English Alumni Working in Law

Kyle Withers '03

I am an associate in the litigation department of Ropes & Gray LLP (a law firm in Boston, MA). After graduating from Stonehill in December 2003, I volunteered at orphanages and elderly homes in Yaroslavl, Russia for several months. I attended law school at New York University School of Law between September 2004 and May 2007. I interned at Moscow Helsinki Group in Moscow, Russia during the summer of 2005 and worked as a summer associate at Ropes & Gray LLP during the summer of 2006. I began work at Ropes & Gray LLP as an associate in September 2007. I believe that my experience at Stonehill College as an English major played a vital role in my success at law school and as a lawyer. English classes at Stonehill taught me how to read critically and write persuasively. Since most exams in law school are essay format, I felt that I had an advantage over fellow students because of the writing skills I developed at Stonehill. The key to succeeding in law school is the ability to organize your thoughts in an essay and clearly articulate your arguments. Stonehill definitely prepared me for this. Similarly, I have found that the writing and reading skills that I learned at Stonehill continue to play an important role in my career as a lawyer. It is very important when writing a memorandum for a partner or the court that you articulate yourself clearly and concisely. Thanks to the essays that I wrote at Stonehill, I have been able to do this thus far and I am confident that I will be able to continue to do so.