Introduction
Christopher Geidner is an American journalist, blogger, and lawyer. He is currently the Senior Advisor for Law & Policy at The Justice Collaborative in Washington D.C. Previously, he was a legal editor at BuzzFeed news.
Education
Geidner attended American University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government. In the years 1999–2001, he attended Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. The following year, he enrolled with Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University and graduated with a J.D. degree in 2005. While at Moritz College, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Ohio State Law Journal from 2004 to 2005.
Career
Geidner's first job in journalism was as a copy editor and editorial writer at the Warren Tribune-Chronicle in Warren, Ohio.
Later, he went to law school at the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, where he also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Law Journal. While a student at Moritz College, he began blogging on his blog Law Dork (lawdork.net). The blog — which focuses on law, politics, media, and ethics issues — was featured in various publications including Time magazine. It was also recognized as Best Law Blog in the 2005 Weblog Awards.
After passing the bar in Ohio, Geidner practiced law as an associate with Porter, Wright, Morris, & Arthur LLP in Columbus, Ohio. In February 2007, he began working for Ohio Attorney General's Office as a Counsel to the Attorney General (February 2007- May 2008) and then as Principal Assistant Attorney General (May 2008-December 2008).
In 2009, he returned to blogging on his blog Law Dork. His writing on law dork was noticed and he was hired by Metro Weekly as a senior political writer. While at Metro Weekly, he was awarded for his coverage of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Excellence in Writing Award 2011) and the history of the Defense of Marriage Act (23rd Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - Outstanding Magazine Article award).
In 2012, Geidner was named the Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, for his work with MetroWeekly.
Geidner left MetroWeekly in July 2012 to become the Senior Political & Legal Reporter at BuzzFeed, where he covered national LGBT political and legal issues. For his coverage of the marriage equality movement and other LGBTQ issues, he received the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) Journalist of the Year Award in 2014. In 2013, he became BuzzFeed's Legal Editor and from August 2017 to April 2019, he was the magazine's Legal Editor and Supreme Court Correspondent.
Geidner left BuzzFeed in April 2019 to join The Justice Collaborative, Washington D.C, as a Senior Advisor for Law and Policy.