Love tends to blossom where we least expect it. And let’s face it — law school is likely not the first place that comes to mind when describing a romantic destination. Fortunately for a select group of Aggies, their happily-ever-after stories began at Texas A&M Law.
It's easy to overlook the amount of personal growth students gain by the end of their law school journeys. Among these countless takeaways, the law school caught up with four couples who discussed their most important takeaway of all: their spouses. Enjoy this special Valentine’s Day tribute as they share their unique stories of how they found love and law.
Nelda ’01 and Chad ’01 Cacciotti
Nelda and Chad met in the fall of 1998 during their first semester of law school. They were introduced in passing by friends in the law school’s computer room. The encounter was brief and wasn’t much of an enjoyable experience at the time, Nelda admitted. She never imagined that they’d end up dating, let alone get married. Chad is charming and extremely extroverted, while Nelda is more of a quiet, introverted soul. As it happened, the two both played intramural softball on different teams made up of respective law school sections. During a game one evening, Chad was up at bat while Nelda was a catcher. With Chad’s section winning by a considerable margin, he offered to strike out to end the game if Nelda would meet him at the Pour House, a local establishment that students frequented after games. She agreed, and the rest is history.
The couple began dating and later married in 2005, after graduating from law school, passing the bar exam, and starting our legal careers. The last 25 years together have flown by and have been filled with love, laughter, family, friendship, fulfilling work, and lasting memories, Nelda recalled.
“We have been blessed and to think, it all started in law school,” she said.
Alexis Jenkins Craig ’17 and Tyler Craig ’17
Tyler and Alexis met on their first day of school — they sat across from each other in their Legal Analysis Research and Writing (LARW) class taught by Professor Mark Burge. Alexis quickly noticed how handsome Tyler looked. The two stayed friends throughout their 1L year until Tyler finally took her out on a date after spring finals. The couple has been together ever since. They started dating in May 2015 and got married in November 2020. The couple stayed close, currently residing in downtown Fort Worth. Tyler works at Cantey Hanger LLP, and Alexis works at Freeman Mills PC.
Tave Doty ’17 and James Nichols ’16
Tave and James met in the fall of 2015 in the law school student lounge. Tave was in her second year of law school, and James was in his third year. They became friends and started dating in the summer of 2016, leading to a love story for the ages. The two wed on June 4, 2021, and currently reside in Fort Worth.
They are both active in the community and enjoy spending time with their family, friends, and three dogs. James is an assistant district attorney for Tarrant County, while Tave is an associate attorney at Winstead. She also serves on the Texas A&M School of Law Alumni Board of Directors and is the past chair of the Texas A&M Law Alumni Legacy Awards Committee.
Heather Nichols ’19 and Daniel Howell ’19
It all started after a particularly rough first-year Legal Analysis Research and Writing (LARW) class assignment, in which Heather and Daniel were in the same large group. Though they were in different LARW classes, they had the same assignment due date. About 30 other classmates from the 1L class were hanging out after the submission deadline, each celebrating and licking their wounds. Daniel and Heather had seen each other in class and became immediate friends that same day. Following a marathon of classes together, pen twirling, study sessions, school breaks, Starbucks breaks, galas, Barrister Balls, traveling ventures, and spending time with each other’s families, they knew they would always be in one another's life — #FriendsForever, as Heather put it.
What they didn't know, however, and what everyone else did know, was that it wouldn’t be enough. Fast forward to BARBRI prep courses, bar exams in different states, celebrating passing two bars, quarantine, two moves to different states, and all the excuses to visit, the couple decided to make it permanent. Marriage was the inevitable destination. Or, as they put it: #Justfriendstojustmarried.