A surprising amount of otherwise stern-faced lawyers have pets, something that can change Nguyen’s opinions of even the most aggressive bulldog attorney, she said.
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Growing up the only child of refugees from Vietnam, owning a pet was a cultural step too far for AiVi Nguyen’s parents, who questioned the premise of allowing an animal to run loose in one’s home.
Nguyen immediately rebelled as soon as she was out on her own, adopting two cats and a dog named Taylor.
Taylor quickly became an important presence in her life as she was making her way through law school and well into her rising career as one of Worcester’s top legal minds, which she now uses as partner in the Worcester office of Boston law firm Prince Lobel.
“Taylor was like my best friend,” she said. “We grew up together, because he was with me through law school and when I was living in a two-bedroom, three-decker apartment in Worcester.”
Taylor lived to the ripe old age of 15, passing away during COVID. At first, Nguyen thought she and her longterm boyfriend Max Denning should take a breather before diving back into pet ownership. Then, she became aware of a dog who became known as Tony, who was found by rescuers in Texas as a five-week-old puppy wandering the streets.
They first met in a Rhode Island parking lot, part of an effort to ship dogs to families across the country from states where kill shelters are common. Nguyen said Tony plays an important role in both her and her boyfriend’s work-life balance, especially for Denning who largely works from home and could use companionship.
“Without the third personality in our house, life would be pretty uneventful,” she said.
A surprising amount of otherwise stern-faced lawyers have pets, something that can change Nguyen’s opinions of even the most aggressive bulldog attorney, she said.
“Even the meanest lawyers, where I'm like, ‘That guy's like a real jerk,’ when I find out he has a dog that loves him, I'm like, ‘Well, maybe not,’” she said. “It colors my view of people.”
With a dog with a human name like Tony and a boyfriend named Max, a common name for canines, there’s occasionally some confusion, Nguyen said.
“Max is apparently a very popular dog name,” she said. “It’s pretty funny, because some people will ask ‘Oh, is Max at daycare tonight?’”
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
