FINDING EARLY SUCCESS IN THE LAW A LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION HELPED THESE GRADUATES FEEL PREPARED TO GROW IN THEIR PROFESSIONS AS LAWYERS.
TIM O’KEEFFE ’95 Founding Partner, President O’Keeffe O’Brien Lyson Foss, Fargo
Practice Areas Serious personal injury, wrongful death, business/commercial litigation, and criminal defense
Notable Achievements Tim is familiar with success at a young age. Coming to UJ, he was a Wilson Scholar. Then, just five years after taking the bar exam, he opened his own practice. “It was a risk, took a little bit of courage. People have asked me, ‘Is O’Keeffe on the sign your dad or your grandpa?’ And no, it’s just me,” Tim said humbly. His firm started out as a team of four, and now has more than 30 members. “It’s been a roller coaster at times,” he explained. “But I’m very happy with the success we’ve had.”
Community involvement Tim and his team strive to give back. Once a month, they encourage employees to volunteer for a day or afternoon for a specific organization as well as lend their skills to non-profit boards. And once a year, they do a big push—really impacting an organization with donations.
On UJ “I felt prepared for law school. It was perfect for me to have a broad background. It provides a lot of creativity and flexibility in what you want to do. It just made me a well-rounded person.”
Being a lawyer is great, because… “I get to investigate situations and handle them in the worst moment of people’s lives and make it better. The pinnacle of any case is getting to trial, being in front of a jury. You train and prepare for it. That’s sometimes the most stressful part, but it’s the part I enjoy the most.”
