The Law School Experience: An Interview with FSU History alumnus Tyler Roy

Tyler Roy graduated from FSU with a major in History and a minor in Law & Philosophy in spring 2022. Roy had been focused on continuing his studies, and in fall 2022 he started at the University of Richmond School of Law. He just finished his second year.

Why did you choose the University of Richmond School of Law?

I knew that I wanted to focus on criminal law. While at FSU, I had interned at the Florida capital and got introduced to how a state government works. I enjoyed that experience very much. My future law school needed to have both these aspects, an emphasis on criminal law and be in a state capital.

I chose Richmond because I wanted to live a bit further north, with a little bit colder weather. Richmond had a specialization in trial work which suited me fine. Richmond also offered me a scholarship although it wasn’t as high as I had hoped. I was torn over whether to accept their offer, but after I put down the deposit, I received a new scholarship offer and that covered most of my expenses. I had not realized that the school might revise their offer, so in my case putting down the deposit was a good move.

What got you interested in criminal law?

I've always wanted to do work that feels meaningful to me. From a young age on, I knew that I wanted to focus on criminal law. When practicing that, you get to meet people who are often at their lowest point, whether they are the victim or the defendant. It is important that one has a lawyer who is respectful and tries to do their best – whether in representing the state or defending their case.

How did you prepare for law school? 

My prep started with deciding to major in History. I remember that History was recommended as one of the best majors for passing the LSAT and getting ready for law school. A large part of History is reading and writing, and getting good at that, learning how to read efficiently and write effectively, makes you a very competitive applicant. I was always passionate about History which made it an ideal choice.

While in undergrad, I did a lot of practice tests. That was my main way to get better at taking the LSAT. In my first year at FSU, I was part of the Bryan Hall Learning community, and I took part in a pre-law mentorship program offered by Dean Benavides from FSU’s law school. That was a great experience, and Dean Benavides became an important resource for me. Even more, I stayed in touch with the other students from that class, and we discussed our plans and progress towards becoming lawyers.

As far as other activities were concerned, I became very involved in founding the History Club and also the Student Government Association. Besides spending time on academic work, those were the two organizations I really threw myself into!

Was law school a big change from undergrad?

There are a few differences between law school and undergrad. For example, you don’t get to pick any of your classes in your first year. Even though I really wanted to do criminal law, I had to take all the other mandatory classes, contracts, tort, and so on. It was hard getting passionate about all of those.

The other thing that is different is the curve. You are surrounded by really smart people who are all passionate about law, yet the number of each grade given is limited for every class. Regardless of how well the students are doing, there will only be four As, and four A-s, four B+s, etc. And your grade might depend on a single test taken at the end of the semester or the whole year.  If you are looking to get an internship from a law firm, especially in the summer between the first and second year, that’s all the firm has to evaluate you, your grade on the curve. So much depends on you performing well on the one day when your test is.

In undergrad, you can see where you are with your grades throughout the semester. And you get feedback on your essays showing you whether you have understood something or not.

How difficult was it to settle into a new place and school? 

I chose to go to a new place, and so far, I have enjoyed it. One of the things that surprised me was the age difference. Most of my fellow students are around 25, but there are some who are 35 and older. I am the second youngest in my year which definitely feels different from undergrad. That’s where it was helpful that Richmond is also a university with the usual clubs and societies, and I was able to join those and make friends there.

We also have intramural sports in the law school, flag football, soft ball, kick ball for example. That’s been fun to participate in and through competitions we have met a number of other law school teams. The Student Bar Association is also very active and organizes events regularly.

What sort of internship did you do between your first and second year?

We have an entire office devoted to helping us students get internships. I applied to 17 different positions, and I had interviews with four. I decided to intern with the prosecutor’s office in Petersburg, Virginia. While the area is rich in American history, it was still a 45–60-minute commute there and back from my apartment every day. The advantage for me was that I interned in a smaller office with just one courtroom for each trial court. This allowed for much more personal interaction between clients and lawyers.

I am actually going back to Petersburg for my next internship. Students are advised to try out a different setting for their second internship, but I had done court observations in a couple of other places for one of my classes, and I did not enjoy those settings as much as Petersburg. The difference will be that this summer I will have a third-year practice certificate. That certificate allows me to do the work of an attorney under the supervision of a licensed attorney. I’ll be able to cross examine witnesses, I can speak with the judge, do trials, even plea deals.

In my previous internship I did a lot of the usual stuff, write motions, watch bodycam footage, but this year, I can finally use the practical skills I have learned and litigate myself.

How did you prepare for this new role?

In order to get the trial certificate, you have to take a few classes on evidence, a professional responsibility course, and a trial course. For that, you are working on one case together with a partner, and judges, prosecutors or defense attorneys who are passionate about litigation teach you throughout the semester. On the one hand, you build up connections that way but also you have to give speeches in front of them, and you learn the steps you have to take as a trial attorney.

After the summer, will you continue with trial work?

For the fall, I have signed up for an externship with the county of Chesterfield’s prosecutor’s office and I will be working twice a week, doing similar things as this summer. I am going to conduct trials and plea deals and all that. I will get more trial experience – which is what I want!

It is better to intern with a law firm early in law school, because that teaches you about legal research, and writing briefs. Once you have your trial certificate, it is better to intern where you can get some hands-on trial experience.

After law school, what is the next thing for you?

The thing I am dreading the most is the fact that I will have to take a state specific bar exam. While most states in the U.S. have the same exam but might require different scores to practice, Florida, New York and Virigina have their own bar exams. That means I will need to think really hard where I want to live after law school. I could still work federally or on federal cases in other states but for trial work I will be bound by the state-based bar exam I need to take.

What advice would you give to students who are thinking about going to law school? 

Talk to law students and talk to attorneys, who have been practicing for a while. Have an honest discussion about what interests you in law and what work you would like to do. Law school is a ton of work and so very competitive. If you are not really interested in the law but just in being a lawyer, then things might not work out so well. Just talk to a lot of people who are involved in the law as all will have different perspectives. I wasn’t able to do as much of that as I might have liked.

What would you do differently if you could go back in time?

I would spend more time prepping for the LSAT. I was lucky in that my scholarship offer was revised once I put down the deposit. But if I had spent more time preparing for the LSAT, I might have gotten better offers straight away. And it is sad to get into the law school you really want to be at and then not be able to go because of the money involved.

It’s really important to put the time into test prep early to not have to worry later.

Final thoughts?

The one thing that has become really important in law school is networking. To start off with, I did not have as many friends as I had in undergrad, especially since I moved to another state. But you need to start making connections early on in law school. That means you need to be comfortable speaking with all sorts of people, especially people who are older than you, more senior in the hierarchy.

I have become more of an extrovert through law school. I discovered that at social events, we often had all the attorneys talking to each other and all the law students talking to each other. I realized very quickly that I had to break out of that and talk to the attorneys, ask them questions or advice. Often a law professor or advisor will be happy to make the introduction, but you need to be ready to go up to people, even if you don’t know them, and introduce yourself.