by Chelsea Stein
“Law school challenges you to think differently. It makes you inquisitive and ask questions—and not just take things as true—which is a great skill. It really shaped who I am. I think everyone can benefit from going to law school.”
That’s Andrew Dunlap, Spartan lawyer from the Class of 2011 and partner at Josephson Dunlap Law Firm, based in Houston, Texas. He’s just pledged a generous donation in support of his alma mater’s moot court competition program, which ranked No. 6 among the nation’s top 200 law schools this year.
“I think it is incredibly important that law students get more practical experience and a great way of doing that is through things like moot court, trial advocacy, and clinical programs,” Dunlap said, sharing how he’s also made gifts in the past in support of MSU’s clinics. “These are the more practical aspects of legal education. My hope is that my support allows students to stay on the cutting edge.”
For Dunlap, earning his law degree at Michigan State’s College of Law was transformative as it introduced him to new people, new ways of thinking and incredible opportunities.
“I always say it was a cultural shift because I came from Texas where 90% of the population is Hispanic. Being in Michigan and at the law school was eye-opening in the sense that I was with people from all over the United States,” he reflected. “It was a melting pot of people going through the first year of law school together, which is obviously a challenge; You’re used to being the smartest person in the room and then you’re in law school and nobody is.”
As a 2L, Dunlap gained litigation experience by participating in the College of Law’s Housing Justice Clinic and the Immigration Law Clinic. Through his involvement with each clinic, he worked on real lawsuits with real clients.
“Participating in these clinics allowed me to experience various aspects of real litigation: serving the lawsuit, drafting the complaint, serving discovery, following up on discovery,” he said. “Those are practical litigation skills that many lawyers don’t have when they graduate law school.”
Dunlap explained how law schools originally set out to teach people how to think like a lawyer—not necessarily act like a lawyer—focusing on theory and the philosophy of law. But that’s a dynamic that’s been shifting over time.
“More law firms, from big to small, are saying we want people to come out [from law school] and actually do,” he said. “We want people who are already trained and have practical experience. It means they have done things like write briefs, argued motions, and had advocacy opportunities where they’re being challenged in an environment where the outcome matters to their client.”
Now, 15 years after his time along the banks of the Red Cedar, Dunlap has been able to make a connection to the moot court program as an alumnus. When Spartans venture to Houston for moot court competitions each year, Dunlap and his firm offer support and resources for them to succeed.
“When these students are travelling, we want them to be comfortable, and we want them to have nice facilities to work out of with anything and everything that they need. And we’re able to do that by hosting them at our office, providing lunch or dinner, or sending goodie bags,” he said. “When the MSU team comes down in January, we’re going to allow them to do practice rounds at our office and have lawyers from our firm evaluating them, giving comments and critiques to their performance or their presentation.”
Having practical experience, like moot court or clinic participation, on your resume isn’t only a benefit for future lawyers. It’s also something Dunlap and his colleagues look for when hiring newly minted Spartans at the law firm.
“We hire students right out of law school to work with us at our law firm, and we like to see people that we hire having these types of practical law experiences,” he said. “These programs instill preparation, the ability to deal with controversy in a courtroom, and also the concept of being a lawyer for our clients, not for ourselves—which, as an advocate, that’s the whole concept.”
With this generous gift, Dunlap hopes MSU’s moot court teams can attend more competitions and gain even more experience with new resources like cutting-edge software to embrace the future of trial advocacy and presenting evidence in a courtroom.
“My hope is that more Michigan State law grads are able to hit the ground running faster. Having general awareness of real-world legal issues gives you an advantage because you kind of speak the language before you go into the environment. So, they’re starting ahead of the game.”
As advice for the next generation of lawyers, Dunlap encouraged them to hold true to the Spartan Will: “The ability to have a drive, desire, and perseverance to move things forward goes a long way. If you can work harder than 99% of people, then you’re going to be incredibly successful.”
Donors seeking information on how to make a gift to the College of Law can email alumni@law.msu.edu.