"Got a Minute?" with Keaton Silver, 2L

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 Keaton Silver, a second-year J.D. student.

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

Keaton Silver: No, I'm originally from Chicago. I came from Chicago via Atlanta, where I was for about seven years, and now I’m here.

UW Law: What's one interesting fact about where you're from?

KS: I grew up in Palatine, which is next to the old racetrack that just got demolished. They were thinking of putting the Bears Stadium there, but there's been a lot of issues with that, so now they don't really know where that stadium is going, and they demolished the racetrack for potentially no reason.

UW Law: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?

KS: Emory, that's why I went to Atlanta for a while.

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

KS: I did. I took about three years. I was a business immigration consultant and was helping to file H1-B’s, PERM applications, green card applications — all that fun stuff that's now difficult to do.

UW Law: Which state has produced the most Supreme Court justices?

KS: I'd guess New York.

UW Law: Yes! Fifteen in all. Which professor would you pick to join you for trivia night?

KS: Professor Ross. He knows a lot of random facts and tidbits, and he's always throwing those in his PowerPoint slides to make his class more interesting.

UW Law: Do you have any big plans for summer?

KS: I want to try to get on the water, maybe camp a little bit. Just explore the outdoors and enjoy Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

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

KS: Feldman, Porter, Celebrezze, Ross, Hatfield, Winn, Nguyen, Mills, Boxx, Short, Knudsen, Ziff, Butler.

UW Law: 13! That’s the second most ever. Which achievement or accomplishment are you most proud of?

KS: Getting into law school. I think a lot of people take for granted how much work is put in during that time. No disrespect to anyone who doesn't make it through it, but anyone who does should be proud of themselves.

UW Law: Did you do anything fun for spring break?

KS: My brother had a son, and so I went home and visited my nephew for the first time. That was exciting and a good familial moment to remember the reasons why we're doing this — for the future and for other people to be better off.

UW Law: What’s been your favorite case to read so far?

RS: This might be stereotypical but the one in contracts where it's like, what is a chicken? I think that one's really fun, not only because of the content, but it's also a fundamental principle of contract law. Like, what does this word mean? Because defining terms is a difficult thing to do, and it's what a lot of lawyers have to go through. So, I think that’s a very interesting and foundational case.

UW Law: What's the most unexpected thing you've learned about yourself while being a law student?

RS: I can handle stress a lot better.

UW Law: Which professor would you be least surprised to see host SNL?

RS: Liz Porter.

UW Law: What advice would you give incoming 1L students?

RS: Treat it like work and be a professional. Come in, do your work throughout the day and try to keep your work at school. When you finish it, go home and relax so you can separate those two lives.

UW Law: Do you have a favorite law-related TV show or movie, and if so, which one?

RS: “My Cousin Vinny.” It's just a classic. It's funny. It just works.

UW Law: Is there a particular clinic, journal or student organization that's been a memorable experience for you?

RS: Being on Law Review has been really memorable. Just being able to interact with scholarship that actually shapes ideas and pushes people to think differently, think creatively, innovatively, has really shown the depth of the law and how deep it can go.

UW Law: What's your dream vacation?

RS: Cyprus. I really like the Mediterranean. I've been to Greece — and that was really nice — and I really want to be on an island, and I've heard it's really pretty.

UW Law: What's the funniest thing a professor has done or said?

RS: The funniest thing is when Feldman puts songs on at the beginning of every class that relates to the content. And honestly, it helped me remember the content a little bit.

UW Law: Do you have anyone you'd like to give a shout out to?

RS: Lauren Rosen. You did an interview with her. She gave a random shout out, and so now I'm just thinking of her. She's in my tax class and I’m good friends with her, so I'm going to give a shout out to her.

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

RS: I played hockey growing up for most of my life, and so that was a big part of me.