Thank you for doing this! It will be fun. Let’s start with the questions from our readers. What's your least favorite state?
My least favorite state…I don't think I have a least favorite state.
Not Iowa? [Iowa was mentioned quite a few times in contracts class earlier in the week].
No, I know a lot of people in Iowa who are great people. I don't like that it’s covered with corn, but *shrugs.*
OK, that's fair. Do you have a favorite state then?
Oh, yeah. These days we really like Idaho and South Carolina.
Nice! Ok, next question. Do you have plans to start a podcast or a YouTube channel?
I wouldn't say plans. I am talking to people about a possible YouTube channel.
What’s the content?
The content would vary. It would be law, economics, and beyond. For example, it might even include discussions of books, old books that are really relevant, though, to things happening now.
Like classics old or academics old?
Yeah. Academic, classic, old, I'm not sure. And that's why I'm talking with people trying to figure out if I could have a YouTube channel that had a really quite diverse set of topics. And if I did it, how would I put it together?
That'd be fun.
Yeah, maybe.
Ok next one. Which would decrease the value of a home the most: a termite infestation, a quintuple murder, or a ghost?
Um, I'm gonna say without having done a lot of research that the termite infestation would be devastating and it would—here's the difference between the termite infestation and everything else. The other two, not everybody would care either about a multiple murder having occurred at the house or reputed haunting. But if you have a termite infestation, you have to care about it because it can literally physically destroy the house. So that's gonna have a monster impact on market value.
That makes a good point. But one could argue that it would be easier to get rid of the termites than the ghosts. You know, because you have to find, like, a priest. You may have to, like, get one in from the Vatican if the local ones don't cut it.
Yeah. I personally don't know anything about how you get rid of ghosts.
That's fair. If you were not a law professor, what do you think you'd be doing for a career?
I would—I almost did this—I would probably be a partner at a law firm, and I might have been in and out of government.
Makes sense. Why did you decide not to?
That's a great question. Because I went back to finish my Ph.D. after having worked two summers in law firms. But after the second summer I went back and was just pretty much doing economics. I'd already graduated law school. And I said,“You know, if I've got a lot of ideas for interesting projects, and I like this, I'm gonna continue with this.” And I was able to pass my prelims and get a good dissertation committee and get a dissertation subject and topic that people thought was interesting, and I liked doing that kind of work. Even though you get paid a lot less money. There are other features of being an academic I like—mainly not that you work less hard, but you have more flexibility in your schedule. So that's kind of how I ended up being an academic, and I did do a clerkship before I got into academia. So, that was the trade off.
So what makes someone successful in life?
Oh, that's a great question. I think the most important thing is perseverance. And you have to also pursue what you really love, and it sometimes takes a while to figure out what you really like and what you really want to do. But then you have to have perseverance, grit, toughness, and maybe most important—this is related to all the others—resiliency. Because bad things happen. This is part of my Christian faith, but our life here is not supposed to be happy or fun. It is difficult and you have to have—whatever the source of your faith—you have to have faith that you can get through those difficult periods, and they're inevitable, and you have to bounce back and keep, keep pursuing. I'll say this, keep pursuing your dreams. I look at law school classmates who have succeeded on their own terms—they all have those characteristics. And the students I've taught over the years who've really been successful—again on their terms, not necessarily somebody else in the world's terms—they all have those characteristics, and they have got a dream, they have a goal. And they have that kind of resiliency and faith that has allowed them to endure some really difficult times and get through them.
That's a good answer. I like that. It's also—the Christianity thing—it reminds of me C.S. Lewis’ Surprised by Joy. I think he talks about resiliency.
I'm a big C.S. Lewis fan, yeah, definitely an influence.
I see it, that's cool. I'm a big fan as well. Ok, this will be an easy one. Do you believe in ghosts?
Not really.
That's less, like, equivocating than I expe—
That means no.
Ah, there it is. Which day do you think the start of the week is, Sunday or Monday?
Sunday.
Really? Why?
Because that's when it starts.
Ok. What's your zodiac sign?
I don't know. Oh, wait, I know! Taurus. That's one of the ones that looks like an animal. I’m not a fan—I'm not really an astrology person at all. Not at all.
Shocking.
But I do know I'm a Taurus.
Yeah, I learned recently that's not enough anymore. You have to know, like, exactly what time you were born and then there's like a whole placement and then your sun and your moon—it’s actually a very elaborate thing.
I do not doubt it. During the latter days of Ronald Reagan's presidency when he was incapacitated by Alzheimer's, his wife was helping to run the country and she made many decisions based on what, um, the astrologer told her.
Wow, something to make me dislike the Reagan’s even more. Or less? I don’t know.
I don't think that was a good thing.
Oh by the way, did you hear about the drink specials I ran at my bar for our Contracts mixer?
Oh yes! UCC 2-207. Very clever. The Johnston or whatever it's called?
Yeah, PBR and a shot of Old Crow.
I’ll tell you the real Johnston Special. If you want to do the basic Johnston, it would be PBR and Johnnie Walker Black.
Nice, Johnnie Walker was a teetotaller.
Really?
Yeah, teetotaller with a very successful liquor business, which is funny. Ok, so you mentioned Everything Everywhere, All At Once in class.
Great movie.
Do you have a favorite movie?
I don't like that many movies, but I do like Braveheart and The Patriot.
Have you seen Highlander?
I haven't seen a Highlander.
Oh, it's like one of the best worst movies of all time! It's got Christopher Lambert playing an immortal Scottish Swordsman, and then Sean Connery—
Is it a sci-fi-ish sort of thing?
Maybe? In the sense that he's, like, immortal, I guess. But that's it. Sean Connery is an Egyptian and also a Spaniard and is speaking with a FULL Scottish accent for the whole movie without even trying to cover it.
Oh no.
Oh yes. And meanwhile, Christopher Lambert is French trying to do a Scottish accent, and frankly, he always sounds like he doesn’t speak a human dialect. He's got a really weird voice.
So it’s sort of an action movie?
It’s a great movie. It's one of my favorites.
I have to watch it.
Near the end now! What is a question that I should have asked that you would like to answer?
No, no, no. All good questions. All fun questions.
Cool, cool, cool. Hey, thanks for taking the time to do this!
Thank you!
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Interviewed by Nicky Demitry, ’26