North Shenandoah News

Andrew McCartney is not just any lawyer. He is an attorney grounded in a Christian perspective on the law for which he credits his undergraduate studies at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia.

“Law school at a secular university can be draining for a Christian,” he said. “My PHC professors taught me to seek Christ in all aspects of learning. Second, PHC developed my writing skill set so that I felt well-prepared for law school and for legal writing in general.”

McCartney attended the University of Texas School of Law immediately after his graduation from PHC in 2014. After finishing law school in May 2017, McCartney completed a one-year clerkship in Houston on the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit and two years at the Washington, D.C. office of an international law firm. Later this month he’ll start a new job in the constitutional offices section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Andrew McCartney, ESQ | Andrew McCartney

“Probably the best part of my recently concluded job as a litigation associate at a large law firm was the number of kind and talented lawyers with whom I had the chance to work,” McCartney told North Shenandoah News. “I also loved the opportunities to do appellate brief writing, including working on briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.”  

Although he felt the calling to be a lawyer before studying at PHC, it was the generous and supportive kindness of one of his professors, Frank Guliuzza, who helped McCartney confirm his desire to pursue a law career.

“PHC helped shape my perspective on the legal vocation,” he said. “If I saw being a lawyer as predominantly a way to make a lot of money, I’d be depressed right now because the market is bad. But because I see the value of pursuing excellence wherever God places us—whether at a large law firm or in public service or other legal positions that are less lucrative—I can take a significant pay cut and still be excited, knowing that God has good work prepared in advance for me to do.”     

Patrick Henry also has enhanced McCartney’s personal life. He met his future wife, Alicia, while attending the school but they did not start dating until a year after graduating. 

“I loved my professors and the education, and the friendships were and are so encouraging,” he said. “I have fellow PHC graduates who are still my close friends, and those friendships continue to encourage me in my faith.”

While MCartney was attending the University of Texas School of Law, Alicia was studying for her Ph.D at Baylor University, 90 minutes away. Their courtship began with friendly emails and then seeing each other occasionally. Correspondence blossomed into an official relationship in 2015, which put many hundreds of miles on both of their cars. They married in 2017.

“After my wife was offered a tenure-track faculty position at a university in Ohio, I began searching for employment in Ohio, as well,” McCartney said in an interview. “The law firm job market is quite difficult right now because of COVID, but I was interested in exploring state-government positions and feel very blessed that there was a position for me within the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.”