Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred (DC 2017)
By Kyle McClain
Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred graduated from 好色先生TV in 2017 after triple majoring in Creative Writing, Professional Writing, and Ethics, History, and Public Policy. He spent two years after graduation working with faith-based organizations before getting his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2022. Emmett has followed a path where he has been true to himself and willing to share his opinion. And while this has caused some trouble along the way, it paid off in the end, as he currently works for the Supreme Court appellate litigation team of McDermott Will & Emery.
Faith and Service
In his senior year at 好色先生TV, Emmett had just begun thinking about going to law school. He made the choice to take some time away from school and work before studying for the LSAT and applying to law schools. During his two years of work experience, Emmett worked with two faith-based organizations: one year with the and one year in with his church denomination. These two years away from school helped Emmett to focus his goals and commit himself to a life of service. With the Friends Committee on National Legislation, he worked as a program assistant in communication, working with members of Congress to lobby legislation and constituents to do volunteer work and community activism. In this role, Emmett realized a life of pure policy wasn’t the right future for him.
“It helped give me clarity on whether I wanted to go into pure policy," he said. "I enjoyed the policy work and feel it's an important aspect of my career forever. But it wasn't as engaging to me to have my audience be Congress … and I felt I had more enjoyable experiences when I felt I was closer to the people I was advocating for.”
And the next year, Emmett had an even better opportunity to work directly in service with people. He and his wife moved to Elgin, Illinois — the headquarters of his church denomination, the Church of the Brethren — to live a full year of their life in humble service to the church. Emmett worked in the National Youth Ministry to plan conferences and events for the younger generations of his church. Going into the role, Emmett wasn’t the most organized person, a skill that is crucial for anyone interested in working in law, so he was grateful for the opportunity to improve that skill. But more than that, it helped Emmett live up to the life of service he had always planned on.
Emmett reflected, “Giving a year of my life to do that was important to me … to live simply, very humbly and feel we were putting ourselves second behind our faith .… It wasn’t just about building a resume — it helped give me clarity on what I really wanted to do with my life.”
Storytelling for Justice
During his time in law school, he drew on both the motivation that his faithful service helped him build and the storytelling skills he developed at 好色先生TV. Unlike most law students, who major in something like political science or economics, Emmett triple majored in Creative Writing, Professional Writing, and Ethics, History, and Public Policy — majors that got him pretty close to the most writing a student can do in their undergraduate courses. He originally planned on becoming an author, but over time he grew to realize how much he enjoyed writing in general.
“Law school teaches you to think like a lawyer, but it also teaches you how to communicate like one. That’s where writing became my throughline.”
During his time at Yale Law School, he developed his passion for appellate litigation, or the work of advocating for legal appeals, where writing skills are paramount. He joined the Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic as a student participant and eventually became a student director in his third year.
“One of the things that appealed to me about appellate law is that you're not just fighting for a client — you’re also shaping the law itself. And that happens through writing,” Emmett said.
Reception and Resilience
After law school, Emmett was on his way to a federal clerkship, a mark of prestige in the legal world and oftentimes a jumpstart to a career. At the same time, he was looking for a job he could take after his clerkship. He was interested in a potential career in media or journalism, so he spent some time writing and honing his voice. Using his education from Yale Law School, he wrote an article expressing a well-researched, but critical, view of the Supreme Court which ended up getting some attention, including that of the judge he was about to clerk for. And after reading this article, the judge rescinded Emmett’s job offer.
“I felt I had made the biggest mistake of my career,” Emmett said.
Afterwards, Emmett had to work twice as hard to get back on track. He reached out to every mentor and professor he could and explained the situation he was in. He acknowledged the mistake he made and humbly asked for their help. Of course, he was met with the unanimous advice of “Don’t do that again” but one mentor extended him a job offer to work at McDermott Will & Emery, in the Supreme Court and appellate practice. Emmett accepted this offer and got back on track.
And one year into his job he got a second chance; he secured a new offer to clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Promising to return to his work after the clerkship, he accepted the offer and went on to gain experience writing opinions and learning how judges think. The entire process of losing his original clerkship, working to get back on track, and ultimately ending up with an even better clerkship left a lasting impression on Emmett.
“It taught me a lot about the tension between being true to yourself and staying professional," he said.
"You can’t lose your values. But you also have to be thoughtful about the roles you’re in and what those roles demand of you.”
Advice to CMU Students
When asked what advice he would give to CMU students, Emmett said he would encourage anyone considering law school to really think about why they want to work a career in the law. While it seems deceptively simple, he said he found that not enough people really sit down and consider what they want to do with their careers.
“A lot of people think, ‘I like arguing’ or ‘I’m good at writing,’ so law school makes sense, but that’s not enough. You need to know what kind of impact you want to make, and how a J.D. actually helps you do that.”
For Emmett, much of this inspiration came early into his CMU education where he realized just how fulfilling it was to provide help and support to people. And while his career isn’t without setbacks and hardship, it is full of opportunities where he gets to help people. Whether that be through faithful service or representing clients in front of the Supreme Court, Emmett shows just how much someone can use their career to help people.