Class of 2019, WVU College of Law
By Blair Dowler
Growing up in Hamlin, WV, folks surrounding Allyson Chandler always told her she should be a lawyer. So, naturally, she did not want to be a lawyer.
“During undergrad I thought I might want to get a Ph.D. and teach, but I wasn’t in love with that career path,” she recalls. “I decided to take some pre-law classes and realized everyone had been right all along. I enjoyed learning the material and could envision an exciting and fulfilling career. I think it was the path for me all along—I just needed to realize it myself.”
A 2016 graduate of West Liberty University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a minor in teaching English as a second language, she went on to earn her juris doctor from West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law, where she found her niche. She was involved in the Lugar Trial Association, competing for two years on the Steptoe & Johnson national trial team in the American Bar Association’s annual Labor and Employment Law Student Trial Advocacy Competition. As chief justice of the Moot Court Board, she also competed in the Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court Competition and on the national team at the Annual National Moot Court Competition.
Competition was definitely a theme of Chandler’s time in law school—as was winning. She competed in the Baker Cup, WVU College of Law’s in-house appellate advocacy competition, and came out on top.
“I think being involved while in law school is very important,” says Chandler. “Competing in both trial and appellate advocacy competitions allowed me to learn about areas of law outside of the classes I took and also gave me the confidence to know I can be a successful practitioner.”
Competing paid off. Chandler graduated this spring with Order of the Coif and Order of Barristers honors and is serving a one-year term as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, VA. Afterward, she will return to the Mountain State to continue her career as a
litigation associate at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC.
“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I plan to stay here throughout my career,” she says. “My family is here, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. West Virginia will always be home.”
