As a lieutenant in the Marine Corps, the logical course of action for Newton native Christopher Walsh would probably have been to continue his promising military career after being selected for promotion to captain. Instead, Walsh decided it was time to re-enter the civilian population.
About a year ago, after an informational interview, Cassidy Turley FHO Managing Principal Joe Fallon decided to offer the military man a job as an associate in the tenant representation firm.
Christopher Walsh
Title: Associate, Cassidy Turley FHO
Age: 27
Experience: 10 months
Tell me how you ended up at Cassidy Turley after your stint in the Marines?
I was stationed in California, and when I got out I interviewed with a handful of firms out there. I really didn’t have any intention in moving back to the East Coast. But I came here to visit my family for Memorial Day last year, and my father told me we had a family friend who had worked as general counsel for a firm here in Boston and would hook me up with an informational interview. So I came in and met with Joe Fallon and Charles O’Connor. I thought it would be a 15- or 20-minute meet-and-greet, which turned into an hour-long meeting. Joe said, “The funny thing about this business is timing is just about everything, and we actually have a position available. Why don’t you come back to meet the partner that will be hiring the associate?” I came back and they offered me the job.
What’s it been like to break into the business, especially in Cambridge, one of the hottest submarkets in the region?
You listen to absolutely everything and you ask as many questions as you possibly can. I came into this market as a junior broker, where no one even knows who you are. You wonder why no one is calling you back. You have to understand who the players are, and especially in the Cambridge market there are a few brokers you see very often. Even if it’s someone from a different firm you can listen to them and learn from them. You just learn how to play the game. Being in the Cambridge market, because of what’s happened with the rents, I’ve found myself doing a lot of business downtown in the Financial District or the Seaport when tenants get priced out of [Cambridge].
What specific challenges have you encountered – besides having no experience whatsoever? 
This isn’t specific to the business, but the transition [to civilian life] in general has proven to be more difficult than I could ever have imagined. And I did the transition in, literally, a week. I didn’t even own a suit when I got back from Afghanistan, I had to buy them when I got back. It’s definitely more difficult getting up in the morning when there aren’t a bunch of Marines counting on me. What motivates civilians is not what motivates Marines.
Christopher Walsh’s Ranking Of The Five Best James Bond Actors:
- Sean Connery
- Daniel Craig
- Roger Moore
- Pierce Brosnan
- George Lazenby
