It was March 2008 when Shannon Schmoyer and Christine E. Reinhard left their positions at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to open the doors of their own labor and employment law firm in San Antonio.
That also happened to be three months into the Great Recession, and the month that brokerage firm Bear Stearns collapsed, a key event in the financial crisis.
Schmoyer and Reinhard met the moment. They lowered rates for existing clients. Their spouses pitched in and Reinhard’s husband, who had just left his job to pursue a teacher accreditation, took on office duties processing the payroll and sending invoices.
Through it all, Reinhard prioritized the development of a firmwide conflict screening system that is so comprehensive, it rivals even that of large firms, said Justin Barbour, vice president of human resources and general counsel of Haven for Hope, who nominated Reinhard for the Association of Corporate Counsel San Antonio chapter’s Lee Cusenbary Ethical Life and Leadership Award.
For exceptional ethical behavior in the practice of law and ethical leadership in the community, ACC San Antonio recently honored Reinhard with its prestigious award in the private lawyer category.
Each year, the organization presents the award to one in-house lawyer or legal department and one private lawyer or law firm. Vincent R. Johnson, a recently retired professor from St. Mary’s University School of Law, received the award in the in-house/legal department category.
“Christine differentiates herself from even her most accomplished peers in her approach to conflict of interest avoidance, client communications, and candor before the court,” wrote Barbour, who practiced with Reinhard 13 years and is now her client.
Reinhard almost didn’t become a lawyer. A San Antonio native and daughter of a structural engineer, Reinhard went to the University of Texas at San Antonio to pursue a degree in engineering. But she quickly discovered that engineering was not her passion, she said. Meanwhile, she fell in love with a political science class.
While at UTSA, Reinhard gave birth to her daughter with her now-husband, which she said made her think more seriously about her education and future career. After two years at UTSA, Reinhard transferred to Texas A&M University, where she majored in political science and history and graduated in 1995.
Reinhard and her husband, who also graduated from A&M, moved back to San Antonio and she worked for a year at H-E-B’s corporate headquarters before attending St. Mary’s University School of Law.
After graduation in 1999, Reinhard took a summer clerkship at Akin Gump in Dallas, where she met Schmoyer. Schmoyer was eight years Reinhard’s senior both in terms of age and practice. She knew Reinhard and another summer associate had children, and she hosted an event where they could bring their kids.
The women hit if off early on, but could not have foreseen that about a decade later they would form their own firm together, Reinhard said.
Reinhard went on to work in Akin Gump’s San Antonio labor and employment law section. Her mother’s career in human resources, in part, inspired her to go into that practice, she said.
Reinhard was later joined by Schmoyer who moved from Dallas to lead the practice. Their decision to go out on their own was made in a brief conversation in 2007 that they laugh about now.
“She comes into my office and is like, ‘We probably could do this on our own,’” Reinhard recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Yes, we can,’ and that was about the extent of it.”
They stayed at Akin Gump for several month to finish projects and left on exceptional terms – Akin Gump has been a client of theirs.
Seventeen years later, Reinhard said she believes their firm, with a dozen lawyers, is the largest women-owned law firm in San Antonio, as well as the largest labor and employment practice in the city.
“I’m proud to be a part of that in terms of building it and maintaining it,” Reinhard said.
Reinhard is “skilled in leading her clients” to make ethical decisions and her reputation in San Antonio precedes her, said Monica Lerma, VP associate general counsel at Vericast who worked at Schmoyer Reinhard and who also nominated Reinhard.
“Examples of Christine’s ethical conduct include her candor with the court, transparency with clients, and honest dealing with opposing counsel,” Lerma wrote. “She has an established reputation for professional integrity and ethical behavior in San Antonio that is well deserved.”
Reinhard credits her commitment to ethics to her upbringing – her parents instilled in her telling the truth and owning up to mistakes – and her law partner.
“She’s always exemplified [a commitment to ethics],” Reinhard said. “If we’ve ever found ourselves in any kind of issue, we sit down and talk through it, and we’ve always had the same goal. We’re going to do what’s right.”
Publisher’s note: The Texas Lawbook is partnering with ACC San Antonio on an inaugural San Antonio Corporate Counsel Awards program in November. Nominations will open next week. Please email brooks.igo@texaslawbook.net if you are interested in being a sponsor.