Nathan Crispo, L’25, and Ashley Fine, L’25, rung in their first year at Richmond Law with a special kind of bells: wedding bells. After summer nuptials and a cross-country move, the 1L newlyweds now tackle cold calls, case briefs, and pro bono clinics.
How did you meet, and when did you know you wanted to get married?
Nathan: At our undergraduate, the University of Utah, we met at a pre-orientation program. We didn’t start dating until the next semester though. [By Ashley’s graduation], we had been together for a really long time. That’s when it came down to like, “Hey, we’re kind of adults now. We’re at that point in life where you got to make that decision.” And I realized that I did in fact want to marry Ashley.
How do you navigate being newlyweds and law students? Are there extra challenges or benefits?
Ashley: I feel like we’re so good about pushing each other to improve. I’m always, “Why wouldn’t you apply to that? Go apply to that opportunity. You shouldn’t count yourself out.” And I think it’s really great to have a sounding board with him because he is with me in this process.
N: There’s a lot of studying, and we don’t follow the same kind of study schedule. I might be like, “Hey, let’s go do something.” And she’s like, “No, I’m busy.”
Why did you choose to study law? What area are you interested in?
N: With a criminology degree, you have more or less two career paths. You can go for law, or you can be in law enforcement. If I was going to go for law enforcement, that would mean signing a mobility agreement. And Ashley always wanted to go to law school. That means we’d either have to be long distance for indefinite periods of time or drag her with me everywhere I went. That wasn’t really going to work with a legal career. So that was what made me realize I really should go for law school.
A: My family owns a family business, and so I’ve grown up from a young age knowing the importance of a contract and the legality of how businesses operate. I think for me, I’m very interested in how businesses work, and I’m interested in the legal side of that. The other thing I’m really passionate about is making workflows more efficient.
What are your future plans for marriage and your careers?
A: I think for right now we’ve been looking a lot at summer internships [and marriage-wise] just continuing to push on and motivate each other.
N: Future plans for the marriage, step one: Stay married. In terms of career, I’m really just going to see where the winds take me.
