A self-described “people person,” Cali Chandiramani’s personable demeanor is integral to her success as a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Employment and Labor practice group.  Cali has a gift for making others feel at ease, enabling her to build a rapport with not only clients, but also mediators, opposing counsel, and plaintiff witnesses.

“I think my superpower is making people feel comfortable and that is applicable in every-day practice,” said Cali, who’s based in the firm’s Manhattan office. “It’s something that comes naturally to me. It’s actually why I wanted to be a lawyer. It sort of aligns with my interests and strengths. Not everyone’s lucky enough to find that and be able to do it for their career.”

Following high school, Cali went on to pursue her goal of a legal career at Villanova University School of Law, where during her second year she decided to focus on Employment law, influenced in part by the entrepreneurs and business owners in her family and the stories she would hear them tell of the challenges with which they were often forced to contend. Upon graduation, she found a job in New York City practicing maritime law, a field made up predominantly of men but one in which she was given an array of opportunities allowing her to gain valuable experience and knowledge in arguing before courts, legal writing, and understanding contracts and insurance coverage decisions.

While she found the subject matter interesting and was happy at her firm, Cali was about to enter her fourth year as an associate, and grew concerned the window might be closing on her chance to transition into her desired practice area, she moved to a mid-size law firm where she began to handle employment cases. The change solidified her interest in Employment law, and after gaining experience in the practice, an opportunity presented itself to join Goldberg Segalla.

“The stars aligned,” she said.

Today, Cali represents private companies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions in cases involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage-and-hour violations and other employment matters in state and federal courts and before state and city oversight agencies in both New York and New Jersey. She also counsels and advises clients on how to handle complex matters that arise and how best to mitigate their risks.

“I like guiding companies, helping them to avoid pitfalls,” said Cali. “I often feel that I’m half lawyer-half therapist, connecting with my clients on an emotional level and making sure that I can guide them to avoid issues, versus just responding to something. Making sure they’re knowledgeable about what they should be doing, what they must be doing and what they cannot be doing can be really helpful. And that’s where having a good base of the law, which is always changing, can be so beneficial to clients. They don’t have time to stay up on everything all the time and the law basically expects them to. So that’s where we come in. I feel like I’m really adding value for the client, and I like knowing they rely on my knowledge and experience, and that they trust my judgement.”

The ability to connect with others on an emotional level, she said, is also important during litigation.

“There’s always a personal or emotional aspect to it. If you can’t empathize and connect,” with someone, said Cali, “they’re not going to open up to you. And I use that skill to the advantage of my clients.”

What also works to the advantage of her clients is the wide range of resources and expertise at Goldberg Segalla.

“The lawyers at Goldberg Segalla truly help each other,” said Cali. “I have had clients come to me with questions that are absolutely outside of my wheelhouse and knowledge base and I will reach out to an attorney in another practice group in another office who I have never spoken to and ask if they can assist and they always do. And on the flip side, I have been contacted by attorneys in several practice areas in many different cities and states who I have never spoken to, and they’ll have a client who has an employment-related question, and they’ll ask if I can assist, and I always do.

“People here will pretty much drop everything to help their colleagues, even people they don’t know, and I think that’s the real difference. People’s willingness to help each other and really be more collaborative — not just within your office, not just within your team, not even just within your practice area, but across the firm — is really special. I think it says a lot about the type of people and personalities that GS attracts.”

For Cali, the drive to help her clients succeed is embedded in the importance of “never losing sight of the fact that the work we do matters.”

“Your clients are relying on you. Your colleagues are relying on you. I think feeling needed is really all anyone needs to be motivated in their job.”

“I am one of those people who basically always wanted to be a lawyer,” said Cali, thinking back to her years growing up. “I loved reading and writing and I hated when something was not fair.”

She also loved to talk, something to which her parents especially took note.

“My parents said I could talk to anyone, even as a young child. And I don’t think that’s ever changed.”