Paige Weaver

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In federal judicial chambers, Paige Weaver has helped research the questions a court must resolve. At Pillar + Aught, she has explored the legal work that keeps businesses moving. In the classroom, she helps other law students develop their understanding of the material.

Those experiences have given the third-year Widener University Commonwealth Law School student several ways to put her education to work before graduation. Holding one of the top two spots in her class, Weaver will join Pillar + Aught after earning her degree in 2027.

Her interest in the firm grew through the school’s on-campus interview process. A summer internship brought experience in banking, real estate and contracts, along with the opportunity to work with attorneys she could picture learning from as she began her career.

“I just found a really good place to work,” Weaver said. “I found really good people there.”

She’s drawn to transactional work and appreciates the variety a small firm offers. She’s also open to contributing wherever she’s needed, including litigation.

That flexibility reflects an appreciation for the practical experiences that have expanded her interests throughout law school.

After taking a federal civil practice course with Judge Karoline Mehalchick, Weaver pursued an externship in Mehalchick’s chambers. She enjoyed the course’s practical approach and wanted to build on what she had learned. The externship has included legal research, procedural questions and work on memorandum opinions. 

Working through those assignments has helped her develop her research and writing while seeing how procedural rules operate in actual cases.

On campus, Weaver brings that same attention to her academic and editorial responsibilities. She serves on the law review board, where her work includes guiding associate staff members through writing their own piece of legal scholarship.

Her own law review comment, selected for publication, examines mental health questions in bar admissions. The subject allowed her to draw on her psychology degree from Susquehanna University while researching an issue affecting people entering her future profession.

Completing the comment meant balancing a substantial writing project with constitutional law, evidence and other responsibilities during her second year.

“It just felt like we were running a marathon at full sprint the whole time,” she said.

Seeing her grades after that fall semester became one of her proudest law school moments. She was particularly pleased with her work in constitutional law, which she credited with helping expand her analytical thinking.

Weaver also supports classmates as an academic success fellow. Her assignments have included contracts, seminar courses and products liability, giving her opportunities to revisit foundational concepts while helping other students learn them.

Contracts, sales and leases, and products liability stand among her favorite courses. She particularly appreciates teaching that makes a complicated rule understandable before building toward its more detailed applications.

Her involvement extends to welcoming prospective students as an ambassador and conducting research for Professor Michal Buchhandler-Raphael. Each role has offered a different way to contribute to the school while developing her own skills.

A Manheim, Pennsylvania native, Weaver began college at Millersville University before transferring to Susquehanna University. Participating in the Disney College Program in 2022, a work program at Walt Disney World in Florida, gave her time to consider her next steps, and conversations with people studying criminal justice helped sharpen her interest in law.

Widener Law Commonwealth’s financial aid support and proximity to Hershey, Pennsylvania where her now-husband works, helped make the school a practical choice.

Since enrolling, she has developed habits that allow her to sustain a demanding schedule. Advice from an experienced attorney to review previously covered material proved especially helpful during her first year. She also makes a point of protecting time for sleep, meals and life outside school.

Her husband, parents and close friends have been important sources of support. Classmates Lauren Weaver and Alexander “Alex” Zakucia have helped her maintain perspective while sharing the experience of preparing for a legal career.

As she looks toward graduation, Weaver sees her education influencing both her professional goals and her everyday life.

“Going in to advocate for a client makes me more likely to advocate for myself, too,” she said.

Interview was conducted in Fall 2026.