SITKA — The new assistant district attorney for Sitka couldn’t say exactly that his life was naturally leading to his current post.
But Christopher Orman says maybe it is all related — including the many years he spent as a pastry and sushi chef in southern climes, in addition to his state and regional legal experience.
“Being a chef I learned how to manage stress, manage numbers and work with people across all different sectors,” he said.
And there’s the photo of surfers off Mt. Edgecumbe on the cover of Surfer Magazine that entranced him when he was a youngster, and convinced him that one day he would make surfboards for a living.
“I wanted to surf in Alaska,” Orman said. “There was something about that article that really had an impact.”
Orman arrived this winter from Juneau to take over for Jean Seaton — he was one of the last new hires before the state hiring freeze.
For the last three years he has been assistant municipal attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, managing civil cases and providing legal advice to city departments. He has also worked as an ADA in Palmer, litigating felonies and misdemeanors, and clerked for Superior Court Judge William B. Carey of Ketchikan as his first law job.
Orman says Southeast is a good fit for him and his family, and he’s looking forward to creating a life here. He and his wife, Angela Goodhope, have two children.
Orman was born in Texas but grew up in southern California. He earned a degree in literature from California State University San Marcos in 2001, and looked at a few graduate programs before deciding to attend the Florida Culinary Institute, specializing in pastry.
“I had the TV on, and Julia Child was on the TV — I said, she looks happy,” Orman said. “Maybe if I was a cook, there could be pleasure derived.”
He worked in a five-star restaurant in West Palm Beach until it closed in 2006, and then he started thinking about becoming a lawyer. He studied for three months on his own, and did well enough on his LSAT exams to be accepted to the University of Montana School of Law.
“I liked the idea of Missoula, it seemed like a good town, and much cheaper than some other places,” he said. In his second year, he met his future wife, who worked as a lobbyist for various issues.
Before graduating from law school, he was offered a clerkship with Judge Carey in Ketchikan. He and his wife spent their honeymoon there, meeting the judge and getting the lay of the land, then returned to Montana to finish law school.
Orman then traveled up to Southeast again in July, to take the bar in Juneau. And on the way back to Big Sky country, he had a long layover in Sitka.
“I remember being hungry and eating quite a bit of pie at the airport, and got in a taxi,” he said. “There are things I loved about Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka.”
At the end of his clerkship, he took a job as an ADA in Palmer, but missed Southeast during his two years there.
He took an assistant city attorney job in Juneau in 2013, which he enjoyed but he missed working on the criminal side, and being in court.
“I reflect all the time Sitka has popped up in my life in interesting ways,” he said. “Things don’t pop up on accident. … It seemed to all make sense.”
Orman said he has the experience to handle the job in Sitka, but knows it will take a while to get to know the community, including its values.
“I know I’m not going to be perfect,” he said.
In his spare time, Orman enjoys flyfishing, hiking, snowboarding and other outdoor activities.
