Eric T. Weyand, Esq. ('15) is an Assistant Public Defender in the Essex County Public Defender's Office, where he represents indigent persons who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. "In my role as a Public Defender, it is my responsibility to ensure all of my clients are afforded due process and competent legal representation within the criminal justice system regardless of their financial resources or alleged crime."

Eric graduated from the SUNY University at Buffalo Law School, passed the NY Bar, and was admitted to the NYS Bar, all in 2018. He says, "While in law school, I worked as a 'Student Defender' and Director of a Student Defender Program. This work made me curious about what due process entails and exposed me to the need for zealous advocacy within large institutional frameworks that punish people, such as (surprisingly) colleges/universities and the more obviously, New York State criminal justice system."

"I would like to give a special thanks to two SU professors who supported me by writing letters of recommendation for law school: Professors Patrick Berry and Kevin Adonis Browne. I would also like to thank the many wonderful teachers who impacted my writing experience at Syracuse, Professors Collin Brooke, John Colasacco, Brice Nordquist, Rebecca Howard, and many more."

Eric sees connections between his work and his writing training. "As an attorney, to get results and be effective, I have to be an A+ communicator. What I write and what I say has real-world consequences. I am constantly asking myself, how should I say this?, who is my audience?, and more check-and-balance questions a good writer learns to ask."