Our legal system is based on statute law passed by legislative bodies and common law based on precedents set by judges. Some lawyers are general practitioners while others specialize in areas such as tax law. It is recommended that students who wish to become lawyers get a well-rounded 4-year degree in a wide variety of subjects before going to law school.

After receiving a B.A. from Hamilton College and an LL.B. from Yale University, Shale Stiller received an M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1977. Stiller spent his entire legal career in Maryland, first as a Maryland Court of Appeals clerk and later with the firms Frank, Bernstein and DLA Piper. He has taught as an adjunct professor for more than 50 years in the University of Maryland Law School. Stiller also served as the president of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and as a trustee of Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine. He is also active in a number of philanthropic organizations. In this interview, Stiller recounts his time at Hopkins as a student and a trustee. This oral history is part of the Hopkins Retrospective oral histories series.