Andrew Silverio
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Listen to the interview (approx. 48 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2010 with a major of Professional Music. Principal instrument: saxophone.
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Position: Compliance and Oversight Counsel (in-house corporate attorney) at The Phia Group, a medical consulting firm based in the Massachusetts which provides guidance to companies which do health insurance in-house. Andrew’s specialty is knowing all the different regulations and thereby assessing what strategies will and will not be legal. His time is split roughly evenly between larger projects and answering random questions sent his way each day.
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Overview. A couple of years into Berklee, Andrew felt that a music career was precarious and had no guarantee of success even if you do everything right. He wanted a career with a better shot at being financially comfortable. His aunt, a lawyer, suggested he consider law school, given how he was very logical and liked to debate. Andrew took a practice LSAT and really enjoyed it. He took the LSAT and applied to law school while still at Berklee, getting a scholarship to attend Suffolk University Law School in Boston. Andrew finished Berklee in May, 2010, took it easy that summer, and started that program in September of that year, figuring he’d specialize in Intellectual Property (“IP”) and be an entertainment lawyer.
Andrew did specialize in IP, but he also took some classes in health law and was on the school’s Health Journal. He figured that health was a good prospect if IP didn’t work out. Graduating in the spring of 2013 and taking (and passing) the Bar Exam a few months later, Andrew started job hunting in earnest, focusing on the IP and Health fields. It was a tough job market, flooded with newly-minted lawyers. He applied to a position in the Phia Group in late 2014, but didn’t get the job. however, in the spring of 2014, they called him back as they had another position open. Hired as a consultant working with their customers, Andrew gradually specialized in compliance regulations. In late 2018 he asked the higher-ups for a new job title that reflected his specialty, and received both that and a raise.
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You can see Andrew’s LinkedIn profile here.
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Choice Quotes: “What I like most about my job is “theres always something new to do, a new questino to answer. Admittedly after 5 years you see some questions over and over again. But you still get surprised sometimes, even when the rules are old, but a new combination comes up. Also, people are very resourceful in terms of saving money and want to know if it’s compliant. Sometimes it’s like ‘Congratulations. You re-invented insurance fraud.’ but sometimes it’s a really cool, workable idea!”
“If you want to be a lawyer, I’d really recommend a LSAT prep course. Also, first year law school is very intense — it’s a TON of reading. If you can’t just sit down and read for 6 hours straight, don’t do it. That said, I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid, but the real issue was lack of interest. Once I’m interested in something, I can study for hours on end.””
“To be successful as a lawyer, you want to make sure you’re the type of person that can consistently value being really thorough. Look under every rock even if you think the first rock gave you the answer. It’s not just answering a question, it’s about ruling out every other possible answer. If that sound bothersome or tedious, then maybe this career is not for you.”
“Keep an open mind about your options — don’t fixate on one thing. When you come to a fork in the road, think about the next fork in the road. Will door A only give you one path, while door B allows you to make different choices? Go for the one that will give you more flexiblity in the future. “
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Andrew at Berklee. “One of the great things about music is you can do it anywhere, anytime, with anybody. …I play in a band these days called ‘Titans of Industry’. It’s an important hobby to me that I get a lot of joy from.”
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Andrew hiking with his dog. “Psychologically my Berklee experience helped me a lot. I was much more laid back and easy-going about it all than most of my law school peers. I took my work seriously, but didn’t take myself to seriously. Anyone doing music understands that you need to put in the work before you get good. That helped me not spiral into a ball of stress..”
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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.