Victor Ficarra

Motivation in becoming a lawyer  

The idea of law school was first introduced to me by my mom. Having grown up in the Philippines, she had hoped to become a lawyer there, but never had the opportunity to as her family grew up in a rural town in the province of La Union. She would go on to become one of the first female engineers of her village, and that work experience paved her way to immigrate to the United States in the 1990’s. Beyond conversations with her, my interest in the law varied throughout my time in school. I absolutely loved my math classes throughout high school and college, but also hoped to find a career where I could have a more client-oriented position. To make a few extra dollars in undergrad, I even tutored math through Calculus 2 and this was the first “hybrid” I found between being numbers-oriented while still working a position where I had my first “clients.” I sought out mentors throughout undergrad with whom I could talk through my interest areas, and I actually found a few Penn State alums who pursued an education at Temple Law. In conversations with them, I shared my desire to have a client-oriented career where I could have a wide variety of work in an environment with similarly motivated colleagues. While they cautioned me of the rigor of law school, those conversations, coupled with my more sociable personality and inspiration from my family, inspired my decision to become a first generation lawyer. Today, their advice has proven to be invaluable as I have found the intersection between tax and the law to be where I can be around numbers while still utilizing the advocacy, writing, and client communication skills I developed at Temple Law. 

Experiential learning  

As a 3L, I was a Co-President of the Sports & Entertainment Law Society and as a 2L, I was the Program Development and Social Chair of APALSA and Events Chair of Tax & Bankruptcy Law Society. I also participated in our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, was a Staff Editor of the Temple 10-Q, helped lead and competed with our Sports Law Negotiation Team, and served as a teacher’s assistant for our Federal Income Tax and Integrated Transactional Skills courses. In addition to all of these, one of the highlights of my law school experience was winning the ABA Law Student Tax Challenge with my teammate Natalie and faculty coach Professor Mandelbaum. Each of these experiences has developed my knowledge in a new or more niche area of the law, given me a platform to gain practical transactional skills, and get advice from lawyers working in fields of interest. Often I was also able to grow closer with students and faculty through these experiences, and these relationships helped inform my course selections and job decisions through and beyond law school. 

Advice to current or prospective students  

Be active! Fortunately at Temple Law, being “active” among our student body has countless definitions. My involvement with Temple Law granted me the opportunity to travel as close as Villanova and New York and as far as San Francisco and New Orleans as I competed in competitions spanning sports and tax law. On campus, I had the privilege to meet so many students as a teacher’s assistant for several classes, get practical experience through the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, and meet many alumni through my involvement with APALSA and APABA-PA. Ultimately, I feel many of the best skills to develop as lawyers come not in the classroom, but in the extracurricular involvement our law school has facilitated for us. Whether it be externships, clinics, affinity groups, competition teams, and/or more, my hope for current and prospective students is that they avail themselves of these opportunities to build out their skills as future leaders of the profession. 

Networking advice  

Be intentional! The Temple Law alumni working in Philadelphia absolutely love talking with current and prospective students. Prior to and during my time in law school, countless Temple Law alums met with me for Zoom or in-person coffee or lunch and these conversations helped me tremendously. Even beyond the Temple Law network, the Philadelphia legal market is incredibly tight-knit, and so many people here have had incredibly fascinating practices and career trajectories. Our faculty are also extremely well connected both in the city and all over the country. Be intentional about reaching out to people early and often and stay in touch with them throughout your time here. 

‘Can’t miss’ opportunities at Temple Law  

I honestly believe THE ‘can’t miss’ opportunity of Temple Law is growing closer with the faculty, staff and students. We are so incredibly fortunate at Temple Law to have a community of people with incredibly diverse backgrounds and experiences, and the opportunity to grow and learn with and from them is priceless. The faculty love connecting with students. There have been days where I have just sat and talked with faculty members in their office or in the halls for nearly an hour about topics ranging from Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress to the successes and failures of Philadelphia sports teams the past few years (though those topics aren’t as far apart as we might wish). With students, whether it be dancing at Barrister’s Ball, playing basketball at Pearson Mcgonigle, catching up at a coffee shop in center city, or celebrating at this year’s APALSA Lunar Banquet, being a part of the Temple Law student body is among the best aspects of an education here. You absolutely cannot miss out on making lifetime friends while pursuing your legal education here.