In a few sentences, describe your post-Biola work/life journey.

After Biola, I attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where I served as editor-in-chief of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review. I also worked as a student volunteer in Loyola's Project for the Innocent, a clinic led by superhuman professor-attorneys who work to free wrongfully convicted inmates. I (thankfully) passed the California bar this past July, and I'm working for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana until June.

What's your current occupation, and in what ways did getting a degree in English prepare you for your job?

Right now I'm a judicial law clerk to a federal magistrate judge in Indiana, and I'll be clerking for a federal district court judge in California next year. In a nutshell, I assist the judge by reviewing motions, researching the law, and drafting orders.

At Biola, I took a nonficition writing class with Professor Paul Buchanan, and I still use and learn from the course text, Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. At least stylistically, good nonfiction and good legal writing shouldn't look all that different. But lawyers are notoriously bad, stuffy writers. I was fortunate to study under Biola professors like Professor Buchanan who stressed accessible communication. I've tried to build on that training during the earliest stage of my legal career, and it was very useful throughout law school.

What was a favorite class or experience you had while a Biola English major?

I had a Critical Theory class with Dr. Virginia Doland that was wonderful. There were about eight of us in a conference room in Sutherland, and I remember listening to debates among my classmates about the likes of Derrida, Foucault, and Chomsky that fundamentally rocked my intellectual world.

What about life after college was most surprising to you?

How many people will give you their time if you ask for it. I owe a lot to experienced attorneys who could have brushed off my naïve, nauseously-professional emails but instead took me to lunch and taught me what's what.

What advice would you give to a current Biola student majoring in English? Or what's something you did in college that later helped you professionally?

(1) Good writing is rewriting; (2) in writing and in life, take risks; (3) write letters to authors, artists, academics, scientists, professionals, and public servants about stuff you care about; (4) read the newspaper at the tall tables in the Caf every day; (5) good writing is rewriting.

What are you currently reading?

FDR by Jean Edward Smith and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, which I'm convinced I'll never finish.

Justin is happy to talk to any students interested in pursuing a career in law. If you'd like to get in touch with him, contact Professor Chris Davidson: christopher.davidson@biola.edu.

UPDATE: Since we first published this interview, Justin has moved on from being a judicial law clerk to becoming an attorney at Jones Day. This past February, Justin came to campus as part of our annual event series, Conversation in Careers, to speak with our students about his professional experiences and offer advice.