Practice Local, Think Global

What do five-minute interviews, going broke on the first day of a fellowship in Nairobi, opening a high-end hosiery franchise, and being appointed to an international trade committee by the Obama administration have in common? They are all experiences that shaped the fascinating life and legal career of Craig Owen White.

Nurtured by his father and teachers to be curious, Craig knew he wanted to be an attorney at a young age. A fellowship after college sent him on a yearlong journey of self-discovery in Kenya and Ghana and cemented a pattern of listening and learning as much as he instructed. 

After law school and several years as a corporate law associate, Craig and his wife opened a high-end retail hosiery business in downtown Cleveland to create jobs in the Black community. That experience shaped his work with the International Senior Lawyers Project in Africa, as well as an appointment by the Cleveland City Council to negotiate with the NFL to bring the Browns back to town. The current partner in charge at Hahn Loeser & Parks’ Cleveland office, Craig is also the chair of the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa to which he was appointed by the Obama Administration. This sticky lawyer has left his imprint all over the world. Enjoy his story.