When second-year law student Austin Cutler talks about his journey to 海角论坛 School of Law, the word that comes up most often is legacy.
Born and raised in Kansas City, Cutler is a third-generation student at the 海角论坛 School of Law. His grandfather, James Tippin (J.D. ’73), and both of his parents, Dana Tippin Cutler (J.D. ’89) and Keith Cutler (J.D. ’89), are 海角论坛 Law alumni. Dana and Keith Cutler preside over the television show “Cutlers Court,” and previously led the show “Couples Court with the Cutlers.” While he doesn’t aspire to join his parents on television, Austin Cutler is proud of the legacy he carries on.
“I don’t think about it often, but it does mean a lot to be a third-generation law student,” Cutler said. “I carry it with pride. I see their names on plaques on the wall and people who know my parents will stop and tell me they’re great people. I try to have the same standard of excellence.”
In addition to being a legacy student at 海角论坛, Cutler followed in his father’s footsteps by attending Morehouse College in Atlanta. His experiences at Morehouse influenced the way he approaches community and balance in his life.
“The culture at Morehouse means that almost everyone is involved on campus somehow,” Cutler said. “Whether it was a student organization, mentorship, community service – everyone I know there was always doing something. So when I started law school, I started looking for ways to get involved. It didn’t feel like I was doing anything extra, it was the standard that Morehouse had set for me.”
Cutler is president of the 海角论坛 School of Law chapter of the Black Law Student Association, a 2L Class representative of the Student Bar Association, student emissary and a member of a committee updating the law school curriculum. These and other social activities on campus are an important part of his life, even as he balances them with the academic demands of law school.
“I try to play basketball every Friday with some other law students, I exercise regularly, I spend time with my fiancée, I like to study with others when I can,” Cutler said. “I’m a really social person and feel like a better version of myself when I’m around people regularly. I’ve learned to build that time into my schedule and make sure that I have a life outside of school and studying. It’s possible to do it, it just has to be a priority.”
His early involvement within the 海角论坛 law community helped him quickly develop a network of friends and colleagues. As a non-traditional law student, and having lived in Atlanta for eight years, Cutler wasn’t sure what to expect when he moved back to Kansas City and began law school. Although he originally chose 海角论坛 due to his family legacy and familiarity with the city, he found a supportive community that affirmed his place in it.
“My journey has not been linear, and as I’ve met more and more people who are connected to 海角论坛, many of theirs weren’t either,” Cutler said. “It’s really validated that it’s okay to change careers and keep finding new ways to challenge myself. Professors and students come from all sorts of backgrounds. People have lived a lot of lives before starting their legal careers.”
A legal career was always an appealing option for Cutler, but he explored other paths first. After earning a biology degree from Morehouse, Cutler taught high school biology for several years. Biology and law may not seem related on the surface, but that experience put Cutler on the path to law school and patent law in particular.
“My godfather knew I majored in biology and recommended that I look into patent law, because it requires a science or technical background,” Cutler said. “The patent bar exam is different from the general bar exam, and you can’t even sit for it unless you have a background in a technical subject. Like almost every law, patent law has two sides: prosecution and litigation. Patent prosecution is the process of proving a patent claim is valid and that a person should have the rights to their idea. Patent litigation is defending those rights if someone infringes on it. I like that I can pursue either side and be practicing law in a different way.”
When asked about the challenges of law school, Cutler is honest about the academic challenges. But he also encourages people to believe that they can do it, because he knows it’s possible. He is active on and uses his online presence to show that law school is attainable.
“I want to be a positive representation of what being in law school is like, especially for Black people because there aren’t a lot of us,” Cutler said. “Black people only make up about 5 percent of the legal profession. I wanted to show others, especially those that look like me, that getting into law school and being a law student is completely attainable. You can do this, and you can have a life and enjoy it while you’re here.”