According to a recent study by CareerBuilder, the skills gained from a liberal arts degree are helping college graduates stand out from the pack of today’s specialized majors, thanks to their critical-thinking and leadership skills. For Christendom College alumnus James Minick (’06), the skills earned through his philosophy degree led him to success in law school, and propelled him to become the CEO of his own law firm.
Minick is one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States, according to the National Trial Lawyer’s Association, and has been the CEO of Minick Law, P.C. since 2010. Concentrating his practice in DWI/DUI defense, Minick attributes his confidence in opening up his own law firm to his education in philosophy at Christendom.
“The philosophical tradition makes it easier to be an entrepreneur because being one means being a solid visionary. We are so focused in the modern world on teaching people to learn a very specific skill. Attorneys are especially trained to be this way. But, studying philosophy builds the ability to be a visionary, allowing me to be a successful attorney and entrepreneur,” says Minick.
After graduating from Christendom summa cum laude in 2006, Minick began studying for his J.D. in law from the Charlotte School of Law. His four previous years spent studying the classical works of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as minoring in mathematics, did not hurt his chances in law school — rather, it helped him identify what the right method is when making laws and helped him identify what a good law is.
After earning his J.D. in 2009, and working an externship for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Minick became an associate for David R. Payne, P.A. law firm. He held this position for a year, before forming his own practice in 2010.
Entering his fourth year as CEO of Minick Law, P.C., Minick has expanded his business to include five other attorneys and six employees, with five different offices located across North Carolina. Minick feels that he has distinguished himself and found success in a field filled with competitors, due to his liberal arts degree in philosophy.
“Philosophy really helps develop a clear view about business in general. If you are in it for money or for seriously selfish reasons, then you will likely fail. Having a Thomistic view of who man is, what he is, and the virtues involved in making a good businessman points you toward a business that is ‘value centered,’” he said. “That ability to reason clearly, which I developed at Christendom, allows me to direct my team to understand what we do best, how we do it, and who we are as a firm. Minick Law has a very specific value statement and value is something you just can’t replicate—it’s either there or it’s not. If it’s there, you have a business built to work.”
To find out more about James Minick, or Minick Law, P.C., please visit here.