"Got a Minute?" with Dylan Murphy, 1L

Welcome to the second season of UW Law’s “Got a Minute?” series. Like last year, we’ll find students throughout William H. Gates Hall and ask them 20 questions about their law school experience, a bit about themselves and occasionally drop in a pop quiz or two.

This week, we’re featuring Dylan Murphy, a first-year J.D. student.

UW Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?

Dylan Murphy (DM): Yeah, I grew up on Queen Anne.

UW Law: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?

DM: Cal Poly.

UW Law: Did you take time off between undergrad and law school?

DM: Yeah, I worked in Seattle for about four years. I was on a legal team at Amazon and then at a tech company called Remitly.

UW Law: What's one interesting thing you've learned recently in a class?

DM: Contracts has really blown my mind. I didn't realize how informal a contract can be. I always thought it had to be written out and signed by everybody. But we're learning that people can be held to things that are a lot less formal, which I never knew.

UW Law: There have been 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, when was the most recent one ratified?

DM: I'm going to guess that it was during the 90s. Maybe 1997?

UW Law: Close — 1992. What's one thing that every visitor to Seattle should go see or do?

DM: Pike Place Market. It's probably the thing every visitor to Seattle does do, but it's the best.

UW Law: If you could come up with a new class at UW Law, what would it be?

DM: I think some of the NIL legal stuff going on right now is really interesting. I don't know if that's a class here or not, but I would definitely take something like that.

UW Law: How many justices made up the first Supreme Court?

DM: It can't be an even number. And I’m guessing it's not nine, so I think it was five.

UW Law: Six.

DM: Wow, that's a bad idea.

UW Law: Do you have any secret talents?

DM: I can light a match with my tooth, like the guy in the “Breakfast Club.” My siblings can do it too. My mom hates it.

UW Law: In 30 seconds, list as many UW Law professors as you can.

DM: Winn, Ziff, Calandrillo, Hotchkiss, Sancken, Calo, Schnapper. I'm forgetting one of my own professors, which is not good. Schumacher, Boxx.

UW Law: Nine! Nicely done. What achievement or accomplishment are you most proud of?

DM: I don't know how much of an accomplishment this is, but I'm proud of my decision to come here. I wrestled with it a lot, and it was scary to quit my job, and I'm proud that I'm here. I feel really strongly that it's been the right choice, and I'm proud of that for sure.

UW Law: Do you have any fun plans for spring break?

DM: My family is either going to Hawaii without me, or they're going to go during spring break, so I'm still working on that. But hopefully Hawaii.

UW Law: What's the address of William H. Gates Hall?

DM: Oh, geez. I just type in “UW Law.” I don’t know.

UW Law: 4293 Memorial Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195. What's one myth about law school that you've discovered to be untrue while being a law student?

DM: I definitely heard the stories about people being competitive with each other, and I think my section has been so quick to help each other out. So, I think the whole idea that people feel competitive against each other has been a myth so far. I'm grateful for that.

UW Law: What’s been your favorite class so far?

DM: I think legal writing. It's been really clear to me that we're learning skills that I'm going to have to use. I've had two professors so far in legal writing, and they've both really been practice-oriented in the way they're teaching us, and I think that's going to be really valuable.

UW Law: If you weren’t pursuing a law degree, what would you be doing instead?

DM: Astronaut.

UW Law: Name one lawyer who inspires you, and why.

DM: Elle Woods inspires me because I feel like she can't be stopped. And I definitely admire that.

UW Law: Is there anyone you'd like to give a shout out to?

DM: Well, I just saw Reid Martinez, and I want to nominate him to be the next person, if I can do that. I hope you catch him.

UW Law: What's one interesting thing about you that people may not know?

DM: I walk past the geese every day to class, and I'm really scared of them. I haven't gotten over it yet, but I have to walk straight through them every day on the Burke, and I'm scared every day.