Name?
Bill Kelly

Major?
Philosophy, Honors program

Hometown?
Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Next Stop?
Yale Law School

How did Temple prepare you for your next stop?
There is no lack of opportunity at Temple—no doors are closed to you if you’re a Temple graduate. Since high school, I have wanted to be a defense attorney who represents clients who can’t afford to hire a private defense attorney. So, when I got here, I joined Temple Mock Trial. Additionally, I interned with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Defender’s Association of Philadelphia, both of which allowed me to see what goes on behind the scenes and helped me solidify that I wanted to go to law school.

However, I think the main thing that helped me prepare for law school, and particularly the LSAT, were my philosophy classes. Philosophical arguments are almost exactly like legal arguments. You’re reading a dense, long text, deciphering it down to a few main points and trying to articulate that in a case. There are so many parallels.

I have a passion for trial advocacy, for the thrill of being in a courtroom and getting a verdict in my favor. That I could get paid to do that and save people’s lives is such a thrill. I don’t have the courage or precise fingers to be a surgeon. But, defense attorneys—if they’re representing an innocent person—can also save lives.

—Joseph Master