For Matthew Stein, senior partner and lead trial attorney at Law & Stein, LLP, the courtroom is a classroom. A 2000 graduate from UCI, the successful lawyer treats each trial as an opportunity to educate jurors as if he were a teacher in their classroom. The better they understand the case he makes, the more apt they are to side with his client. The firm bearing Stein’s namesake - which he cofounded after earning his J.D. at Southwestern University School of Law - now boasts eight attorneys who specialize in complex estate planning, estate litigation and business law. And when he’s not in the courtroom, Stein can be found training for triathlons and marathons, and volunteering with his alma mater as part of UCI soc sci’s Dean’s Leadership Society. When asked for some words of wisdom for Anteaters just starting out, Stein said, “Get out of our comfort zone and try different electives. For example, on a whim, I took an introduction to law class at UCI and it was such an awesome class that here I am now, a trial attorney running a law firm in Orange County.”