Hot Bench: Simon Sefzik ’27

Interviewed by: Alana Caesar ‘27 — Guest Contributor

Hi Simon! Thanks for joining me for this week’s Hot Bench. For those who haven’t met you yet, tell us where you’re from, where you went for undergrad, and why you came to law school.

I’m from a little town called Ferndale in Washington state, about ten minutes from Canada and fifteen minutes from the ocean, but I went to school here in Virginia—a small school you haven’t heard of called Patrick Henry College.

As a Virginian, I take offense to you thinking I don’t know where that is, but I admit the three high schools of the same name are better known. Why did you choose Patrick Henry College?

It’s a nerdy answer, but I was really into moot court and mock trial in high school, and when looking at colleges, I saw that Patrick Henry is really into the moot court scene, so it was a good fit. But I ultimately wasn’t as into it in college as I was in high school.

I’m not going to ask you to unpack what a “moot court scene” is, but instead, what did you do after graduation? 

I was a state senator in Washington. I wasn’t originally planning on it, but my hometown experienced severe flooding that displaced hundreds of people and created pretty severe economic consequences. Our state senator suddenly passed away, so I threw my hat into the ring and was appointed. I was a 22-year-old kid fresh out of college, but the pitch I made was, don’t give me a free pass because I’m young, but don’t discount me because of my age. Judge me by the same metrics you’d judge any other candidate—the quality of my ideas and the content of my character.

Okay, MLK Jr. quote. What made you think you’d be a good fit for the role?

A few things. Some of it was working in the federal government, but part was knowing I brought youthful energy and a fresh perspective to the role. Politicians often complain about how it’s just older people who are out of touch and how local politicians can hold grudges, partisan or not, if someone doesn’t support their bill, so part of it was just saying I’m coming at this with fresh eyes. I’m here to listen and learn without any jaded outlook.

What was your favorite initiative you worked on while you were a state senator?

That’s a good question. This doesn’t directly answer, but the best piece of advice I got was from the lieutenant governor, who was from a different political party than mine, but he entered office at a young age as well. He said, “You have a very important job, and you are not a very important person.” A reminder that I’m in this grand place, but I’m not grand. To more directly answer your question, I helped pass legislation that changed some of the laws regarding police pursuits after a family lost their 13-year-old daughter due to a drunk driver. And what’s nice is I’ve stayed in touch with her mom, especially throughout the law school process, because working on that bill was one reason I decided to go to law school to learn more about these issues.

Where will you be this summer?

I will be in Dallas doing a judicial externship for a federal judge. A big part of my family is from Dallas, so it’s a good chance to see a different legal market and area. I want to return to Washington at some point, but I’m unsure when. UVA powers that be; if you’re listening, we need better connections to the West Coast market! When I tell people back home I’m at UVA, they have no clue where it is. Most think I’m in school in West Virginia: close enough.  But I’m excited to hopefully learn more about Civpro this summer. It seems like that’ll come in handy at the district level. It’s probably bad to admit, but I have no idea what my job will entail.

Have no fear—half the 1L class feels the same. Now, the fun part! Lightning Round. What is your favorite hangout in Charlottesville?

Virg. At 11 p.m. on a Friday or Saturday. That’s such a degenerate answer.

What’s your go-to playlist and/or artists?

It depends on the mood, but these days, it’s a lot of bubblegum pop music. I hate to admit it. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo. But country music is good too—Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Randy Travis—all the classics.

Speaking of music, we saw you dancing the night away at Barristers. What’s your go-to DJ request?

Damn, that’s a hard one. I’ll go with “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston or “Yeah!” by Usher

Anything else you’d like to share about your dance-scapades at Barristers? I heard there was an outfit emergency after you dropped it low one too many times.

I plead the Fifth.

And there’s our answer. Favorite food Spot in Charlottesville?

I don’t dine out much. Is Chipotle a bad answer?

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