WVU College of Law Class of 2021
Photo by Chelsi Baker.
By Maggie Hatfield
Ever since his first day at the West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law, Austin Longnecker made sure to take every opportunity that came his way. His hard work and commitment to seizing opportunities paid off—he graduated in May with a labor and employment concentration and a wide array of extracurricular activities under his belt. Over the past three years, he has served as president of the Student Bar Association, executive notes editor of the West Virginia Law Review, student attorney in the Litigation and Advocacy Law Clinic and member of the executive boards of the Lugar Trial Association and West Virginia Employment Lawyers Student Association.
Longnecker was awarded Best Executive Editor of Volume 123 of the West Virginia Law Review and received the pro bono distinction with more than 400 hours of pro bono work over the past three years. As a first-generation college graduate and a first-generation law school graduate, he credits the faculty, staff and students at WVU College of Law for helping fuel his passion in the legal profession.
“I am eternally grateful,” he says. “The last three years have been truly transformative, and I look forward to putting everything I have learned into practice, both professionally and in my personal life.”
After his 1L year, Longnecker also clerked for the Honorable Robert Trumble in the Northern District of West Virginia. He later worked as a summer associate for Shuman McCuskey Slicer in the firm’s Charleston, WV, and Winchester, VA, offices. After sitting for the West Virginia Bar exam, he will be joining Shuman McCuskey Slicer PLLC as an associate in the Winchester, VA, office.
“Having the opportunity to be tutored by so many wonderful attorneys as a summer associate cemented my choice for me,” he says. “I got to work on a wide array of cases, and I also had the chance to work with clients to help them to the best of my ability.”
