Before they shared an office, a practice, or the vow of marriage, Christine Gonillo and Christopher Cody were circling the same streets without knowing it. Both grew up in Connecticut, became lawyers, and worked just doors apart in the Milford downtown area.
Their story began in 1986, when the New Haven County Bar Association organized a Mother's Day race as part of New Haven’s 300th anniversary celebration. When a last-minute police work action redirected the runners, Chris – an on-edge participant – came face to face with Christine, a volunteer, whose first thought was, "Boy, he's intense and stressed."
Today, the two practice law together, though neither of them arrived in the profession through a straight path. Chris grew up in a family business; his father was a funeral director at the nearby Cody White Funeral Home. The straightforward nature of the work sparked his curiosity for law, where he saw a chance to investigate and interpret in a way he hadn’t before. A congressional internship in Washington, D.C. introduced him to the fast-paced climate of young professionals. He reflects, "Working in Washington was a revelation...it's like, who wouldn't want to be here?"
Christine came to law later: she took a year between undergraduate studies and law school to intern at a firm in Massachusetts, testing the profession before choosing a career path.
Like most young lawyers new to the profession, they did whatever their firms needed, often improvising or seeking guidance along the way. "You know, you learn a lot on the job, because they don't teach you every single thing in law school," Christine remembers.
Chris started during a real estate boom and found himself drafting condominium documents and closing construction loans. When the market collapsed, those clients vanished almost overnight. At six years in – the traditional moment when partnership decisions are made – Chris found himself jobless. So, he opened his own firm in 1989.
Christine's path was steadier but no less demanding. She built her skills by learning everything she could, paying attention to details, statutes, and the more granular aspects of practicing. Despite their different approaches, they both believed that family businesses are the team to beat; family will do for each other what no employee ever would.
Approaching three decades of practicing together, they have watched the practice of law transform completely. They started in massive law libraries, where "cut and paste" meant scissors and glue, and research took days. Now, everything is digital. Courts are online, as hearings moved to Zoom and Teams, and the technology changed faster than anyone expected with the rise of artificial intelligence. But their philosophy hasn’t wavered.
The law, they believe, was never about knowing every statute and rule. It was about asking the right questions and understanding what motivates people.
Their advice for anyone considering law: study people as much as you study legal principles, understand how business actually works, and stay curious. Careers rarely follow the paths we map out for them.
"You learn a lot on the job, because they don't teach you every single thing in law school."