“Got a Minute?” with Savannah LaFlamme, 1L
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 Savannah LaFlamme, a first-year J.D. student.
鶹 Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?
Savannah LaFlamme (SL): No, I actually grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. I lived there all the way up until graduating high school and then moved up to Seattle about 10 years ago.
鶹 Law: What's one interesting fact about where you're from?
SL: There are a lot more churches in Las Vegas than people think there are. There's actually a Mormon church across the street from every single high school, or at least there was when I was growing up there.
鶹 Law: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?
SL: At Seattle Pacific University. So, right over in Queen Anne.
鶹 Law: Did you take time off between undergrad and law school?
SL: I did, about six years. I worked in law firms and started as an intake specialist, and then was an operations assistant for a smaller, midsize firm. And then for the last four years, I was a legal practice assistant for one of the bigger firms downtown.
鶹 Law: How many glass structures are in the courtyard?
SL: Three?
鶹 Law: There’s four. What's one interesting thing you've covered so far in your classes?
SL: We're doing a lot of products liability stuff in tort law right now, and I think it's interesting how some of it is very strict liability — kind of like, if something's wrong, you're liable, and that's it. And I kind of like the motivation that it gives companies to do the right thing.
鶹 Law: If you could give out one superlative to any classmate, what would it be and who would win it?
SL: I think our classmate Anthony who’s the “It Depends Guy” for Professor Schnapper. He's great. Any time there’s any uncertain answer in civil procedure, he's the guy who always has to say, “It depends,” for the whole class.
鶹 Law: Including amendments and signatures, how many total words are in the U.S. Constitution?
SL: I don’t know if I could begin to think about how many words there are in it. They were quite wordy people back in the day. I’ll go with 5,500.
鶹 Law: You’re the closest so far — 7,591. What's one thing every visitor to Seattle should go see or do?
SL: As great as things in downtown can be, I’d say get out of downtown and go to some of the smaller neighborhoods. Spend time in Ballard and in Fremont. They have a lot of cute shops and bakeries. Things like that make Seattle more of what it is.
鶹 Law: What was one thing that surprised you about Seattle when you moved here?
SL: Growing up in the desert, I had no green anywhere. In my mind, there would be green outside of the city, but not in the city. So, one of the most pleasant surprises I had when I moved here was just that there were trees everywhere. And I could be around nature all the time.
鶹 Law: If you could come up with any new class at 鶹 Law, what would it be?
SL: I feel like it's probably coming down the pipeline, but I would love to see a class that talks about the impact and ethical nature of AI and lawyering because I think it's growing quicker than we can keep up with it.
鶹 Law: What year was the Supreme Court established?
SL: Oh, gosh, you're going to make me look bad. I don't actually know. Was it 1780?
鶹 Law: Close — 1789. Do you have any secret talents?
SL: I'm a really good sourdough baker and a good mixologist.
鶹 Law: What area of law would you like to pursue after you receive your J.D.?
SL: I'm really interested in environmental and regulatory work and the intersection of tax law within that.
鶹 Law: What's the biggest difference between law school and undergrad?
SL: I would say it's definitely a lot more work. But I think the biggest difference is that it's more about how you apply the things you're learning, than just learning facts or theories or things like that.
鶹 Law: Which professor would have the most interesting second career, and what would it be?
SL: I could see Professor Porter having an interesting second career. I think with her knowledge of torts, and things like that, she could have a second career improving the safety of a lot of things in the tort world.
鶹 Law: What is the address of the building?
SL: Oh my gosh, I know it’s William H. Gates Hall on Memorial Way. The actual number, though? Isn't it, like, 4603 or something?
鶹 Law: You got two of the numbers correct — it’s 4293. What's your favorite memory from law school so far?
SL: Definitely Moot Court. I participated as a witness and it was so fun to get to play the different witness roles. One of the other witnesses got really into character to the point where all of us were breaking character and laughing at him. Even the judges who came were laughing at him.
鶹 Law: Name one lawyer who inspires you and why.
SL: I've gotten to work with a lot of amazing lawyers. One in particular is Grace Han Stanton. She’s a trademark attorney that I worked with and supported. She is just so good at what she does, and she does it in a way that is so open. She is so kind to those around her and really creates an environment where everyone feels like they can contribute, and she wants everyone to contribute. She handles her workload, her clients and everything with such grace and such efficiency that she was just a pleasure to work with.
鶹 Law: What's one interesting thing about you that people may not know?
SL: I love orchestral music, and I played the cello for about 14 years. I still play a little bit when I can, but I played all throughout middle school, high school and college.