Alumni Connection

Ashley Ochs'14, General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer, Smile Train

By Mike Riccobono '09

Few people can say it is their job to literally put a smile on a child’s face, but for Ashley Ochs ’09, General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer at Smile Train – a non-profit organization that sponsors comprehensive care for children with cleft lips and palates – that is exactly what she and her colleagues do every day.  Described as one of the “most productive charities, dollar for deed, in the world,” Smile Train has sponsored free cleft surgery and other essential care for those in need in 90+ countries across the globe and helps train local doctors to provide on-going care to those children and others with clefts.

So, it should come as no surprise that Ashley loves working at Smile Train and does it all with a smile.  “Being able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children who are in need of these services is incredibly rewarding,” Ashley shared.  “We have a ‘teach a man to fish’ mentality,” Ashley said, “meaning, a large part of our work is to provide training and resources to local doctors and hospitals so that they can perform these surgeries on their own, rather than having to rely exclusively on Western doctors to do so.”

And it is exactly that kind of teaching philosophy that Ashley herself benefitted from while at SHU Law.  “I was heavily involved with Moot Court and Professor Jodi Hudson did such a great job teaching us the fundamental skills of oral advocacy, thinking on your feet, and presenting your arguments in a clear and cogent manner,” Ashley recalled.  “I use those skills in my work on a daily basis,” she continued.  In addition, Ashley shared that “Professor Hudson really helped forge our own little community within the Moot Court team, so keeping in touch with my classmates and Moot Court team members and seeing their own successes over the years has been such a pleasure.”

Ashley’s legal career started with clerkships in the District Court of New Jersey with the Honorable Joel A. Pisano and then in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit with the Honorable Michael Chagares.  From there, Ashley joined NYC powerhouse law firm Patterson Belknap where she handled complex business and commercial litigation matters for six years.  Smile Train was a client of Patterson Belknap, so when Smile Train was looking for its first-ever in-house legal counsel, Ashley was a natural fit.

Now responsible for building out all of Smile Train’s legal and compliance/governance functions for an organization that has staff in 30 different countries across the globe, Ashley has found her broad litigation experience while in private practice to be most helpful.  “For law students or graduates looking to go in-house, having a broad base of experience on a variety of legal issues will really serve you well,” Ashley said.

Ashley currently lives with her husband and 7-year-old son in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.  She spends her free time ferrying her son to and from his varied activities and doing whatever else puts a smile on his face.  Just like she does for Smile Train’s patients across the world.

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