Wednesday, February 17, 2021
My Students: Josh Zive
When I started teaching at Baylor, one of my tasks became coaching mock trial teams. 3/4ths of my first team is pictured above, literally emerging from Trader Vic's at the Palmer House in Chicago. The look of this team is clear: Off-duty cops looking for a fight, or perhaps NFL-sized offensive linemen coming out of a steak dinner hosted by an appreciative QB. (The fourth member of the team, who may be completely hidden behind Dan Sorey in the middle of this photo, was Meredith Weiss, who was a fierce competitor but not a left tackle.
At the far left is Joshua Zive, a brilliant lawyer and memorable character. He came to Baylor Law after growing up in Reno, where his dad served as a bankruptcy judge, and his mom was enough of a character that she named her dog Iggy Pop. Josh was a hard-core debater and found his way to the the University of Kansas, where he excelled.
And, man, did he love debate and Kansas. Before starting law school at Baylor, he got a Masters in something-or-other there and coached undergrad debate. And the Kansas thing... I recall seeing him in school dressed head-to-foot in Kansas gear, leaving me to wonder if it was Halloween. It wasn't-- just a Kansas basketball game.
On my mock trial team, Josh was intense, smart, and adept. He was one of those students you knew would do well, and he has. In 2002-- literally the year he graduated-- he went to Bracewell (formerly Bracewell Giuliani, thank goodness), a large national firm. He's still there, working in the DC office doing a variety of government relations work. Among other things, he represents the FBI Agents association, which has to be fascinating.
I'd love to get that team back together...
