Summary: Learn how one law school student juggles playing basketball for a Division 1 team while attending law school full-time.
One William & Mary Law School student does more than just attend classes. Paul Rowley, 21, is captain of William & Mary College’s basketball team, a Division 1 team, and just completed his first year of law school. The 6-foot-8 law student also worked at Norfolk law firm Wilcox Savage as a summer associate.
Rowley redshirted for the team his freshman year of college but was able to graduate magna cum laude after three years with a double major in computer science and finance. He was then able to keep playing for the basketball team while he started law school at William & Mary Law. He will be able to play his final year of basketball during his second year of law school. His basketball scholarship will continue to cover the costs of law school.
Law school is already a full-time commitment so balancing a time intensive role as a student-athlete is nearly impossible. However, Rowley has excellent time management skills. Basketball requires 40 hours a week on top of his classes and studying.
Wilcox Savage managing partner Robert L. Dewey explained that the firm does not usually take on summer associate who were just out of their first year of law school but Rowley was an exception “because of his outstanding record.”
During the six paid weeks Rowley spent with Wilcox Savage, Rowley focused on research and writing. He was also able to attend a couple of meetings with clients on real estate matters. Dewey said, “I think Paul will make a great lawyer.”
Rowley said of his summer job, “Mostly what I was doing was, ‘Hey, I have this issue: These two parties had a contract. This went wrong. How does that play out under Virginia Law? How does that play out under New York law?’ It was my job to do some, hopefully, fairly thorough research and find a conclusive answer.”
Rowley has already returned to Williamsburg for team training. Rowley was named in March by the CAA as the male scholar-athlete of the year.
Rowley added, “We had a team meeting [Monday] and one of the first points coach wanted to stress was appreciation. Be appreciative of the opportunities. Be appreciative of our coaching staff, our support staff. There are so many good thing that kind of go along with being involved in a college athletics program. I’ve always tried to internalize that. I’m appreciative of all the opportunities we have. This is fantastic. I thoroughly enjoy it, and I try to soak it all in.”
Do you think you could handle law school full-time and playing a college sport? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about other stand out law school students, read these articles:
- UNT Dallas College of Law Graduate Completes 800 Volunteer Hours during Law School
- Yale Law Student Wins Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans Scholarship
- UCLA Law Student Competed in Survivor Instead of Getting a Summer Job
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