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Meet Nicholas Baker, Editor-In-Chief of the Ohio State Business Law Journal

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Baker

Hometown: Medina, Ohio

Legal Interests: Property, Tax, Corporate Law

Education: Bachelor’s, Accounting (John Carroll University)

Was law school always something you wanted to pursue?

It was something that was always in the back of my mind. I actually worked for a couple of years at Ernst and Young after I graduated from John Carroll. I was a bit of a non-traditional law student. The idea formed in my mind that I didn’t want to necessarily do accounting. I was more interested in doing corporate things like tax law and real estate-oriented things. So, for that, law school seemed like the best option to broaden my horizons.

What specifically drew you to Moritz for law school?

Moritz was one of the few schools I had the opportunity to visit right before the pandemic hit. One of the things that I really liked about it was the Moritz community and I knew I wanted to stay in Ohio.

What was the process of applying to law schools during the pandemic?

Moritz did a great job of communicating with us as soon as they had guidance from the university level and what the expectations were. We were fortunate in that because of when the pandemic hit, there was some infrastructure of what the fall (2020) semester would look like. For me, the transition was kind of seamless.

What made you want to pursue the EIC position?

I was really drawn into the idea of trying to effectuate change within the organization as well as continue the great work that the business journal does. The OSBLJ is a nationally ranked business journal, so I was excited to have the opportunity to continue to publish great articles. I was also interested in how we decided what articles we decided to publish, whether it be student notes or outside authors. I am in the thick of that right now.

Do you have any new or specific plans for the journal this year?

One of the big things I am pretty excited for is, we will have four or five articles we are going to publish. I am excited to work with the new class of staff editors and figure out what their interests are and pair them up with the different articles or managing editor who shares that interest. It is not only an experience of editing for a scholarly publication, it’s also a learning experience for them to find out what area interests them the most.  

What are some of your individual strengths that you bring to the position?  

I consider myself to be a very organized person. Being able to keep track of what is going on in the different areas of the journal, while also not feeling like I constantly have to be involved in every area, I think that is a strength. Also, I really try to consistently communicate with all my different editors to keep current with what all is happening as they all have their hands in different areas. Just through being organized and being able to communicate effectively, I can be hands off but still know everything that needs done is getting accomplished.  

What is your ideal next step after graduation?  

I am really hoping that the firm I am at this summer (Critchfield, Critchfield and Johnston, Ltd) will make me an offer to return as a full-time associate. I really see myself being a part of the northeast Ohio community, long-term. One of the great things that I think this firm does, is they are involved in rural communities. Such communities are often underserved areas where lawyers from larger cities may avoid because they think there isn't much going on from a legal standpoint. That couldn't be further from the truth- there are many individuals there who need estate planning or legal advice about their businesses. The next step for me is to join Critchfield and be a full-time member of my community where I can do such work.

News Type Students
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