3L Bryant McConkie comes from a family of attorneys and felt inspired to carry on the tradition of pursuing a legal career. He attended Brigham Young University, earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a minor in Spanish.
“I decided to attend law school because I’ve seen the good that my dad, grandpa, and great grandpa did with their law degrees and wanted to follow in their footsteps. Law school also seemed like a natural fit for my strengths in writing and analysis,” McConkie says.
Initially, he had not considered attending the S.J. Quinney College of Law until his wife convinced him otherwise. Now in his third year, McConkie says Utah Law has been a “perfect fit” despite his fandom for BYU sporting events.
“When I threw Utah Law into my law school comparison spreadsheet, the value it offered was impossible to ignore. I discovered, and have since confirmed, that Utah Law offers an intimate learning environment with incredible professors and administration, all within a state-of-the-art building,” McConkie says.
Wanting his legal work to have a real, tangible impact on others, McConkie dove straight into the experiential learning opportunities available. He’s done three field placements: one with Judge Ted Stewart of the U.S. District Court, another with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and a third placement with the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
“I have especially enjoyed working on, and hopefully contributing to, some pressing, high-profile cases seen in both local and national news. It’s been somewhat surreal to be pushing for justice in those cases from behind the scenes,” McConkie says. “It has also been extremely gratifying to see my arguments and work product incorporated into successful motions and arguments before the court.”
McConkie aspires to work in criminal prosecution after graduation “with the goal of one day becoming an assistant United States attorney.”
When not working hard on a case, he participates in the Ping Pong Club and also serves as its co-president.
“Being part of the Ping Pong Club has been one of the joys of my law school experience. It has provided some much-needed breaks from the stressors of the law school environment, and I’ve also created some lasting friendships with students from all the classes and faculty,” McConkie says.