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Andrew Moses goes from Ohio State Football to Brouse McDowell
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: July 1, 2013
At 6’3” and 205 pounds, the newest associate-in-waiting (if he passes the bar) at Brouse McDowell may look larger than many attorneys at the firm.
But Andrew Moses is 75 pounds down from his playing weight of 280, when he helped anchor the offensive line at The Ohio State University. He has just graduated from the Ohio State University law school and is studying for the July bar exam.
Moses, who clerked at Brouse last summer, accepted a permanent position at the firm and said that a part of the exiting process from the football program in Columbus was an informational meeting in which outgoing players were show the risks that carrying extra playing weight can cause to an athlete when his playing days are over.
“That is a credit to the training staff,” he said.
Andrew’s brother Christopher, who is two years older, preceded him to law school, although Chris went to Toledo. He is currently a labor attorney in their home town of Columbus.
Chris had also tried to walk on to the Ohio State football team, but during the team physical a hip injury showed up that essentially ended his football career.
The brothers’ grandfather, Jacob Moses, was a renowned eye surgeon who helped found the Ohio State ophthalmology department, and both of their parents went to Ohio State.
Andrew was a red shirt freshman in the championship year of 2002, and then spent 2003 on the practice squad. The 2002 O-line included, among others, future NFL player Nick Mangold. “That was a great line,” said Moses.
A five-year player, he gradually received more playing time throughout the rest of his playing career. He graduated with two undergraduate degrees—in political science and communications, before entering law school.
The extra time he spent on campus, he said, “was one of the benefits of playing that fifth year.”
His summer clerking at Brouse was, he said, “a great experience.” While there, he said, he worked on estate planning and transactions, among other areas. “I kind of did a little bit of everything, but I am primarily interested in litigation. I really like the writing and the persuasive argument aspects of that area.”
He said that he has no particular interest in criminal or contract law, although he may be in litigation over a contract.
The best part of his intern experience, he said, “was that I got to work with so many experienced people. They were all so helpful. There really is a lot to learn and to catch up on. There are so many great attorneys there and there is so much to learn.”
There was a great deal that Moses learned from his football experiences that were applicable to law school. “The biggest thing that I got out of football was persistence, work ethic,” he said. “Showing up to work every day. I didn’t get into a game my first two years at Ohio State.”
He had been used to playing and winning in high school. He was a star on a state champion football team at Columbus’s Watterson High School.
At Ohio State, he was a preferred walk-on who had to wait his turn.
So, he said, “I got through all of the practices. I kept working, showing up, kept at it. Kept sweating it out—and saw some people who couldn’t do that. It really taught me that if I keep my head down and keep working every day, that things will happen. And I remind myself of that every day. I understand that things are not going to happen overnight.”
He sees that same quality in the attorneys with whom he worked at Brouse.
“A lot of the partners have been practicing for a long time,” he said. “But they are still working, still doing their research, still learning every day. You look around the room and realize that it is up to you to try to get better.”
For now, Moses is studying for the July bar exam with the same tenaciousness that marked his football career. He has no doubt about what the result of that exam will be.
“I look forward to coming back (to Brouse McDowell) in September,” Moses said.