2025 Graduate Feature: Laurent Cadet
UK Rosenberg Law Graduate Hopes to One Day Give Back to Haiti
Laurent Cadet, a 2025 graduate of the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, said he knew from a young age that he wanted to become a lawyer. His father was a lawyer in Haiti, so Cadet was aware of the widespread corruption and lack of due process in the country. Cadet thought he might one day be able to help mend a failed justice system.
“I always wanted to become a lawyer because of that and potentially go back to Haiti and help,” Cadet said.
He originally planned to go to college in France, but his parents had other ideas and encouraged him to study in the United States. At 16, he left his family in Haiti and enrolled at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice with a minor in political science and played on the men’s soccer team.
Even though most of his immediate family lives in Haiti, Cadet had some relatives in Florida and moved there after graduating from college in 2020 to prepare for
the LSAT and law school. He worked part-time while researching programs across the country and looking for the right fit. University of Kentucky kept appearing in his searches related to law school rankings, so Cadet decided to apply even though he had never been to Kentucky. A Zoom meeting with admissions staff and law school faculty sealed the deal.
“I just felt like they really wanted me here,” Cadet said. “It might sound crazy, but I felt called to UK.”
Cadet has no regrets about his decision, but he said his first year of law school was challenging. Even though his father continues to practice law in Haiti, the legal field is very different there, so Cadet had to navigate his studies on his own. In addition, he worked hard to fit into the law community in Kentucky. “It was a brand-new world to me,” he said.
Cadet said even though he didn’t have a lot of family support in the United States, law school faculty and administrators, as well as his peers, encouraged and supported him. He had always heard about law school being cutthroat, but he found a welcoming environment at UK Rosenberg College of Law. He recommends that anyone thinking about law school, and especially international students, look for mentors because “you’re going to need people.”
“I feel like the people are definitely the highlight of this place,” Cadet said of UK Rosenberg College of Law.
Cadet said he was initially interested in criminal law when he entered law school. That is still the case, however, his interests have broadened, and Cadet noted that he is also interested in becoming a trial lawyer in civil litigation or criminal law.
Even though he doesn’t have plans to return to Haiti permanently, Cadet said he remains hopeful that he will be able to have a positive impact on his home country one day.
“I do still want to go to Haiti, but that looks a little bit different now,” he said. “I’m going to become a seasoned attorney and then I’m going to give back to Haiti.”
