Nick Verderame

April 2011 

The VLP is proud to announce that Nick Verderame

has been chosen as the VLP Outstanding Law

Student of the Month for the month of April.  Nick

is a first year law student at the U of A and he has

excelled in the Guardianship Clinic.  Nick impressed

VLP staff and volunteers from his very first day in the

clinic.  His first client had an unusual and challenging

case and Nick never even blinked an eye.  He rose to

the challenge beautifully and made sure that the client

received the help she desperately needed.  Nick is

also a personable, caring guy and a pleasure to work with.  The VLP is thrilled to

have had Nick as a volunteer and hope to continue working with him for many

years to come. 

Nick is a Phoenix native who, fortunately for us, never had the desire to attend

ASU.  His father attended law school at the U of A and instilled the motto, “It’s

better to be a Wildcat than a Sun Devil” in his son at a very early age.  Prior to

law school, Nick studied broadcast journalism as an undergrad at the University

of Maryland where he graduated magna cum laude in 2008.  Nick then went on

to work as a production assistant for ESPN.  Nick—who is a self-proclaimed

baseball fanatic—says that he thought he had landed his “dream job” when he

was hired.  Nick says he soon realized that there really is no such thing as a

dream job and that every job comes with some sacrifices.  Ultimately, his time

at ESPN changed his occupational plans and now he’s hoping to find a job that

comes with a “dream lifestyle” – which he defines as something “that pays me

a decent enough wage to live comfortably while allowing me to have a life

outside of work.”

Nick says he is happy to be back in Arizona after a six-year stint on the East

Coast.  He decided to come to the U of A for law school based in part to be

closer to his very large family and to enjoy the benefits of Tucson’s great

weather and the law school’s sterling reputation.  But an additional bonus has

been how much he has enjoyed meeting and working with the law school’s

professors.  Nick says, “I think we are really lucky at U of A to have professors

that aren’t just well versed, but that are also truly engaging people.”  He says

that there have been several professors that have really brought something extra

to the table:

      Be it Dean Ponoroff’s use of humor in Contracts class, Professor

      Bublick’s ability to make it clear that she absolutely wants all of us

      to get the best grade possible, Dean Korn’s interest in our lives outside

      of school, Professor Marcus’ self-depreciating sense of humor or Dean

      Massaro’s passion, there is always something to look forward to in class.

Nick says that he got involved with VLP be he saw it “as a good opportunity to

give back to the community, as well as get good experience.”  He continues, “It

isn’t an overwhelming commitment, and I liked the opportunity that I would

immediately get hands on experience both working with clients and speaking in

court while appearing in front of a judge.”  Nick says that the most important

thing he has learned volunteering in VLP is that client satisfaction all comes

down to effective communication:

      Whether they don’t understand a procedure, or are struggling with

      paperwork, or can’t track down a parent, all of the clients seem to

      have a good idea as to what help they need, and VLP has helped me

      understand what they are looking for and communicate with them how

      to go about getting what they need.

When Nick isn’t studying or volunteering, you’re likely to find him either watching

or playing baseball.  In the rare moment that he’s not involved with some aspect

of our national pastime, he’s probably outside hiking, or eating at the Guadalajara

Grill, or just hanging out with his friends. 

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Past Outstanding Volunteer Student Awards