UC Law hooding spotlight: Leon A. Hampton

Leon A. Hampton (3L) came to the University of Cincinnati's College of Law with a goal: to make an impact for underrepresented populations in the legal field.

As the son of a single, working mother and breast cancer survivor, and the grandson of one New York City police sergeant and one sharecropper, Hampton’s passion for hard work comes naturally. His love for law and business started at a young age and has always known law school was in his future. His mother likes to joke that even as a child Hampton had a knack for advocating for himself.

Before returning to the Queen City from New Jersey, he spent 15-plus hour days preparing for the LSAT and working full-time in global security and investigations at American International Group. Timing was everything, so he worked and waited for the right opportunity.

Now just a few years later and approaching graduation from Cincinnati Law, Hampton has fully embraced his role as a Bearcat, and is grateful for his time at the university.

Hampton considers the college a “hidden gem” which provides an incomparable law school experience at an affordable price. “At a time when student loans are a major concern,” Hampton explains, “Cincinnati Law gave me the chance to learn from nationally known professors and staff, and challenged me to become a free legal thinker who can successfully maneuver in the legal field, while reducing tuition costs.”

In addition to being a full-time law student, Hampton is heavily involved in the community and Cincinnati Law. At the school he serves as the mentorship chair for the Black Law Students Association, a representative for the Student Legal Education Committee, and a College of Law ambassador with a focus on minority students considering Cincinnati Law as a destination.

While working as a summer associate at Dinsmore, the law firm selected Hampton for the 1L Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Scholar program. The LCLD program aims to create a more diverse network in the legal field by fostering mentorship programs across the country. Through this experience, Hampton met hundreds of other 1L minority law students and developed long-lasting relationships and networks.

After witnessing the power of the LCLD mentorship program firsthand, Hampton wanted to highlight the program at Cincinnati Law. As it wasn’t well known at the college, he helped coordinate a speaker series to introduce the program for first-year law students to receive mentors and “bridge the gap between mentor and mentee.” Thirty 1L students came to learn about LCLD in fall of 2017. The event was so popular and well-attended that they actually ran out of available mentors in the Cincinnati area, which Hampton considers, “a good problem to have.”

Continuing to develop his legal acumen, Hampton invited to participate in the “NALPathon,” conference, a “design thinking workshop developed by the National Association for Law Placement.” The conference’s purpose was to encourage creative solutions to real-life legal recruitment problems.

Hampton’s self-motto is “lifting as I climb” and has enabled him to be effective in the classroom and in the real world prior to his career as a full-time attorney. Hampton doesn’t take his education and legal skills for granted; rather, he understands that he can be a voice for underrepresented populations in the legal field.

In his “free” time, Hampton gives back to the community by serving as the president of Black Alumni Association and sits on the board of the National Alumni Association at Xavier University in Cincinnati, his alma mater.

As his time at Cincinnati Law is quickly coming to a close, Hampton reflects on the past three years. He notes that Dean Verna Williams, Dean Jefferson, and assistant dean for academic affairs, student affairs and diversity Staci Rucker have been critical factors to his successful experience as a student at the law school. He recalls meeting (then Professor) Dean Williams in her constitutional law class and how she “pushed us to think like attorneys. She didn’t allow mediocrity, and she expected excellence from students both personally and professionally.” That expectation has led him to strive to do his best at all times.

Hampton feels he’s leaving law school prepared for his future as an attorney and plans to stay involved in fostering mentorship opportunities for Cincinnati minority law students. He notes, “Cincinnati Law allowed me to grow as an intellectual and encouraged me to be a free thinker with the ability to back up my opinions with facts and law.”