Hello, Will! First, can you start off by telling us (1) where you’re from, (2) where you went to undergrad, and (3) if you had any cool experiences in between college and law school?
Hi everybody! Growing up, I lived in a variety of places, but since I was in middle school, my home of homes has been Washington, D.C. (and yes, actually D.C., not Maryland or Virginia!) As far as college goes, I started out by attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, but after my freshman year, I transferred to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. I came to law school straight out of undergrad.
What types of things have you been involved with at the Law School besides the esteemed Law Weekly?
I served as Membership Editor for the Virginia Tax Review, but starting during COVID, I spent many weekends at home in D.C., where my family and girlfriend are. Spending more time on Grounds would definitely be a priority for me if I were to do it all over again. But I have enjoyed Charlottesville quite a bit. I am a big fan of the outdoors, and there are so many more outdoorsy things to do around here than there were in Nashville or Pittsburgh.
That makes a lot of sense. I’m sure everyone in the Class of 2023 feels their time in law school was marked significantly by COVID—do you have any particularly special memories of your COVID-y 1L year?
My favorite memory of law school during COVID was Friday Torts with Professor White. It really became a meme amongst Section A, and we even had some merch—coffee mugs—made to commemorate the class. Humble brag alert, but it also helped that on the last day of class, I was the first person in White’s career to successfully note what was wrong with a particular hypothetical (I won’t spoil it, but hint, wolves are afraid of people.)
Wolves and I have that in common. And what’s next for you after graduating next month?
After law school, I will be moving up north to Boston to work at a firm there.
Boston slaps, so congratulations. Time for our lightning round: What’s your favorite day of the week?
My favorite day of the week has to be Friday. Even though the weekend has not formally started, I have always found the anticipation of fun things ahead to be intoxicating.
Wrong answer—Thursday is correct—but I respect the hustle. Lucky numbers?
My lucky numbers are 23 and 42. I have no idea why!
What’s your relationship with citrus fruit like?
I have had an on-again, off-again relationship with citrus fruit. As a small child, I was terrified of them, as I found their acidic nature to be very disconcerting. I eventually got over that, but to this day, I still cannot get on board with the whole grapefruit thing. I couldn’t tell you why.
If you could distill your life into one candle scent, what would it be? And how much would it cost at Anthropologie?
Wow. What would my candle scent be? Um, I have always had this weird affinity for the smell of freshly poured concrete, and sandalwood seems to be in everything these days, so I guess my scent would be fresh concrete and sandalwood. I reckon it wouldn’t sell for much, but I have no idea what the going rate for candles at Anthropologie is. I’ll just stick with an MSRP of twenty-five cents.
When’s the last time you laughed so hard it hurt, and what were you laughing at?
The last time I laughed so hard it hurt was when I tripped down the stairs last week. I was carrying cookies, so I didn’t grasp the railing. When someone pointed out the silliness of that, I laughed. It hurt because my ribs were kind of banged up.
What would you be doing right now if you hadn’t come to law school?
If I hadn't come to law school, I would probably be working at an educational organization right now. I have always liked museums and the natural world, so I hope it would have been National Geographic or the Smithsonian, or something like that.
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Interviewed by Ethan Brown '25
bw2jcw@virginia.edu