them to “just keep pushing through” and “have faith in yourself.”

“Reinforcing the idea that you’re working toward something you really want to be pays off in the end,” she said. “I learned working at GS to believe in myself, to advocate for myself and realize there are points where you’re going to have to take a step back and just learn through experience and learn through mistakes. Keep trying and don’t give up.”

Meanwhile, Nina has every intention to keep believing in herself. “I think being a judge would be a very honorable thing to do. Down the road, that would be one of the goals I set for myself.”

But, for now, she said, “becoming an attorney was my main goal my entire life, and I will keep that close to me for a while.”