{"id":202,"date":"2026-10-19T21:55:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T01:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/?p=202"},"modified":"2026-10-19T21:55:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T01:55:50","slug":"get-to-know-a-1l-david-fussell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/2026\/10\/19\/get-to-know-a-1l-david-fussell\/","title":{"rendered":"Get to Know a 1L: David Fussell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authors: <\/strong>David Fussell and EECJ Fellows<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blog Post Title: <\/strong>Get to Know a 1L: David Fussell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Temple Law, meet David Fussell (LAW \u201929)! He\u2019s from Tennessee, loves Fountains of Wayne, and he\u2019s done incredible work supporting renewable energy companies in rural parts of America. Read on to learn his story.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do you call home?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was born and raised in Memphis, TN, but currently I’m proud to say I live in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What were you up to before law school?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I represented solar, wind, and some industrial clients in navigating land use issues through rural county governments with a Public Affairs firm in Nashville, TN. I helped renewable energy companies permit and site their projects, primarily in rural Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Illinois. I organized support groups, much like a political campaign, to show planning commissioners that people in the county support renewables. Often, there was staunch opposition, and I frequently spent my time having in-depth conversations with rigid opponents of both solar and wind. It was great to hear those perspectives from such small communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sparked your interest in environmental law? Tell us your origin story.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, I loved to hike and climb in the Pisgah National Forest. My work before law school really showed me how tightly land use issues are tied to environmental issues, and how passionate local communities are about their own homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is law school less scary, scarier, or just as scary as you imagined?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would say on average<\/em> <\/em>law school is just as scary as I imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite 1L class?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love Civil Procedure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead at the next three years, what are you most hyped about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am most hyped about becoming a true \u201cPhilly Guy\u201d and learning how I can use my skills to give practical solutions to real people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you will allow us one corny, hippy-dippy question\u2014what activity makes you feel most connected to the planet?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rock climbing and\/or scrambling up a steep, rocky trail. It\u2019s just your hands and your face in the earth, and there\u2019s nothing else that matters but going up. It\u2019s quite therapeutic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s one thing most people don’t know that you think everyone should know?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you listen to the Fountains of Wayne past \u201cStacy\u2019s Mom\u201d you\u2019ll find one of America\u2019s best rock bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Favorite piece of legal pop culture and\/or fictional lawyer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall Erikson, environmental lawyer extraordinaire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs or cats?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet or savory?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, and most importantly \u2013 would you rather (1) have Cheetos fingers for the rest of your life (as in Cheetos dust is caked onto your fingers for the rest of your life and you can never wash it off) or (2) have Cheetos dust around the corners of your mouth for the rest of your life? Feel free to explain your reasoning.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second option. If I had crust on my fingers for the rest of my life I would become a supervillain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Authors: David Fussell and EECJ Fellows Blog Post Title: Get to Know a 1L: David Fussell Temple Law, meet David …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38004,"featured_media":203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[22],"class_list":["post-202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eecj-events","has-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/eecjblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}