GETTING TO KNOW: Paul C. Youngs

Southgate criminal defense attorney Paul C. Youngs grew up in Southgate playing hockey as a kid and then wrestling in high school.  He then went on to Eastern Michigan University, where he obtained a degree in finance in 1989. After earning a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida in 1991, he crunched numbers for a few years before deciding to hit the books again. He graduated with his J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in the fall of 1995.

By Jo Mathis
Legal News

Residence: 
Browntown.

Favorite local hangouts:
Big Al’s.

Favorite websites:
Facebook.

What is your most treasured material possession?
My house.

What was always written on your grade school report card?
 X.

What is your happiest childhood memory?
First Tiger game at Tiger Stadium, “Bat Day” 1976.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?
 “You came very highly recommended!”

When you were considering law school, what was Plan B?
Law was the plan B!  Accounting was Plan A, and law was plan B, loosely speaking.  There was never a plan to possibly become a lawyer when I first went to the University of Florida.  But they had us researching tax lax at the law school library, so it didn't take much to get the wheels turning as to the idea of going to law school some day.  The thing that pushed me over to actually acting on the idea was working with attorneys in my capacity as an accountant.  They asked me to review legal papers and verify the accuracy of the financial information.  I immediately saw that what they were seemed more fun than what I was, so I signed up for the LSAT,  applied at U of D, and the rest is history.

Any regrets about moving on to law?
 None!  I enjoyed working as an accountant, but I could not do it for a lifetime.

When you look back into the past, what do you miss most?
College at EMU, and all the blown opportunities of my youth. Such as … I miss living on campus as an undergraduate.  Your whole world existed in an area that was less than a square mile, and your main job was to go to classes and try to get good grades.

What has been your favorite year so far?
 This one.

If you could have witnessed any event in history, what would it be?
 D-Day.

What were you doing in your last selfie?
 Voting.

Who is on your guest list for the ideal dinner party?
 Some rock star, maybe Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues.

If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would that be?
 Jeff Gordon.

What’s the most awe-inspiring place you’ve ever been?
Colorado, and the Continental Divide.

What is your proudest moment as a lawyer?
My acquittals. A.k.a.: not guilty verdicts.

What word do you overuse?
 “Cool,” and “Right on.”

What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
Scuba dive

What is something most people don't know about you?
That I’m a NASCAR fan.

What is the best advice you ever received?
Study liberal arts!