Pursuit of justice

What does it mean to live the University’s call to “Learn. Lead. Serve” in today’s day and age? For Geoff Pipoly,
it started in the classroom and it’s currently brought to life in the courtroom.

The Ohio native is an associate attorney in Chicago with global firm Mayer Brown, where he handles litigation and dispute resolution.

As a student, Pipoly pursued a double major in political science and philosophy — alongside active participation in UD’s Mock Trial Team and the human rights program.

“The human rights program exposed us to issues in other parts of the world and made us think about our responsibility as a global citizen,” he said.

The combination of coursework and extracurriculars proved to be a recipe for success, as they informed his career trajectory.

“I’ve definitely always wanted to be a lawyer,” he said. “The Mock Trial Team at UD steered me in that direction.”

Pipoly went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2011.

From 2013 to 2105, he served as a judicial clerk to the
Honorable Richard Allen Griffin on the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, one level below the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pipoly said the opportunity was formative because he was charged with helping judges write opinions and was able to make connections in the legal community.

Today, Pipoly works for a firm with a reputation for having a robust pro bono program, especially as it relates to asylum law.

“When it came time to do pro bono work, I wanted to do asylum cases because these people have nothing,” he said. “For me, I could take a high-minded stance by taking on this work.”

And his work is getting noticed. In June 2018, he was awarded the National Immigrant Justice Center’s “Rising Star” award and was also named “Pro Bono Associate of the Year for 2018” for all of Mayer Brown’s offices in the Americas and Europe.