Born and raised in the Central Valley, 3L Matt Hamilton’s family had a big impact on his decision to go to law school and become a prosecutor. Learn more about Delta Theta Phi’s Dean, including how he overcame his ADHD throughout law school, why he says study groups are so important, and the reason he says law school is a sprint, not a marathon.
Tell us about yourself and your road to law school.
I was born in Fresno and raised in Clovis. I graduated from Clovis High in 2013 and for my undergrad, I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which is such a beautiful place. The reason I chose to go to law school was because it’s a big part of my family. My dad and stepmom are both in law - my dad is a judge and my stepmom just recently became a court commissioner. Growing up, I always wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps to become a lawyer myself and hopefully one day a judge. I chose to go to San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) because I only wanted to practice in Fresno and I figured there was no better place than SJCL. The lower cost and the network that SJCL offers are just incredible, so it was an easy choice for me and I didn’t even apply anywhere else.
Did you see some of your dad’s court cases growing up or when did you start to show an interest in law?
When he was first appointed, he worked out of Kingsburg as their only judge, so he kind of had a lot of autonomy over what happened there. We did a little mock trial when I was young and I thought it was so cool to be able to argue and just be in the actual courtroom, speaking in front of a judge and attorney. From there, I really just caught the bug for law and what really solidified it for me was when I was in high school. I joined Mock Trial and it was much more real compared to when I was a kid and it definitely gave me a better taste and understanding for what a lawyer does. It’s different because it was scripted and we knew all the facts from both sides and we knew what people were going to say, but it was still really fun. I loved being part of the trial and I think that experience led to my desire to become a trial lawyer. Plus, I was around my dad a lot and we definitely talked about the law; we’ve had many debates over different things and I think all of that definitely helped prepare me for a career in law.
Have you had any exposure to other areas of the law while you’ve been in law school?
Not really because my personality has always been that when I decide on something, I stick with it. I’ve found other areas of the law interesting, but nothing has been as interesting to me as criminal law. My goal as a criminal attorney would be to one day prosecute homicide cases, which I think is the goal of most criminal prosecutors. I think it would be so interesting because to me, civil cases like property or contracts seem so dry and boring compared to robberies and murders. It’s always been a very clear choice for my career path.
What’s your experience been like as a student at SJCL?
I think my experience is different from people who went to law school before me and from those who’ll come after me. I’ve gone to law school on Zoom more than I’ve gone to school in person. I really enjoy SJCL because of the small class sizes, I love how approachable the professors are, and the fact that they’re always willing to help you. That’s such an indispensable asset for law students, especially because law school is completely different from college or anything we’ve done before. When you go into law school knowing you’re only going to have one test tied to your entire grade in the class, there’s nothing more helpful than having your professor available and willing to help you. That’s probably been my favorite part of my experience at San Joaquin College of Law because of the teaching staff. In addition to that, I’ve enjoyed being part of the clubs I’m in. I’m the President of Delta Theta Phi this year, which is special because I’ve gained so much from the fraternity. In general, I feel like I’ve created a strong social network of friends and I’ve had a very strong study group that I’ve stayed with all three years because without them, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it through.
What advice do you have for maintaining a healthy work, school and life balance while you’re trying to be successful in law school?
You really have to find a routine that works for you. Something I’ve struggled with my whole life is creating a good study routine. I just had to be very disciplined about going to class and afterwards, making sure I solidified and consolidated what I’d just learned. I made sure I was going over it consistently every day. Without doing that and having my friends there to keep me on track, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to have as much success as I have so far. For me, having a study group was so important because I had other people that helped keep me on track. Having that accountability within the group and knowing that if I wasn’t getting things done, I was going to get behind was definitely a motivator and helped me be disciplined every day. During my first year after all my classes, we’d meet up after to talk and study and do our readings together, so that really helped me stay on track and do well.
What are some differences between learning online via Zoom and learning in a classroom? What are some of the challenges you experienced?
Personally, I have ADHD and one of the biggest challenges I have in general is distractions. That was my biggest challenge on Zoom through law school because it was tough to stay focused in class and make sure I stayed on task. When we were going to in-person classes, I could focus better on the lecture and case briefs. On Zoom, there’s no teacher or anyone to really monitor what you’re paying attention to, so it was really easy to kind of get off track and not be as focused as you need to be. The lack of interaction was tough too because I’m a very outgoing person and I like being in a classroom and feeling the energy from the professor. That’s probably the thing I missed the most because I actually didn’t get to meet any of my professors from last year in person, but I hope to meet them when we’re back on campus.
What’s something you’ve learned in law school that no one told you about or you weren’t expecting?
I think probably the testing. I knew law school was going to be hard, but I didn’t know the entire class was dependent on one test. That was kind of a culture shock to me because I wasn’t expecting that. I knew it was going to be tough and stressful, but not in that way. I also wasn’t expecting there to be so much memorization.
What advice do you have for students for staying productive while they’re studying from home?
