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Welcome to the second season of �鶹���� Law’s “Got a Minute?” series. Like last year, we’ll find students throughout William H. Gates Hall and ask them 20 questions about their law school experience, a bit about themselves and occasionally drop in a pop quiz or two.

This week, we’re featuring Francisco Quintana, a third-year J.D. student.

�鶹���� Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?

Francisco Quintana (FQ): I'm not from Seattle. I'm originally from Dixon in Northern California — it's kind of between the Bay Area and Sacramento.

�鶹���� law: What's one interesting fact about where you're from?

FQ: My hometown is known for having the world's largest corn maze.

�鶹���� Law: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?

FQ: I went to UC Davis. It's right down the road from where I grew up.

�鶹���� Law: Did you take time off between undergrad and law school?

FQ: I did. I took four and a half years off. I worked in broadcast journalism, and I worked in the California legislature, and I worked as a press secretary at various levels — I was doing that right up until a few months before I came here.

�鶹���� Law: What has surprised you the most about law school?

FQ: How differently everybody learns. Some people learn by reading every single case and every single detail from every single reading. Other people do better by utilizing other resources. And I think it just goes to show that learning isn't linear, and people derive their strengths from different sources.

�鶹���� Law: What's one interesting thing you've covered so far in your classes this quarter?

FQ: I’m currently taking a special topics class with Professor Mannheim and Professor Porter, and it's dissecting the way in which the current administration is shaking the foundations of constitutional norms that have endured for centuries. Both of those professors are brilliant, and getting their perspectives opens so many new dimensions to a topic that may seem straightforward.

�鶹���� Law: What year was the Supreme Court established?

FQ: 1791?

�鶹���� Law: Close. 1789. Which Professor do you think could have a second career as a stand-up comedian?

FQ: He doesn't try to be funny, like, ever. He's very, very serious, and he might literally be the smartest human being I've ever met in my entire life, but Professor Nicolas. He cracks me up so much, even though he’s never trying to. He could stand up there and give hypotheticals about how someone might misappropriate an evidence rule, and it'll be the funniest thing you could ever imagine.

�鶹���� Law: If Harry the Husky was a lawyer, what type of law would he practice?

FQ: He'd be an entertainment lawyer.

�鶹���� Law: If you could come up with any new class at �鶹���� Law, what would it be?

FQ: I'd love it if there were a class about national sovereignty and what the legal boundaries of a genuine sovereign state should be, or ought to be. This is covered in many other classes, but one class that specifically zeros in on national sovereignty and what the legal framework behind that is, would be interesting.

�鶹���� Law: Name one professor that should give a TED talk, and on what topic.

FQ: I think Professor McCormack should give a TED talk about being kind to yourself and making sure that while you're learning you're not only showing compassion for others but also showing compassion for yourself. Taking her classes two quarters in a row really helped me develop a different view of how to interact with my colleagues and how to forgive myself for making mistakes.

�鶹���� Law: How did your first cold call go?

FQ: It was in Professor Said’s torts class. She was really nice about it because she would tell you weeks in advance when she was going to call on you. So, thankfully, my first cold call went very well

�鶹���� Law: What's more peculiar, the fact that “Law” starts with an “L” and the building is shaped like an “L”, or that our dean has the word “Law” in her last name?

FQ: Probably the shape of the building, right? I don't know if that was intentional, but it's very apt. You can kind of feel it as you walk through the building and you realize you're in law school because of your situational awareness, but it's also subconscious in that sense, because you're always walking in this “L” shape.

�鶹���� Law: What would your opening statement be in favor of, or against, the “five-second rule,” which states that eating food dropped on the floor is safe within five seconds of it being dropped?

FQ: You never know what was on the ground before that.

�鶹���� Law: What area of law would you like to pursue after you receive your J.D.?

FQ: I think general litigation is where my head is right now, but I also have an interest in IP. I think I'm good at discerning the issues inherent to copyright and trademarks and so that's something that I find interesting as well.

�鶹���� Law: What's the biggest difference between summer employment and law school?

FQ: With summer employment, you have a lot more personal one-on-one guidance. At any moment, you can go to someone and say, “Hey, I don't understand this. Can you explain it to me again?” It's much more accessible and it's on demand because there's someone in the office right next to you who understands and fully expects that you're going to do that, whereas with law school, you sort of have to carve your own path. Only you are working on the grade you're going to get in class, and ultimately it falls on your shoulders.

�鶹���� Law: What was the most fun thing you did this past summer?

FQ: I went home for a weekend and met up with all my friends in San Francisco for my birthday weekend, and we had an amazing time. It was the first time I'd seen them all in one place in a really long time.

�鶹���� Law: What's your favorite memory from law school so far?

FQ: What was really fun and exciting was when they announced the masthead for the International Law Journal. I'm the editor-in-chief, and it was really special to see all of the excitement and congratulations that came in from various professors, and just seeing how invested they were in what we were doing and what we were planning. That was a really special moment, and I cherish that memory all the time.

�鶹���� Law: Are you planning on dressing up for Halloween, and if so, what will you be?

FQ: Yeah, I have an astronaut costume. I'm looking forward to that — it's going to be really cool.

�鶹���� Law: What's one interesting thing about you that people may not know?

���:��A few years ago, my dog Niko was diagnosed with mitral valve disease — a terminal heart condition that leads to heart failure. The vet told me, gently but firmly, that I should prepare for the worst within a few weeks. I refused to accept that. 

So I started researching everything I could — treatments, specialists, even experimental options overseas. A year later, after more late nights, emergency visits, and phone calls than I can count, I flew Niko all the way to Japan for life-saving heart surgery. And with all the odds in the world stacked against him, he made it, happy and healthy as ever. You could say I am an animal lover, but really, I’d just go to the ends of the earth for my own.