🤘Student Spotlight: Eric Isenhower ’28 

For this week’s edition of our Student Spotlight series, meet 1L Eric Isenhower!  

Hometown: Austin, Texas 
Degree: B.A. in Philosophy, Arizona State University  

You spent many years as an actor before deciding to head to law school. What led to your decision to make that shift? 

The short version is that a major accident left me with a lot of time for reflection, and to consider what kind of life I wanted to lead going forward. I ultimately made the decision that I wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on people’s lives. Around that time, an old friend of mine was struggling with mental health issues that led to conflicts with law enforcement. Seeing the positive impact his defense attorney had on his life was like a lightbulb moment for me. I saw that the legal profession was the perfect way to combine my skills and interests for the benefit of others.   

What were your most exciting experiences as an actor? 

I got to do a lot of really cool things during my time as an actor. Everything from a video shoot at the hilltop home of Frank Sinatra, to being chased by a wolf for a cable commercial, to an intimate acting workshop with Anthony Hopkins. But by far the coolest thing I did was work on the show “Parks and Recreation.” I was in nine episodes across five seasons, and it was easily the most fun I ever had on a set. Everyone from the show was incredibly kind and so much fun to work with. To this day I still have people reach out to tell me how much they love that show.

Did your background in martial arts teach you any skills that you think will benefit you in law school? 

I’ve been training both Krav Maga and Brazilian jiu-jitsu for several years now. More than anything, martial arts has taught me persistence. Jiu-jitsu in particular can be a very humbling skill to learn. But if you can just keep showing up, and if you can leave each training having learned at least one small thing, then you’re moving in the right direction. Setbacks are inevitable, but so are growth and success. Just keep showing up. 

What are you most looking forward to at Texas Law? 

I’m most looking forward to opportunities to get hands-on experience. I recently participated in my first pro bono opportunity volunteering with the Expunction Project. Even though the work I did was relatively simple, it was still very rewarding to do actual legal work with the potential to help someone who really needs it. In the future I hope to get involved in clinics, and I’m also interested in mock trial. 

What’s the best coffee shop in Austin — and why? 

I like anywhere I can bring my dog, a greyhound/mountain cur mix named Disco. Mozart’s and Turnstile come to mind. 

Choose up to three dream dinner party guests—real or fictional, famous or personal, alive or not. Who are they, and why? 

1) Tom Mesereau. Mesereau is a criminal defense attorney perhaps best known for successfully defending Michael Jackson during his 2005 trial. In a true example of how small our world is, Mesereau actually studied with the same acting teacher I did in Los Angeles. When he was a young attorney, he apparently took acting classes to help him improve his courtroom skills. I’d love to be able to talk with him about what it was like defending arguably the most famous person in the entire world from such serious charges. I can’t imagine the pressure, yet he did it brilliantly under the circumstances.  

2) Michael Huemer. Huemer is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado. I’m a big fan of much of his work, including his books “The Problem with Political Authority” and “Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism.” However, he recently entered a new realm with a work on legal philosophy, and he makes some arguments I strongly disagree with. Given the healthy combination of strong agreement and strong disagreement, I’m sure the conversation would be great, and he clearly wouldn’t mind if I hosted an all-vegan dinner party. 

3) Tommy Wiseau. Wiseau is the enigmatic writer/director/producer/star of arguably the greatest “so bad it’s good” movie of all time, “The Room.” I’ve seen the film countless times and have met Tommy at numerous screenings, but I’ve never had the chance to speak more than a few words to him. He’s an incredibly odd, fascinating, and mysterious figure, and I can’t imagine how interesting it would be to have him over for dinner.