Liberty can only ever be as strong as its most avid defender. When I applied to Mountain States Legal Foundation, I wanted to join a group engaged in the defense of liberty; and when I arrived, Mountain States Legal Foundation placed me on the front lines. I worked to stop administrative agency overreach and abuse, and I fought to limit state encroachment upon our inherent rights.
I decided to attend law school when I was sixteen years old. My father has always been my role model, and since I was very young, I watched him fight political battles to preserve freedom for the American people. Following in his footsteps, I took an interest in politics. I represented Colorado at the 2016 Republican National Convention when I was eighteen years old (though I like to make clear I was not one of the “troublemakers” in the Colorado Troublemaker Delegation), worked on various political campaigns, and volunteered for many nonprofit groups dedicated to defending our freedom. In college, I shifted my focus to business, entrepreneurship, and free enterprise; but I returned to the fight for individual liberties as I began to apply to law schools.
After I graduated from Colorado State University with a finance degree, I began school at the University of Colorado Law School. I became enamored with free-market economics, and, often to my fellow student’s dismay, I retained my passion for defending freedom from government intrusion. Naturally, my inclination toward liberty led me to Mountain States Legal Foundation, where I have spent the last three months defending the People’s rights and fighting back against government tyranny.
At Mountain States Legal Foundation, two things became apparent: first, this is an exceptional education experience. Second, the work I did here will have far-reaching effects on the lives of millions of Americans. I will begin by discussing the former.
In my time at Mountain States Legal Foundation, I have spent hundreds of hours refining my skills to become a better attorney. Beginning my experience here, I had minimal legal research experience and had only a small amount of practice with legal writing. Utilizing the attorneys at the firm’s guidance, I spent hours conducting substantive research that I would eventually incorporate into writings filed in court or used within the office. I also spent hundreds of hours writing, receiving feedback, editing, and repeating the process, which I found to be the most educational part of the internship.
The most important part of my experience at Mountain States Legal Foundation is not what I got out of the experience, but how much I was able to contribute to our cause. I worked on a case protecting an oil and gas lease the government illegally sought to expunge after 30 years of our client’s reliance without any due process – solely because of a policy change. I also helped fight back against California and New York’s attempt to take away our God-given rights protected by the Second Amendment. As you read this, these state governments seek to enforce their politics beyond their borders and across the United States. I feel a deep sense of gratification working to stop this unconstitutional grasp for power. My time at Mountain States Legal Foundation provided an opportunity to pursue my passion for liberty and defend society from the ever-present threat posed by government overreach.
To everyone who made my experience at Mountain States Legal Foundation possible, thank you. A special thank you goes out to Cody Wisniewski, the Fellowship Director, who set up the program and served as a mentor and guide through my experience here. I also thank Zhonette Brown, who spent a considerable amount of time teaching me about legal strategy and working with me to refine my work. Finally, thank you to David McDonald, who was always willing to provide feedback on my work and help me when I was stuck. I also want to thank everyone else on the staff that makes Mountain States Legal Foundation’s mission possible every day.
Above all else, I want to thank those who donate to Mountain States Legal Foundation. I volunteered without pay at the firm, but the Fellowship Program is not free. The resources you so generously donate to Mountain States Legal Foundation make experiences like mine possible, and more importantly, your donations directly contribute to defending our rights and our liberty.
