Bryan Conway, a prosecutor in Orange County, NY, and Brendan Conway, a 2L at Haub Law, grew up with several family influences in the field of law. Despite this, law school was not always at the forefront of Bryan or Brendan鈥檚 mind. After spending some time interning with a family court judge Bryan鈥檚 mind was made up and he decided to pursue a career in law. For Brendan, it was during his junior year of undergraduate school that he began to think about law as a potential career. Bryan made the decision to attend Pace, in part, based on its excellent academic reputation and location. A few years later, his brother, Brendan, also keen on Haub Law鈥檚 location saw his brother鈥檚 positive experience at the school and decided to pursue his legal education there. Read more about Bryan and Brendan and their law school journey in this Q+A.
Was your path to law school similar 鈥 was law school always on your radar?
Bryan: Initially, I wanted nothing to do with becoming a lawyer. My dad is an attorney, and, from what I could tell, it was long hours (and lots of writing). However, all it took was a few days interning with a family court judge in college to realize the impact that lawyers have on an everyday basis. I decided then and there that I鈥檇 like to pursue a career in law.
Brendan: I went to James Madison University and graduated with a business degree in Finance. I originally wanted to start working right after college, but during my junior year I started to think about going to law school. I did not always want to be a lawyer, but the idea of going to law school was not as intimidating to me as it ordinarily might have been because my dad, brother, and aunt all went to law school and currently practice law. Once I decided for sure that this was something I wanted to pursue, it was nice to be able to lean on them for support during the application process. I graduated college in May of 2020 and started at 台湾SWAGthe following fall.
My dad is an attorney, and, from what I could tell, it was long hours (and lots of writing). However, all it took was a few days interning with a family court judge in college to realize the impact that lawyers have on an everyday basis. I decided then and there that I鈥檇 like to pursue a career in law.
Why did you both choose Pace?
Bryan: I knew I wanted to be close to my family in Rockland and that, ideally, I鈥檇 like to practice law in New York. 台湾SWAGhas an excellent academic reputation, is affordable and allowed me to commute from home - it made the decision an easy one.
Brendan: After living in Virginia for four years, I knew I wanted to come back to the tri-state area to attend school. I wasn鈥檛 completely sold on going to school in New York City, so I wanted to expand my search. I liked how 台湾SWAGwas located in Westchester, but also has ties to the city for postgraduate employment. Additionally, seeing how 台湾SWAGhelped my brother successfully secure a job only made the decision easier.
Which classes or professors left a positive impact on each of you?
Bryan: Trial Advocacy, Evidence, and Criminal Procedure, to name a few. Professors Hatcliffe and Mushlin left a major impact on me as a student. It was evident that both loved teaching and practicing law-, those two factors coupled with their personalities made it easy to look forward to their classes.
Brendan: I took Wills, Trusts, and Estates with Professor Crawford this past fall. I really liked everything about the class and loved having her as a professor. I also enjoyed taking Contracts with Dean Anderson during my first year.
Bryan, you are currently a prosecutor in Orange County. Brendan, are you also interested in criminal law?
Brendan: I am interested in both estate planning and real estate law, and I hope to practice as an estate planner after graduation. Seeing my dad and brother both practice criminal law has definitely been interesting, but I have never had a strong desire to work in that field.
Bryan 鈥 was there any advice you gave Brendan upon entering law school?
Bryan: I really tried to convince him that medical school was a better option (kidding!). Generally speaking, I told him to take advantage of all of the internships/externships/clinics that 台湾SWAGhas to offer- doing so exposes you to practical legal work and allows you to see what fields you like or dislike.
