Faulkner’s former starting tight-end Travis Pate, has a desire to pursue a career in justice after a football career-ending knee injury spurred him to choose a different career. He is in his first year attending Faulkner Law.
Pate, who graduated with a legal studies degree with a minor in Bible, was impressed by how President Mitch Henry used his role as an attorney to minister to the spiritual needs of his clients as well as to their immediate legal needs.
“Mr. Henry tried to do some specific things to add a Christian aspect to his law firm and career,” Pate said. “One thing he said he’s always done from the beginning was pray with his clients before interviews and right before the judge or jury comes out with the verdict. I thought that was a great idea for me to implement when I become a lawyer.”
For Pate, one of the most beneficial aspects of being a legal studies major in his undergraduate years and then pursuing a law degree at Faulkner was the professors and how they prepared Pate for law school.
“I had to draft legal documents, and a lot of the coursework I did in undergrad are the types of things I have to do in law school now,” Pate explained. “I got a head start because I was taught how to draw up documents and learned a lot about the legal field as a whole.”
Specifically in his Interview and Interrogation class with Henry, Pate was able to learn how to conduct client interview and prepare witnesses to take the stand.
“I want to emphasize how the teachers at Faulkner impacted their students–not just me, but I’ve seen it with my classmates and other students during my four years at Faulkner,” Pate said. “Mr. Henry, Mrs. Davis, and Dr. Free are all tremendous people. I think something they bring to the table that will help students in the legal field is that they have experience in the legal field and worked in it before they became professors. They brought in how they did things and incorporated a Christian aspect into their classes. They provided a lot of stories, helpful information, and specific examples that you wouldn’t get from a professor without field experience. The little things my professors have told me in class will continue to have a big impact on my profession later.”