Alumni Spotlight: Junior Ndlovu ’20L and Natey Kinzounza Ndlovu ’20L Junior and Natey Kinzounza, who met at W&L Law, are both trial attorneys who honed their skills in moot court and summer externships.

Natey Kinzounza Ndlovu ‘20L and Junior Ndlovu ’20L

Natey Kinzounza Ndlovu ‘20L was born in the Republic of Congo and grew up in Nashville, TN. Upon graduating from high school, she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN graduating in 2017. She majored in Religious Studies and minored in French. While at W&L Law, Natey spent her 1L summer interning at the Williamson County District Attorney’s Office and split her 2L summer between the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and Welty Law Office in Nashville, TN. In her 2L year Natey won the school’s Mock Trial Competition and represented W&L Law in various external mock trial competitions. Upon graduation Natey clerked for the panel of judges of the Henrico County Circuit Court. Following her clerkship, Natey took a position as an assistant public defender representing the criminally accused in the City of Fredericksburg and King George County.

Junior Ndlovu ’20L was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He attended high school in Swaziland (now called Eswatini) before moving to the United States for college. He received a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics from the University of Rochester in New York. Junior spent his 1L summer as a summer associate at Vandeventer Black LLP (now called Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black) and split his 2L summer between Vandeventer Black LLP and Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen. In his 2L year, Junior won the John W. Davis Moot Court Competition. In his 3L year, alongside his partner Noriya Shahadat ’21L, Junior won the Robert J. Grey Negotiations Competition and the Mid-Atlantic Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition. At graduation, Junior received the A.H. McLeod-Ross Malone Oral Advocacy Award. Junior currently works as a trial attorney at Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, practicing personal injury law.

Did you know coming into law school that you wanted to work in a certain area of the law?

Natey: Yes and no. I knew that I wanted to be a trial attorney and that I wanted my practice to help people. For much of law school I thought that I could achieve those goals by being a prosecutor.

Junior: When I applied to law school, I was interested in criminal law, specifically in being a prosecutor. While in law school, I became interested in transactional work but eventually realized that civil litigation would be a better fit for me.

How did you find your current job? 

Natey: Ironically enough, I found my current job by conducting an otherwise general google search.

Junior: Through on-campus interviews. I interviewed with Allen & Allen for a summer associate position which turned into a full-time associate position.

What sort of legal issues do you handle on a day to day basis?

Natey: As one can imagine, a great deal of the legal issues I handle stem from the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Issues of searches, seizures, and due process are often litigated.

Junior: Allen & Allen is Virginia’s oldest and largest personal injury firm. We exclusively represent plaintiffs in their personal injury claims. The legal issues I handle on a daily basis include drafting pleadings and motions, arguing those motions, taking depositions, making expert designations, trying cases before judges and juries, and explaining the civil legal process to my clients.

What do you like about your current job?

Natey: I like the diversity of my days. I am regularly in the courtroom, at the jail, at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for discovery, and on rare occasions at my own office.

Junior: I like that I get to be an advocate for ordinary people who have been injured through no fault of their own and find themselves having to battle with powerful corporations and insurance companies to get their claims resolved.

Which W&L classes and/or experiences do you think were most helpful in preparing you for this job? 

Natey: The culmination of my Criminal Procedure classes, my mock trial experiences, and my summer at the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney’s Office proved to be the most helpful in preparing for my job as an assistant public defender. The level of confidence and competence I gained from these experiences continue to distinguish me in my work.

Junior: I found my Community Legal Practice Clinic experience to have been one of the most helpful classes in preparing for this job. At the clinic, I had the opportunity to draft pleadings, take depositions, and argue motions. Other litigation focused classes such as Trial Advocacy were also helpful.

What advice do you have for a prospective law student?

Natey: It may not work out in the timing and in the manner you thought it would, but rest assured it will work out.

Junior: Quickly figure out what you are good at and make that your selling point.

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