{"id":20176,"date":"2025-07-11T12:33:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T17:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/?p=20176"},"modified":"2026-02-11T17:48:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T23:48:04","slug":"building-a-better-life-for-family-and-lifting-others-along-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/2025\/07\/11\/building-a-better-life-for-family-and-lifting-others-along-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a better life for family\u2014and lifting others along the way"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Christopher Pham \u201909, shareholder at Fredrikson and Mitchell Hamline trustee.<\/p><\/div>\n

For Chris Pham \u201909<\/strong>, \u201cPhamily\u201d means everything. Motivated by a deep desire to give his loved ones what he lacked growing up, he made it his mission to provide what he once longed for: an engaged father, quality time with family, and the financial security to enjoy life without constant stress. Once he reached that point for his own household, he didn\u2019t stop\u2014he reached back to help others rise, too.<\/p>\n

Pham was born in Hollywood, Calif., to Vietnamese immigrant parents. His family eventually relocated to Minneapolis, where he and his sister were raised by their single mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother raised us on her own. She worked two to three jobs at a time, six days a week, often from morning until night\u2014just to make ends meet,\u201d Pham recalled. \u201cShe sacrificed so much. I played a lot of sports as a kid, and while every child wants their parent at every game, I understood why she couldn\u2019t always be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

His mother also instilled the importance of education. Though she never had the chance to attend college, she was determined that her children would. Thanks to her example and encouragement, Pham became the first in his family to attend college, graduate school, and law school.<\/p>\n

He attended Ascension Catholic School in North Minneapolis, where faith, academic excellence, and social justice were core values. His principal connected him with\u00a0Cookie Cart, a nonprofit bakery that teaches job and leadership skills to teens. In exchange for tutoring and mentoring youth there, Pham earned a full scholarship to DeLaSalle High School.<\/p>\n

After high school, Pham began college at Saint John\u2019s University as a pre-med student but eventually transferred to the University of Minnesota. There, he switched majors to sociology of law, criminology, and justice, and minored in African American studies. He went on to earn a master\u2019s degree in criminal justice from Chapman University in California before deciding to pursue law school.<\/p>\n

Accepted to both William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law\u2014two schools which combined to form Mitchell Hamline School of Law in 2015\u2014Pham chose William Mitchell after successfully negotiating scholarship offers.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Chris with his proud mom, Linda, at his graduation from William Mitchell in 2009.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cLike a lot of Asian moms,\u201d he laughed, \u201cmine wanted me to be a doctor. I didn\u2019t want to disappoint her, so I started college on the pre-med track. But during my sophomore year, I took organic chemistry and, within two weeks, realized I was forcing something that wasn\u2019t meant for me. Once I worked up the courage to tell my mom I wasn\u2019t going to be a doctor, her immediate response was, \u2018So what are you going to do instead?\u2019 Without thinking, I blurted out, \u2018I\u2019m going to be a lawyer.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cTruthfully, I wasn\u2019t sure about that either at the time. I bought myself some time by going to grad school, then took the LSAT. And to make things more interesting, I had my first two kids during my 2L and 3L years. Thankfully, I inherited my mom\u2019s hustle mentality. It all worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that first day of law school was jarring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI showed up in sweatpants, Timberland boots, and a baseball cap. People looked at me like, \u2018Who is this guy?\u2019 The campus wasn\u2019t very diverse back then. But I knew I needed to find my people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pham found his community in the Multicultural Affairs office, led by Sharon Van Leer and Andriel Dees \u201995<\/strong>. It became a second home for students of color, and the relationships he built there carried him through law school\u2014and still endure today.<\/p>\n

Encouraged by mentors, Pham applied for the Minnesota State Bar Association\u2019s 1L Clerkship Program and initially matched with Rider Bennett\u2014until the firm unexpectedly closed its doors. Fortunately, two other firms were interested: Lindquist & Vennum (now Ballard Spahr) and Fredrikson & Byron. Pham chose Lindquist, where he practiced for six years and met a lifelong mentor and friend,\u00a0Terry Fleming.<\/p>\n

Although the two came from different backgrounds, they bonded over basketball and formed a lasting friendship. When Fleming later joined Fredrikson, he encouraged Pham to follow. Pham reminded Fredrikson of the offer they\u2019d made him six years earlier\u2014and this time, the timing was right.<\/p>\n

At Fredrikson, Pham\u2019s career took off. He became a shareholder, co-founded the firm\u2019s sports and entertainment law group, and now chairs its inclusion and diversity committee. He also serves on the recruiting and hiring committee, playing a key role in shaping the firm\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve built a firm where attorneys from underrepresented backgrounds feel like they belong,\u201d Pham said. \u201cOur intentional efforts show in the numbers\u2014and in the culture. Many of us chose Fredrikson because of that, and we\u2019ve stayed because we feel valued.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also serves on the\u00a0Board of Trustees at Mitchell Hamline, helping identify future leaders and supporting the school financially through the Fredrikson Foundation, which backs initiatives aligned with attorneys\u2019 passions outside the firm.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The “Phamily,” all in gear from Pham’s Elevate platform. Front (L-R): nephew Ryu, niece Kimiqo, and daughter Cailee. Back (L-R): niece Imani, sister Elizabeth, brother-in-law Sisqo, niece Jamera, Chris Pham, fianc\u00e9 Joy, son Christian, nephew Celo, and son Christopher Jr. Not pictured: daughter Caleyah, expected to arrive late July.<\/p><\/div>\n

Beyond law, Pham is the founder of\u00a0Elevate, a lifestyle brand and event platform launched in 2017. What started as an informal gathering space for diverse professionals in the Twin Cities has evolved into a movement\u2014one that blends culture, fun, and connection, all in the name of lifting each other up.<\/p>\n

\u201cElevate is about enhancing every part of your life\u2014personally, professionally, financially,\u201d he said. \u201cNetworking is a big part of that. No one succeeds alone. Start by finding common ground. Have a conversation. Then invest the time to build real relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

To current students, Pham\u2019s message is clear: take full advantage of the opportunities at Mitchell Hamline\u2014including its powerful alumni network of 23,000+ legal professionals across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople help people. It\u2019s really that simple. Let\u2019s elevate!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Chris Pham \u201909, \u201cPhamily\u201d means everything. Motivated by a deep desire to give his loved ones what he lacked growing up, he made it his mission to provide what he once longed for: an engaged father, quality time with family, and the financial security to enjoy life without constant stress. Once he reached that … <\/p>\n

Building a better life for family\u2014and lifting others along the way<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2537,"featured_media":20177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[161,3,162,165,175,163,1],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-20176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alumni","8":"category-alumni-spotlight","9":"category-feature","10":"category-features","11":"category-homepage","12":"category-news","13":"category-news-and-events","14":"tag-alumni","15":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2537"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}