Hot Bench: Chris Yueh

Hi Chris, thanks for doing this interview! I just wanna start off by asking what led you to law school? And maybe tell us a little bit about yourself.

Sure! I’ll start with the latter portion of that question. As you already know, I am coming from the Navy, so eleven years in the Navy as a naval aviator. I’m originally from Tucson, Arizona. I can segue from there into why law school; it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do, but I wasn’t the best student in undergrad. I had, I would say, an upward trend, but I also had some family stuff going on, so it wasn’t really a viable option for me coming out of undergrad. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been successful as a twenty-three, twenty-four-year-old in law school . . . it would not have gone well. So, I managed to find myself something else to do, which was an amazing experience, and as I was kinda closing the chapter on that first dream, I was like, “Well, what is another dream I can go chase?” and law school was that for me.

For sure. That’s funny you refer to being a naval pilot as “something else to do.” I think that takes us to the next question, actually. How is being a 1L similar to or different from being inside an EA-18G?

It’s a lot slower.

Right, right.

Everything…it just moves slower. It’s a little cliché, but I got used to moving a lot of my life at ten miles a minute, like literally ten miles a minute. So, there’s a lot more time to stop and think in law school and assess where you’re at and take your time. Another thing that’s really different is that the culture of naval aviation is very much about constant feedback and constant evaluation, and as I’m sure you’re discovering here a couple of weeks in, you’re kind of just doing things and you don’t really know how you’re doing. I guess until finals?

Absolutely.

So, that’s really different for me. One of the biggest things that naval aviation, and aviation as a whole, really prides itself on is debrief culture. You go do something, and then you sit down for—no kidding—hours and talk about it. What went well . . . I mean, you spend some time on what went well . . . but mostly you spend time on what didn’t go well. What did you screw up? Where are your mistakes? Where did you fail? How can you fix them next time? So it’s a weird change for me not getting feedback after, like, every evolution. As far as similarities, I think the biggest similarity is, interestingly enough (and I suspected this might be the case), constantly learning, constantly having to take in more and newer information.

[...]

So cool. Alright, well, my next question is: what has been your favorite plane or pilot case so far? Cause there are a lot of them.

Yeah, I guess there are! I’m trying to think. I mean, the first that comes to mind is just Swift Wings from Torts because that’s the one I remember having an airplane in it.

Yes!

I don’t think it was a very fun case, though.

No, I don’t think so.

[...]

So my next question for you: How is navigating law school as a parent?

I think there are pluses and minuses. I will first say that I have a ton of support. My wife—I swear I’m not saying this just because she’s walking around on the other side of the room right now—is hugely helpful and has been for as long as we’ve been together, because it’s not like it was easy being a Navy wife either. So, I have a ton of support, and that is actually a huge deal, relative to someone relatively fresh out of undergrad living on their own. Turns out splitting chores, splitting household tasks makes life a lot easier. That being said, kids are a lot. It means I just have to be really structured with my time. I treat it like a job. I know that’s cliché when people say treat it like a job, but I really do. I’m generally at school around eight to eight-thirty, and I usually leave no earlier than five. And I socialize and chat with people, but I probably spend more time working in those hours than most people who do that as well, because I know that when I go home I don’t have time to do that.

Right.

I have no backstop. I can’t come home and work, right? I come home and hang out with my kid, which is awesome. It’s the best part of my day, every day.

That is so, so sweet.

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Next question, I hear you’re into biking around Charlottesville. What is your favorite place to bike to, or a memorable biking experience you’ve had?

Biking to the Downtown Mall is always fun.

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So our last questions are just a bit of a lightning round. First one: favorite doctrinal class.

Contracts.

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You kind of have to think through, like, what are the factors that are creating this situation, and if we change them, how does it change the situation? I also like the fact that with Contracts it’s stupid stuff people did willingly, as opposed to Torts where it’s stupid stuff people did accidentally.

[...]

Makes a lot of sense. Okay, so . . . favorite restaurant in Charlottesville?

Oh boy. Lazeez? We haven’t eaten out that much.

[...[

And you guys are incredible cooks. So I would be eating at home if I could cook like that, to be honest. Okay, last question…and I think the readership might judge you based on your answer to this question.

Oh boy.

Favorite college basketball team.

Oh! Arizona Wildcats.

See, and I wasn’t sure if you were gonna say UVA.

I mean, UVA is up there now . . . they’re fortunately in different conferences. But I grew up with season tickets to Arizona basketball, so it’s gotta be Arizona. Though it would be a close call if they met the Cavaliers.

And who would you root for?

I don’t know. I would actually have a dual loyalty that I wouldn’t be able to work through.

No, this is your last question. For your last question, you have to pick one.

Well, I’m here, so I’ll say the Cavaliers. Though I don’t know if I’m being entirely honest about that . . . but we’ll find out if it ever happens.

That’s great. Go Hoos. That’s a great way to end the interview.