Destined For Law: From Legal Dream to Valedictorian

For RWU Law Class of 2025 valedictorian Ashley Kaplan, attending law school always felt like destiny. “Becoming a lawyer was one of my childhood dreams, and as my grandfather always wanted a lawyer in the family – and I am a smidge argumentative – it felt kismet for me to go to law school,” she says.

A Massachusetts native, Kaplan earned her Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology from Providence College in 2021, graduating summa cum laude. 

With a passion for environmental law, Kaplan found RWU Law to be a natural fit due to its opportunities through the Marine Affairs Institute. Throughout her time in law school, Kaplan actively pursued these offerings, including serving as a Rhode Island Sea Grant Law Fellow during the spring semester of her second year and participating in the Coastal Resilience Law & Policy Clinic that summer. As a third-year student, she gained further practical experience through RWU Law’s Corporate Counsel Externship Program, working with Dutch offshore energy company Boskalis at their office in Providence.

In addition to her environmental law work, Ashley made a meaningful impact as a Teaching Assistant to both Professor Colleen Murphy and Professor Andrew Spacone. 

Professor Murphy, whom Kaplan credits with teaching her the importance of accuracy and precision in Civil Procedure, notes that Kaplan “was the top performing student in both semesters of Civil Procedure, a feat achieved by only one other student in my thirty-four years of teaching.”

Reflecting on Kaplan’s work as his Business Associations TA for two semesters and a summer Research Assistant, Professor Spacone praised her professionalism and dedication, noting that she “never missed a deadline, provided excellent advice that improved course instruction and testing, and always did so with a smile and in a highly professional manner.”

Kaplan says that being named valedictorian is a gratifying recognition of her dedication and hard work over the last three years – “the cherry on top” of living out her dream of studying law. 

She expressed gratitude to her family for being her support system throughout her life, especially during law school. Her grandfather’s entrepreneurial spirit has also played a significant role in her journey. In 1968, he founded a tarot card business that remains in the family to this day. Now a shareholder, Kaplan says she finds it surreal when her uncles and dad turn to her with legal questions about the business.

After siting for the bar this July, Ashley will begin her professional journey as a Trial Court Law Clerk for the Rhode Island Supreme Court. From there, she hopes to pursue a career in environmental law. “I came to law school in part because I wanted a career where I am a lifelong learner and with the law ever evolving, there is always something new to learn,” she says. “I hope to have a career in the environmental law space, learning every day and helping protect our planet.”