1. He has Badger in his blood.

“I chose UW Law because my dad, aunt, uncle and grandfather went to school here. It’s a family tradition, I guess. I watched my family members go down this path and become successful attorneys, and now I’m striving to live up to the standard they set. Plus, I grew up in Texas, and I didn’t like being in the South. This was an opportunity to come back to Wisconsin, where I’ve always wanted to be.”

2. He’s not afraid to switch things up.

“In 2008, I graduated from The Citadel, a state military college in South Carolina, and after that I worked at a chemical manufacturing plant in Arkansas for three years as an electrical engineer. I learned a lot there in the beginning, but I realized that if I don’t keep learning, I’m going to get bored. I decided to try law school because law—and particularly patent law—is a profession where you never stop learning new things.“

3. Before coming to law school he didn’t know the difference between a tort and a torte.

“I think I learned the most in torts class because, coming to law school, I had no idea what a tort was. That course is so broad. You go over car wrecks, slip and fall cases, civil assault and battery, all kinds of issues. I took the class from Professor Sidel, and he was an excellent teacher, especially for first-year students. It was his class that made me realize ‘oh, I actually kind of like this stuff!’”

4. He’s an award-winning writer.

“All of us in the Wisconsin Law Review have to write a note or a comment. The Law Review published my note on a patent law case last November, and it wound up winning the George Laikin Award for best student article on a general interest topic. I was surprised to receive the award because I used to be an engineer, you know? I’m not a writer. I put a lot of effort into my note, but I was really surprised. I mean, Law Review has a lot of good writers.”

5. He sold his antique car to help finance law school.

“I enjoy fishing and antique vehicles. This summer I’m going to be building a Shelby Cobra replica with my dad. I used to own a 1937 Chevy Coupe that was fully restored, and I had a 60s Ford truck. It was hard to give up the Chevy, but I sold it to my dad so at least it stayed in the family.”

Brendyn Reinecke was also featured in the May 12, 2014, article published by UW-Madison News, "In the classroom, lab and community, UW students excel."

Submitted by Kelsey Gusho on December 16, 2014

This article appears in the categories: Features, We Heart Our Students