This month, our attorney Jessica L. O’Neill Gooding celebrates her two year anniversary with Goings Law Firm. We absolutely love having her on our team! She’s a dedicated attorney who works incredibly hard for and is dedicated to each one of her clients.
“My favorite thing about working here is just working with the clients,” Jess said. “I grew up wanting to be a teacher. I actually had a couple of my favorite teachers talk me out of that but, this type of practice allows me to educate clients and take them through the legal process. I really enjoy that type of interaction with clients. Also, Robert is really hilarious to work with!”
She also loves the history found in the walls of the historical home that houses our firm in downtown Columbia.
“My favorite part of our office is the bullet in the chimney,” Jess said. “Downstairs in the conference room, in the brick chimney above the fireplace behind the finished walls, there are bullets from the Civil War. This house is one of two that was built for a pair of sisters—they’re twin homes with almost the exactly same layout. A confederate general built them for his two daughters. When Sherman was burning the south and raiding all of the homes, they came into this house. There was a portrait of the young woman’s father—the Confederate general—over the mantel of the fireplace. When the Union troops saw it, they shot through the portrait and the lead bullets lodged themselves in the brick of the chimney.”
Jess stays active our local legal community, and is a member of the South Carolina Bar’s Young Lawyer Division, South Carolina Women Lawyer’s Association, the South Carolina Young Lawyers Division, the Richland County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
“In Columbia, it’s really easy to get involved with the Bar Association,” Jess said. “There are always a lot of events going on, the Annual South Carolina Judicial Conference is here in town, and it’s a great hub for the legal community with the government and the non-profits that are located here. It’s cool to be a part of that and to stay involved with it.”
Congratulations on your 2nd anniversary, Jess! We hope to celebrate many more work anniversaries with you!
