An Interview with Paul Marcus

Authors

• Paul Marcus
• Mary Gorham

Files

Interview Date

10-27-2025

Description

"What’s stayed the same, it seems to me, is a sense of responsibility to the greater community as a lawyer. This is the phrase that's been coined: the citizen lawyer. It's taken quite seriously here. I took it seriously, and I think my colleagues did as well, that you owe something, that we are very privileged to be in this position of being ultimately licensed attorneys to advise and counsel people." -- Paul Marcus

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Professor Emeritus Paul Marcus was interviewed on October 27th, 2025, at William & Mary Law School. He begins the interview by exploring his family history and how, despite expectations, he was able to thrive in college and law school. Professor Marcus reflects on his career prior to the invitation to teach at William & Mary Law School, and his ultimate decision to return to the east coast and resume duties as a professor. He then discusses how he was able to connect with students and faculty to make an impact at the law school and in the community, earning numerous highly prestigious awards. He moves on to share about his time teaching federal judges in the United States, as well as courses internationally, allowing him to learn more about international law, particularly as it relates to criminal law. To conclude the interview, Professor Marcus discusses the many changes he has noticed throughout his years with William & Mary and speaks highly of the commitment to the community that he has seen throughout the school and in his colleagues.

Run Time

00:43:21

Comments

A transcript and guide to the oral history are available as additional files, above. 

Use the CC button on the video to toggle captions on and off. 

Keywords

Nancy A. Combs, Margaret Spencer, Citizen Lawyer, Comparative law, Criminal law, Criminal Procedure, First-generation law students, Law and literature, Law school deans, Teaching--Law school.

Local Identifier

OH.2025.007

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright for these materials has been transferred to the repository. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce for reasons not covered by fair use must be secured from the repository.

Recommended Citation

Marcus, Paul and Gorham, Mary, "An Interview with Paul Marcus" (2025). William & Mary Law School Oral Histories. 26.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/oralhist_all/26