Christian Dunn of Columbus, Ohio, is this year’s Founder’s Medalist for the Law School.
Dunn earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Vanderbilt in 2018. He fondly recalls two classes he took on James Joyce, including one dedicated solely to reading Ulysses (with Roy Gottfried). “I think that this was one of the most meaningful academic experiences of my life. “It shaped the way I read and analyze texts, and molded my appreciation for classics,” he said.
After college, Dunn worked for Hip Hues, a Nashville-based, women-owned company specializing in on-site event experiences. He assisted with opening and building out a second location in Columbus.
During his time at the Law School, Dunn served as Executive Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and was involved with the Labor and Employment Law Society. He earned Scholastic Excellence Awards in Constitutional Law I and II, Civil Procedure, Corporations and Business Entities, Securities Regulation, and Mergers and Acquisitions.
One of his favorite activities outside of school was floating the Harpeth River, and as a 3L, he did pro bono legal work for the Harpeth Conservancy. “This has been a deeply meaningful experience as my first foray into environmental law. Not only have I gotten to do work on behalf of some of Nashville’s best natural assets, but also discovered a real enjoyment for environmental legal work,” he said.
Dunn worked as a summer associate at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Nashville during his 1L summer. He worked the following summer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, where he will begin working as a full-time associate in the fall.
“This was a time of incredible change for me,” he said. “Not only did law school change my professional course and the way that I think, but I also met my fiancé during these past three years.
“I will also always remember my incredible classmates and the lifelong friendships that I made along the way. Finally, the quality of the faculty here at Vanderbilt Law really stands out; I am so grateful to have been taught by such amazing, thoughtful, and caring professors.”
Dunn’s father Robert graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 1993.
