Darius, welcome to the Hot Bench! As a 3L and veteran of the Law Weekly, I know our audience would love to hear about your story. First off, where are you from, and where did you go to undergrad?
Sure thing! I’m from the California Bay Area, and I went to UC Berkeley for undergrad.
What brought you to law school, and specifically UVA?
So I worked at a small ed-tech company right after college to get some practical skills. It was fun working with web apps stuff, but I always had my eye on transitioning into the legal industry. Eventually, I got a job in the legal department of this streaming company which eventually morphed into Paramount+, and it was a cool intersection between the software work I had been doing and the legal work I wanted to do. After a few months there, I found transactional work really interesting and was set on going to law school.
As for UVA, I wanted to branch out a little bit, and Charlottesville seemed like a really cute place to live for a few years. Also, Admissions put out that $$$ if you know what I mean…
That’s an awesome bit of unique experience! What will you be up to after graduation?
I’ll be doing transactional work for tech and life science companies at a firm in New York.
As graduation approaches, do you have advice for the younger law students on how to have the best experience here?
Go to office hours. Your professor decides your grades, and they are literally setting aside time for you to ask them about the material that will be on the test. I know it may be intimidating to talk to your professor one-on-one but that time with them is so valuable.
On that same note, get out of your comfort zone. This is a time for you to grow.
What has been your favorite extracurricular outside of the Law Weekly?
Probably revitalizing NLG’s legal observer program with my homie John Henry. It’s been so fulfilling to help the people I admire most in this world. I think developing some type of legal aid skill is so important, especially for people going into private practice like me.
Are there any professors who you feel have been particularly impactful for you?
Definitely Kordana, RIP… just kidding. I hope he’s doing well. Best Corporate Law professor in my opinion. He taught me to think through legal problems creatively.
Could you tell us about your clinic (legal aid) experience?
I did the Nonprofit Clinic. It was super nice to help out local community orgs, and the workload was much lighter than most of the other clinics.
Lighting Round! Favorite restaurant around Charlottesville (Besides Dominos, the glorious sponsor of this paper)?
That’s tough; I don’t usually go out to eat. Does ice cream count as a meal? La Flor Michoacana on Cherry Ave is SSS tier.
Favorite activity/hobby when you have a few hours of free time?
I love to tend my garden. I used to be a “only grow what you can eat” dork, but now I’m trying to expand my horizons a little bit. Maybe add in a couple of pollinator friendly flowers to the mix? Hmmm.
Favorite class?
Repugnant Transactions with Professor Kraweic. I know it’s a hot take, but I love everything about that class.
Best article you have written for the Law Weekly?
That’s tough. My best article was probably my stop the steal article with former President Juhi Desai ’23. That one actually made me have a giggle fit while I was writing it.
Most tyrannical EIC you have seen at the Law Weekly?
Dana.
Backup career in case this whole law thing doesn’t work out?
There’s no backup plan. I think my calling to be a lawyer originates from a divine mandate like that of the philosopher kings of old.
What unorthodox pet would you have?
Probably a dire wolf. It’s gotta be large enough that I can ride on top of it like some shaman warrior. Maybe that’s actually my backup plan . . . .
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Interviewed by Jordan Allen '25