When 3L William Lovell was born with life-threatening health complications, the insurance company wanted to transfer him to another facility for his medical care to save costs for the hospital. Fortunately, a kind family friend, and practicing attorney, stepped in to help Lovell and his family.
“He achieved an injunction, preventing my transfer, and the doctors told my family this likely saved my life. I grew up hearing this story repeated as a child and was often in contact with this family friend who saved my life. He is now a U.S. District Judge,” Lovell recalls. “His personality and capacity for fairness always drew me toward the law, along with a desire to help vulnerable people the same way I had been helped.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in organization communication and advocacy and a minor in graphic design from Brigham Young University Idaho, Lovell initially began his law school journey at the University of Illinois Chicago before transferring to the S.J. Quinney College of Law. For Lovell, both schools have the benefit of being close to family, but ultimately, he wanted to complete law school where he intends to practice law—in Utah.
“Transferring is like applying to law school all over again. You dig up your LSAT score, send official transcripts from your first law school to the one you’re transferring to, and get letters of recommendation. I moved across the country to go to law school in Chicago and then moved all the way back to Utah. Additionally, your GPA resets and you’re not with your original cohort,” Lovell says.
While he has experienced the rewards and challenges of being a transfer student, the Student Affairs team has been there to see him through the transition and help him find his footing at Utah Law.
“Natasha Carlton helped me get classes squared away and programmed my degree audit to show which classes I needed to graduate. She also gave me a tour of the law school before school started. She greets me every time she sees me as if I’ve always been here. I know I can always go to her with any question or concern,” Lovell says.
He also appreciates that Dean Brian Burton “bends over backwards” to help the students at Utah Law be successful.
“Dean Burton recognizes some of the difficulties of transferring, such as being on the outside of a cohort you didn’t share your ‘1L traumas’ with. I came from a totally different law school culture. I can be very honest about my experiences with Dean Burton, and he always listens in the kindest way,” Lovell says.
Transferring has worked out well for Lovell. He is in awe of the faculty at Utah Law and their efforts to teach students—not only about the law but about life as well.
“I honestly cannot say enough about the great teachers I have had here. Professor RonNell Andersen Jones and Dean Louisa Heiny have been some of the greatest professors and life counselors for me. I am amazed at how clearly they teach and how kindly they give of themselves,” he says.
Lovell’s passion is in criminal and constitutional law, and for him, trials are “incredibly fun, challenging experiences.” During his 2L year, and again this past summer, he’s completed a field placement at the Utah County Attorney’s Office and relishes the opportunities to participate in court proceedings under the third-year practice rule.
“I have been able to argue responses to motions to suppress on behalf of the state, along with conducting preliminary hearings. Recently, a defendant waived their right to remain silent, and I cross-examined them. It was intimidating, yet a rewarding experience,” Lovell says. “The courtroom has become a sacred place for me. As I have participated in or listened to even the most heartbreaking of cases, I get the sense that I belong there. It is a very poignant feeling.”
He has also been involved with the Utah Law Review, which has taught him to use the Bluebook. Even with its challenging moments, he’s learned a lot from it.
“Law Review has helped me grow in understanding citations and becoming more familiar with legal scholarship. Additionally, some of our best student leaders are on the executive board,” Lovell says.
Now that his final year in law school is beginning, Lovell hopes to secure a clerkship after graduation. And much to his surprise, he also hopes to work in a prosecutor’s office.
“I am a defense-minded person but want to get experience with the prosecution to understand lawyers with a different mindset. I have had some deep conversations about what motivates individuals in their capacities while working at the Utah County Attorney’s Office,” Lovell says. “So often, I think defense lawyers demonize prosecutors and vice versa. I have been impressed by how kindly and effectively prosecutors and defense attorneys can work together to provide the fairest outcome for a defendant. I hope to bring an additional flavor of mercy to such decisions.”