3L Andrew Fender earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting and had begun his career in the controllers division of Goldman Sachs. Though he enjoyed the work—”It was intellectually stimulating, and I was fortunate to surround myself with bright people who did not hesitate to be my mentors,” he says—a life-changing event helped Fender decide to pursue a long-time dream to become an attorney.
“While I was at Goldman Sachs, my first son was born. His birth was a catalyst that changed how I looked at my long-term career. I wanted to be an example for my son and show him that he can follow his dreams—no matter what those dreams may be,” Fender recalls. “My parents also went through the adoption process for my (now) sister during my time at Goldman Sachs. Their experience made me want to be an advocate who can support people going through difficult and complicated legal situations.”
Fender says Utah Law was a clear top pick when he was considering law schools.
“I loved the quality of the education I could count on. Going to law school is a serious investment of time and energy, and it seemed to me that Utah Law would make that investment well worth it,” he says. “The location of the law school was also very important. Being so centrally located close to Salt Lake City has made a world of difference for me as I have networked with legal professionals and others in the legal community.”
The people Utah Law attracts—both faculty and students—also make the school great. Fender notes that faculty members care about the students and make the classes enjoyable.
“Top-notch faculty and students have made my experience at Utah Law one that I am proud of. My professors have been incredibly helpful and patient as I’ve wrestled with difficult legal concepts. The quality of teaching is also superb,” he says. “My classmates and the other students are also one of the best parts of the law school. The class of 2025 members are genuinely kind people, and it has been a pleasure to learn with them.”
He recalls that during his first year of law school, many of the 2Ls and 3Ls were very willing to help the incoming students, something his class has also tried to do as they’ve entered their final time at Utah Law.
“It creates an atmosphere of cooperation and helps the students feel like they are not going through this alone. Law school is stressful enough as-is, and I’m glad that my class feels supportive and willing to help one another as we navigate this together,” Fender says.
One of the most rewarding parts of his time at Utah Law is participating in several student organizations. He currently serves as president of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) student chapter.
“I’ve been able to organize and attend many lunches and other events with federal judges, work with the FBA professional chapter downtown, and represent the 10th Circuit on the national FBA student board as well,” he says.
Fender has also enjoyed participating in both Traynor and national moot court competitions. He was excited to win Utah Law’s Traynor Moot Court competition during his 2L year.
“The competitions have been invaluable to me because they give me the chance to develop important writing and oral advocacy skills I will be able to use in the real world. Drafting the competition briefs taught me a lot about time management and legal research. Moot court also helped me discover that I love the rush of getting in front of a judge and engaging in a productive back-and-forth on a topic that I know inside and out,” he says. “Both moot court competitions taught me the importance of finding good colleagues you can trust to have a strong work ethic. I’m very thankful that the partners I’ve had in both competitions were extremely dedicated to giving their best effort. I look forward to applying what I’ve learned as I surround myself with coworkers in my future career.”
And that career is already in motion. Fender looks back fondly on his internship with Utah Supreme Court Justice Paige Petersen.
“Being in Justice Petersen’s chambers as she deliberated with her clerks on how to approach difficult legal issues was eye-opening. The internship gave me a really unique view into how appeals are dealt with at the highest state level,” he recalls. “Additionally, Justice Petersen is one of the most intelligent and kindest people I have ever met. Working for her showed me that, as an attorney, I can always choose to be collegial no matter what my position is or how successful my career might become. Being kind is a choice.”
Fender will graduate with both litigation and business law certificates. When he isn’t in classes, competitions, or student organization events, he is balancing life at home. His second child was born during his first semester of law school.
“Having a young family in school is certainly no easy task, and many of my classmates in similar situations can attest to this. Being a good example of a student for my children and showing them that our family can get through tough times and still be happy together is immensely important to me,” he says.
After he graduates this spring, Fender will work as an associate at Maschoff Brennan, focusing on commercial and intellectual property-related disputes. He says commercial litigation is a natural extension of his previous work at Goldman Sachs.
“I’m passionate about finding creative solutions to solve my clients’ needs, whether this is a traditional legal solution or some other outside-of-the-box fix for their problem. This is the beauty of the law to me: Tere does not have to be a one-size-fits-all fix,” Fender says. “I love diving into the intricacies of the specific and unique challenges my clients will be facing and solving the legal puzzle to create the best resolution. There are so many ways to approach legal issues, and I’m excited to be a vital part of my client’s journey.”
He also wants to find ways to give back to the law school and its students. Right now, this includes a soda he’s been perfecting.
“I love root beer so much that I created my own home-brewed recipe. My root beer is 100% natural, brewed from real plant roots, and has been a neat project to keep up on over the past few years. I’ve been able to experiment and learn what kinds of flavors work well together, how the composition of the soda can change based on the inclusion or exclusion of certain ingredients, and also how the soda bottling process works. As it stands, my root beer is a complete and tasty product that I love sharing with friends and work colleagues,” he says.
Adjusting his root beer recipe has also helped him to achieve balance.
“Being a law student is important, but I also believe that it’s important to be more well-rounded. The root beer development process has allowed me to try new ways of challenging myself intellectually while still being fully engaged in school,” Fender explains. “I like the creative outlet the root beer recipe development has provided for me, and it has also helped to kickstart my interest in intellectual property.