Law Review, Minority Students Association, Judicial Externships
After four years teaching as a sixth grade teacher in North Carolina, Grant Jones knew it was time to pursue a long time dream—law school. As he began his journey to law school, he believed that the skills he had cultivated during his time as an educator would not transfer or be useful to his legal education. “I quickly found, however, that I was mistaken,” he said. One skill that proved to be greatly useful in his legal education, he noted, was, “my time taking complex topics and breaking them into simple pieces for sixth graders. [This greatly] helped my legal writing and argument skills.”
Once he arrived at law school, Jones became involved in a variety of co curriculars. He has been involved in both Law Review and the Minority Law Students Association. In addition, he has been involved with the Gene Schaerr’s Supreme Court clinic, where he had the opportunity to write for real clients that had cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jones said that the most valuable part of his law school experience was the internships he had with federal and state judges. “I worked in a judge’s chambers for four semesters. Specifically, I worked for a Tenth Circuit judge, a Utah Supreme Court justice, a federal Bankruptcy Court judge, and a federal District Court judge. My time working for brilliant judges and their law clerks has helped me develop the skills and confidence to begin my law career,” he said.
In his pursuit to learn how to “think like a lawyer”, he cited his professors as having a great influence on him. Specifically, he mentioned Professor Kif Augustine-Adams. He said that, “she has always encouraged her students to push back on the law and policy in order to form opinions about what is best.”
He also said that his classmates had a great influence on him during his time at BYU Law. Jones said, “My fellow students here at BYU are amazing people. They all impress me so much in diverse ways. I didn’t realize before I came to school how important my law school peers would be to me. So many have helped me grow, get through the tough times, and enjoy my law school experience.”
After graduation, Jones, along with his wife and two children, will move to Houston, Texas where he will work for Kirkland & Ellis in their litigation group. He hopes to continue building upon the foundations that he has gained at BYU Law.
In the video below, Jones talks about some of the real world experience he gained at BYU Law.
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