Colin Walsh
Texas Employer Lawyer Colin Walsh

Last week, Evan Skinner started working at our firm as a legal intern for the summer!  He is a rising 2L at the University of Texas School of Law here in sunny Austin, Texas.  So let’s get to know him!

The important stuff first.

1) What are your favorite books, movies, and tv shows?

My favorite book is probably A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  I don’t really have a reason for that choice, it’s just always stuck with me since the first time I read it in high school. Irving really has a knack for creating memorable characters, and I am always impressed by how Owen Meany manages to tell a coherent story over such a long time period without ever feeling like it’s skipped ahead. I also want to shout out The Ball Is Round by David Goldblatt, which is basically a comprehensive history of soccer around the world and its impact on society and culture; I’m a huge sports fan and politics nerd and The Ball Is Round is really incredible if you’re into both of those things and how they intersect.

As far as movies and TV shows, I like anything that’s funny. I like the classic mid-2000s comedies like Superbad, Dodgeball, and Step Brothers, and out of those I’d have to pick Superbad as my favorite movie. My favorite TV show is Bob’s Burgers, and it’s not close. I don’t think I’ve ever watched an episode of that show without laughing out loud multiple times. The dialogue and voice acting are always top-tier, and it manages to be consistently funny while also staying pretty heartwarming and non-cynical, which I think all of the best sitcoms do.

2) What kind of music do you like and what are your favorite bands?

I like to joke that my music taste is “a million miles wide and an inch deep,” because I listen to a little bit of everything but I’m only an expert on a few artists. I like indie rock, rap, and punk the most as far as genres go, and the catchier a song is the more likely it is that I’ll like it. Out of those genres, some of my favorite artists are Green Day, R.E.M., Figurine, Denzel Curry, and Kanye West. If I had a band, it would probably sound like Teenage Fanclub.

3) Where are you from?

I was born in Oklahoma and spent the first part of my life there before moving to Omaha, Nebraska. A few years later, when I was nine, we moved down to the Arlington, Texas area, which is where I’d say I’m “from.” I lived there until I went to college and I’ve spent longer in the DFW area than anywhere else in my life.

4) What are your hobbies?

In general, I like doing anything that lets me learn something I didn’t know before, whether that’s reading a book, watching a documentary, or even just seeing something cool on YouTube. I follow a lot of podcasts and watch a lot of sports, as well. The most exciting days for me are election days (anywhere in the world) or football Saturdays in the fall.

5) What is your favorite holiday?

At this point, I’d have to say Thanksgiving. I like food and football, and it’s a nice fall holiday that doesn’t extend across months like the Christmas season does nowadays. I do also enjoy July 4th, because I think a lot of the traditions surrounding it (like parades and fireworks) are really fun and don’t come up a lot the rest of the year. We should all have more parades as part of our daily life.

6) Do you have any siblings?

Yes, one younger brother.

7) What is one interesting fact you want people to know about you?

I always struggle with questions like this because they’re so open-ended. I guess I’ll take this opportunity to mention the thing I’m proud of that comes up the least often, which is that I can read music and play the piano pretty well. Although I’m just out of practice enough that maybe putting that out in public isn’t the best idea.

Next week, we ask Evan some law school and law-related questions!

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Photo of Colin W. Walsh Colin W. Walsh

We asked Colin W. Walsh, an experienced Trial Attorney in the Austin office of Wiley Walsh, P.C., to impart his candid answers to a range of questions.   After reading, you will be more more informed on the well-respected reputation that Mr. Walsh

We asked Colin W. Walsh, an experienced Trial Attorney in the Austin office of Wiley Walsh, P.C., to impart his candid answers to a range of questions.   After reading, you will be more more informed on the well-respected reputation that Mr. Walsh carries.

1. What do you like most about being an employment lawyer?

I enjoy getting tangible results for my clients and being involved in an area of law that affects everybody every day.

2. What is the most important issue to you of being an advocate?

One of the most important issues to me as an advocate is to not only zealously represent my clients, but also the law.

3. What kind of clients do you like best?

I like the clients that I am able to help who were not able to find help elsewhere.  On a couple of occasions now, a client has told me that my firm is the first one that has listened to his or her issue and offered any kind of assistance.

4. What do you think is the most important part of a good case?

The client.  If the client is not invested, then the other side won’t take it seriously and neither will the jury.

5. What labor and employment issues do you think are currently trending?

The biggest employment discrimination issues I see right now are related to age, disability, and pregnancy discrimination.  For some reason, these types of discrimination seem to be acceptable to employers.  The other issues right now are minimum wage and overtime pay.

6. Who is your favorite Supreme Court Justice?

Justice William Brennan.

7. What would you say to HR of a company about how to treat employees?

It would be to listen to your employees.  Most employees are not looking to sue when he or she goes to Human Resources.  These employees are sincerely looking for help.  Nothing makes an employee seek legal counsel like when he or she complains about something and HR starts investigating the employee instead of the complaint.

8. Besides Rob Wiley, P.C., what is the most interesting job that you have had?

The most interesting job I’ve had is working as an extra in film and television.  I should have known that I was destined to be a lawyer at that point because two of my biggest gigs were the TV show “Boston Legal” and the film Charlie Wilson’s War.

9. What is your favorite food?

Meat pies.  I first discovered them when I studied abroad in undergrad.  I can’t believe these have not caught on in the U.S. because they are brilliant.

10. What’s the best part of living in Austin?

All of the outdoor festivals.  And the Longhorns.

Colin W. Walsh is a Trial Attorney in the Austin office of Wiley Walsh, P.C.  He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in theatre in 2006.  Mr. Walsh then graduated from The University of Texas School of Law with honors in 2011.