Graduate Profile: Leah Stein, L’25

KU Law student looks ahead to a career in civil litigation

As a Dodge City native with deep roots in southwest Kansas, Leah Stein always knew she wanted to make a meaningful impact close to home. When it came time to choose a law school, the decision was easy.

“I picked KU Law because I grew up in southwest Kansas and have always wanted to practice law in the Midwest,” she said. “I also loved my time at KU as an undergrad and was not quite ready to say goodbye to Lawrence in 2022. Now that it’s 2025 and I’ve been here seven years, I’m realizing I love it just as much—if not more—than I did back in 2022. KU Law was the perfect choice for me.”

During her time at KU Law, Stein immersed herself in the community, joining student organizations including Moot Court, the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, Dean’s Fellows, Women in Law and the Federal Bar Association. Of these, Moot Court left the most lasting impression.

“Moot Court was the most impactful activity during my time at KU Law because it helped me improve my oral and written advocacy skills,” she said.

After succeeding in the KU Law in-house moot court competition during her 2L year, she competed in three national competitions in Washington, D.C., San Diego and Brooklyn.

Stein earned an award for Third Best Oral Advocate at the National Criminal Procedure Tournament in San Diego, where she and her teammate, Quan Nguyen, reached the quarterfinals. She also tied for 1st place in the in-house competition alongside Karen Campbell, with the team earning a brief award.

In the classroom, Stein particularly enjoyed Secured Transactions with Professor Stephen Ware, and outside of it, she found joy in planning memorable moments for her classmates.

“My favorite memory in law school was singing along to ‘Pink Pony Club’ with a bunch of my 3L friends at the karaoke party in February,” she recalled. “I’ve always loved Pub Night and Law Prom, so I wanted to plan an additional social event during my last semester. I rented out Jazzhaus and invited all 1Ls, 2Ls and 3Ls to come and sing karaoke for a couple of hours. It was so fun to see all the classes mingling and watch some absolutely incredible performances from a group of soon-to-be-lawyers.”

Looking ahead, Stein is set to begin her legal career as a civil litigator at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City. She’s drawn to litigation for its strategic nature and the opportunity to work on a wide variety of cases.

“I’m most excited to work on a trial team,” she said. “I think it will be incredibly rewarding to work on a case for several months or years and then watch it go all the way to trial.”

As she closes this chapter and begins her next, Stein credits KU Law for preparing her in more ways than one.

“KU Law prepared me for the workforce by teaching me practical skills like how to take a deposition, how to draft various legal documents and how to interact with clients,” she said. “Of course, KU Law taught me how to think and write like a lawyer, too, but I am extremely grateful for those other skills that supplemented the traditional law school curriculum.”

-By Casey Bacot