A Wisconsin native, rising 3L Matt McGrath earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Iowa before completing a PhD in theoretical chemistry at the University of Minnesota. With a STEM background, McGrath had many career options available—but law school was also in the back of his mind.
“During my PhD program, I spent four years calculating the boiling point of water—an oversimplification of basic research, perhaps,” he says. “I realized I wanted to do more applied work where I could see the impacts and help people more directly. I tried a number of different things (research, policy, teaching), and I also tried changing research fields (from molecular simulation to atmospheric physics, biophysics, and land surface modeling).”
When he decided the time was right for law school, McGrath applied for Utah Law because he was interested in the natural resource law program, part of the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources & the Environment.
“I’ve spent the last decade looking at the impacts of humans on land in both research and policy,” he says. “I have also been in love with the land of Utah for decades and saw this as a chance to finally live here.”
Since coming to the state in 2023, McGrath has enjoyed meeting the College of Law faculty and staff and getting to know his classmates.
“Everyone is nice. Law school is by nature hyper-competitive, but I find it hard to be upset by people who get better grades than me. I’m generally happy for them because I like them as people,” he says. “Most of time you don’t even know who has higher grades, because people don’t talk about them.”
He enjoys his doctrinal classes at Utah Law best and finds it satisfying to make an outline and arrange lots of information into something that makes sense.
“Trial Advocacy was also fun. Many of the weeks were a bit stressful—the first time you get up in front of people and do a direct exam or a cross-examination,” he says. “I put the hours in during the semester, though, and made myself uncomfortable, and I feel it prepared me quite well for the final. Delivering closing arguments before four mock jurors felt really fluid. I don’t remember feeling any nerves at all.”
Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner and McGrath also co-authored a research paper just published in the Kansas Law Review, “Advancing Tribal Co-Management: Lessons Learned from International Comparisons,” which he says he is most proud of achieving in law school so far.
“I’m not sure how I found the time to do that during 1L and fall 2L, but we collaborated well and produced a work that I don’t think either of us could have written on our own,” he explains.
In May, McGrath started his summer position at Weil Gotshal & Manges, a global firm with a Silicon Valley location, to learn more about patent litigation.
“The people are amazing, and everyone from partners to associates to support staff is smart, efficient, and nice,” he says of the firm. “There’s a feeling that we’re all part of a team and we’re going to do great things. I’ve been exposed to a couple interesting projects as well, though the summer is still young.”
McGrath is also looking forward to his 3L criminal process externship at the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association through the experiential education program.
“This seems like an incredible opportunity to get experience in a courtroom and help out people who cannot afford it. I’ve already heard from Weil that I won’t be placed in a position like that for years—unless I manage to gain the experience in a non-billable setting beforehand,” he says. “This could accelerate my career as a litigator, even if I don’t stay in criminal law.”
In addition to an interest in criminal law, McGrath is active in the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA) and the Pro Bono Initiative, which he says allows him to focus on individuals, not huge populations.
“Every week I see people walk away visibly feeling better than when they arrived,” McGrath says. “I’m passionate about the chance to solve problems for the people I’m talking to. This is a huge difference from science, and even policy, where solutions are for large groups of people.”
Though he isn’t yet certain of his career after graduation, McGrath is happy to try new things to figure it out.
“I have a simple lifestyle, and I don’t want anything more complicated,” he says. “I’m hoping to have a job that is intellectually stimulating, where I’m part of a great team, and that permits me continue that lifestyle.”