A Father's Legacy Built at Rutgers Law School 

When Fred Davis ’93 stepped onto the Commencement stage to hood his sons Freddy ’24 and Wil ’24, it was more than a proud family moment—it was Rutgers Law School legacy at its finest. Not a legacy of privilege and entitlement, but one earned through hard work, resilience, and the steady backing of family and community. (Click here to watch the moment)

The First Generation

Fred Davis always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. He geared his early career toward accountancy and tax law, earning his CPA and master’s degree in taxation. Rutgers Law School proved to be the perfect fit when the time was right. It offered the value he was looking for, a program that would help him build on his already successful career, and a convenient location that enabled him to take evening classes while he worked full time.

“It was so exciting to be the first in my family to attend law school,” he recalls.

As a first-generation law student, Davis didn’t have the built-in advantages legacy students enjoy, like insider advice, financial safety nets, and established professional networks. What he did have was a strong support system that believed in him. Their encouragement carried him through the long days and late nights balancing work and academia. He says, “Everyone was really proud that I had become a CPA, received my JD, and passed the bar exam on my first try. I got a lot of support and encouragement.”

Davis, a tax partner at Aprio Advisory Group in New York City, never outwardly encouraged his sons to attend law school, but his example spoke volumes. “People often ask me if he helped with coursework, but the books he used in law school are older than I am,” jokes Freddy. “What I did learn from him was to always make the most of every opportunity and give it our all. You can’t learn that from a book.”

Shared Experience

In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wil and Freddy were—like many siblings—technically living under the same roof, but existing as ships passing in the night. “We were sort of isolated,” Freddy recalls. One day, while checking the mail, he was thrilled to spot his admissions packet from Rutgers Law. Tucked beneath it was a surprise: a matching packet addressed to Wil. “I didn’t even know he applied,” Freddy says. “That moment made me the first person in my family to find out we would be going to law school together.”

Though the brothers only shared two classes during law school, they crossed paths in the Association of Black Law Students, Eagleton Institute of Politics, and the MSP Program. They also shared a passion for advocacy, with Freddy excelling in the Constitutional Rights Clinic and Wil thriving in the Housing Justice Project. It wasn’t until Commencement that the significance of their family’s shared experience sank in. “It didn’t hit me how special it was until I was walking across the stage and saw my father there to hood me,” Wil says. “It’s also very touching when I meet people that attended law school with my dad at networking events. That’s a special moment that I now see is uncommon for most people.” Selected by his classmates, Freddy delivered Commencement remarks as the student speaker.

The brothers are still in close proximity to each other in New York City. Freddy is a Law Clerk at Sullivan and Cromwell while Wil is an Associate at DLA Piper.

A Legacy of Law

For Freddy, the experience sparked a deeper reflection on what it means to be a legacy. “When you think of legacy, you think of something that’s unearned and inherently exclusive,” he says. “Our legacy is something different because Rutgers Law is about accessibility and serving the community as the People’s Electric Law School. It’s cool to be a legacy at Rutgers Law because we have a commitment to community and buck the trend of being this snobby, ivory tower concept.”

Davis has a more sentimental take: “I just know my parents are jumping up and down in heaven knowing their grandsons are following in their father’s footsteps and are lawyers. I know they’re thinking they did something right.”