Corey Gray is a commercial litigator with Boies Schiller Flexner, and he is also a board member on the firm’s diversity council. Corey specializes in high-stakes contract, antitrust, and energy litigation that often involves issues of first impression. With a mindset focused on serving the people, he’s also active in pro bono outreach.
Before becoming an attorney, Corey served as an Officer in the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division and was deployed twice to Iraq. It was during his second deployment, when his service included a counterinsurgency strategy course, that his moral compass pointed him toward law school. Today, Corey continues to serve as Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- Corey Gray shares his inspiration for studying—and later joining—the military
- Corey’s second deployment to Iraq and how it led to his career in law
- Navigating BigLaw (and societal) culture shock
- Elise Holtzman and Corey chat about leadership, service, and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)
- How the LCLD helped Corey battle imposter syndrome
- Corey talks about the current protests against police brutality and why he applauds the military for removing themselves from a role of enforcement
- Diversity and the fertile ground for discussion moving forward
- What the future holds for Corey Gray
In this episode…
When Corey Gray saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11th, something stirred inside him. Seeing the towers fall over the television screens as he walked through his college campus—and experiencing an anthrax scare while interning for a U.S. senator just a little while later—left him wanting to make a difference. So, he joined the military.
Two deployments to Iraq and one law degree later, Corey regards his (ongoing) time in the military and his career shift into BigLaw as a love letter to the citizens of America. He carries those same principles of servitude, leadership, and the protection of our inalienable rights in everything he does, whether he’s in the courtroom or the field.
Join us in this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge as Elise Holtzman sits down with commercial litigator and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves Corey Gray to talk about what it means to be a true leader. Corey shares what he learned during his second deployment in Iraq, his work with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and his perspective on the current protests against systemic racism. Keep listening.
Resources Mentioned in this episode
- The Lawyer’s Edge
- The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast
- Lawyer’s Making Rain
- Boies Schiller Flexner
- Corey Gray on LinkedIn
- Elise Holtzman on LinkedIn
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
- General Petraeus on LinkedIn
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by The Lawyer’s Edge, a firm based in the New York metropolitan area founded by Elise Holtzman in 2008 to help lawyers become skilled business developers and leaders so that they can grow their practices, retain top talent, and step confidently into leadership roles.
The firm offers customized coaching, consulting, and training programs such as their signature business development program, Lawyers Making Rain.
Now more than ever, it’s not enough to just do good work and hope your law firm will thrive. And no matter how smart and hard-working you are, it can be time-consuming and overwhelming to figure it all out by yourself.
To learn more about how we help lawyers become rainmakers and leaders, visit TheLawyersEdge.com or email us at podcast@thelawyersedge.wpengine.com.