Make sure you’re in a place where you know you’re not going to be distracted and you know you can get your work done. Another one of my biggest challenges with Zoom was the fact that my room wasn’t just my room anymore, it was now my classroom and my study space as well. So it was tough for me after a certain point in the day because I would have to do my homework, but I was so exhausted from being in my room all day for class. I couldn’t go to the library to study or a classroom or a cafe for the longest time and I didn’t have any other options. So I think if you’re studying at home, then study in a different room. Put your phone away and get a website blocker like I did to block certain websites during certain times when you’re studying so they’re not a distraction. Little things like that and even going outside to study or taking slightly longer breaks than you had before can all be beneficial and more productive through law school.
How important is it to maintain your mental health while you’re in law school?
It’s extremely important. Law school is definitely a marathon, not a sprint to learn a multitude of topics in a short amount of time. And you’re expected to be able to relay that information onto a piece of paper and say “this is how I’m attacking this exam, here are the rules I’ve memorized and here’s my analysis.” It’s all mental and if you’re not on top of your mental game, your memorization and analysis might not be there during the test or you might not find issues that would be obvious to you otherwise because you’re feeling down. Every single person I’ve talked to has gone through their own troubles and I’ve had my own days where I didn’t think I could do it. Days where I couldn’t read or study or go to class. I’ll admit that I skipped out on some classes just because I wasn’t having a good mental health day. As much as I wanted to go to class, I knew I just needed a day off. So you have to make sure you’re always monitoring yourself and not burning out too because burnout is very real and very easy. Make sure you treat yourself well and that you’re not overworking yourself because it can come to a head really quickly if you don’t.
How important is it to make connections while you’re in law school?
It’s very important. When I started law school, they told us that about a third of the attorneys in Fresno County come from SJCL and just knowing that fact will tell you why it’s so important to make connections. If you want to practice in a civil field or you started out in one area of law, you might not enjoy it as much after all and decide to change. You might have a friend from law school who now works at a firm that specializes in the area of law you’re interested in and can refer you for a job. Or maybe you had a professor in school that had experience in that area of the law and you can reach out to try working for them or see if they know about any opportunities. These connections you make while you’re in law school are crucial to your success as a lawyer. Being a lawyer is a very social and outgoing job, so it's kind of hard, especially if you're working with clients, to be a lawyer and not make connections because we need to be personable people. We need to know how to talk to people and we need to really understand how important it is to make those interpersonal connections with people. So I'd say it's one of the most important things and one of the things that makes SJCL such a great school.
Tell us about Delta Theta Phi - what’s the goal of the organization and why are you so passionate about being a part of it?
When I first started, I was very unsure about how to actually do law school. When I heard about Delta Theta Phi, it was very appealing to me. We were told we would get mentors, we would be doing all these social events together and we’d be making connections that could last beyond law school. In addition to that we’re very connected to our alumni from Delta Theta Phi, so because of all these things I wanted to join. I wanted to get a mentor who could tell me what I needed to do and thankfully, Eliseo Coronado became my mentor my first year and I talked to him all the time. He helped assure me every single time when I was worried about school or my friends and he was always there to be like “Okay, this is what we expect from the test, it's not as hard as you think it is, so just make sure you have these things down and you’ll do fine.” That was indispensable to me.
I made a lot of other connections through Delta Theta Phi as well. I even met my girlfriend, Joslyn, through the group and she was a big part of why I thought law school was so grand. She was also a mentor to me in many ways because she was ahead in a lot of the classes she took. Her being in the three year program was very helpful for me whenever I needed help balancing that life.
Delta Theta Phi is a very unique organization in the sense that we have this built-in alumni connection as well as an established ground at SJCL for our networking and social environment. This year, we planned a lot of fun events to get the students excited, especially for the 2Ls that missed out on an entire year of in-person connection. So our goal in 2021 and 2022 was to foster these connections, host fun, engaging events where students could get to know each other, and continue this community of connected and engaged students at SJCL and in Fresno County in general.
How does it make you feel knowing you’re leading the way for your peers and future students who might be interested in joining Delta Theta Phi?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn't nervous because to leave something behind, you do have to put in a lot of work and time and care. Sometimes there’s conversations you have to have with people that are not as savory as we would hope. But I'm also excited to be able to lead and help carve out a new path for Delta Theta Phi and create connections between students that I hope will last a lifetime. I love my board members because we all have a great chemistry, so it’s been a good year for us and I’m looking forward to creating more memories and opportunities for our students.
What advice do you have for future law school applicants about what they can expect from this experience?
Get ready to read and get ready to write because that's what you're going to be doing for the rest of your life as a lawyer. This might sound a bit cynical, but if you don't like doing those things, maybe you should look into something else because you’ll always be doing one of those two things in this profession. At the same time, it’s important to just be passionate about what you do. If you're only coming in here for money, you might want to take a closer look at what you're doing because it should be about more than just that. I guess I just have a bit of a different view on life because I personally don't think money should be the sole motivator for anything. I’d also say to have fun - meet people, make friends and go out. Definitely try to make the most out of the connections you make during your time at SJCL because in the end, those are possibly going to be the most important thing that you get from your law school experience.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I want to thank Joslyn for always being there for me to support me and I want to congratulate her because she recently passed the Bar. I want to thank my study group for always being there for me and keeping me accountable. Thank you to my parents and siblings for always supporting me and thank you to San Joaquin College of Law for providing me with this opportunity.