Brendan Liaw started law school at UBC this September with a unique distinction: he’s a three-time Jeopardy! champion.
Beyond his impressive winning streak, Liaw also made headlines last year (The Wall Street Journal; Vanity Fair; Slate) for his tongue-in-cheek description of himself on the show as a “stay-at-home son.”
“When Jeopardy! called me the first time, I had just defended my MA thesis, written the LSAT and applied to law school, so I had a little bit of free time between applications and the job search,” Liaw explains.
On Tuesday, January 20, Liaw returns to Jeopardy! for the Tournament of Champions. We caught up with him to talk about life in law school and his upcoming appearance on Jeopardy!
When you first appeared on Jeopardy!, you gained some notoriety for referring to yourself as a “stay-at-home son,” which a lot of people found quite funny and relatable. How did it feel to become the spokesperson for this new demographic?
If you know me, you know I have no issues with being self-deprecating. I'm willing to do a lot to get a laugh out of people, for better or for worse. In this case, I figured I should try to be amusing in the event I lost immediately.
But this joke does reflect some bit of reality. If you live in a major metropolitan area, it's completely unaffordable unless you live at home or get paid a lot of money. So it was nice to be able to generate that conversation about what it looks like right now for young people trying to navigate the world.
Now you’re attending Allard Law. How’s that going so far?
I'm really enjoying my classes, particularly my contract law class, mostly because of Professor Joel Bakan. He explains things clearly, and in a way that makes sense to the way I think. I also enjoy property law with Professor Adam Hofri and criminal law with Professor Sara Gordon, who are incredibly engaging in class. I’ve also enjoyed meeting the wonderful people in my small group, Gee. Everyone in law school is very supportive, interesting and smart.
I think law school also scratches an itch in my brain for logic. It also requires some lateral thinking, which comes into play with Jeopardy! too – jumping from topic to topic and making connections at times.
How did you handle studying for Jeopardy! while you were a law student?
I tried to maintain balance to avoid burning out, but the bulk of my time went towards staying on top of readings and prepping for Jeopardy! Unfortunately, this meant saying no to most social events — sorry, friends! And eating a lot of takeout — sorry, mom and dad!
I also may have spent some lectures doing some Wikipedia surfing and making flashcards. I won't say which ones and I won’t say how many, but if you were sitting behind me in class, sometimes you might have been confused as to why I was reading about the Spanish Civil War or African geography.
You’ve mentioned that appearing on Jeopardy! was a dream of yours. Other than winning, what is it that you like about it?
I enjoy the recall aspect — it feels good to know things and get questions right.
More broadly, I think being curious and knowledgeable about the world has made life all that more enjoyable. It’s fun to travel and go “Hey, I know all about the history of this landmark” or knowing the technique and origin of a dish. I also feel like it’s much easier to connect with people, being able to talk about a wide range of topics.
You’ve been on Jeopardy! before, but this time you're competing against fellow champions. How did it feel going into this?
It was less stressful in the sense that it's all gravy at this point. The flight and hotel are paid for and you're guaranteed some money, even if you lose the first game. You've also already proven yourself. If you go in with that mindset, there’s less pressure and it's a little less stressful.
On the other hand, there’s quite a bit of money on the line and you're up against people who are good at this, and probably better than you! And so it’s still quite stressful in that sense.
Now that you're done with this chapter, what are you going to do with your free time — other than law school?
That's a very existential question. I've been working towards Jeopardy! for a long time and a friend of mine quite aptly described me as being like “an elite athlete who just finished the top event in their sport.” I think that captures the feeling well – though by no means am I comparing myself to Michael Jordan. And I do feel a bit of “well, now what?”
Maybe I’ll try and get on Wheel of Fortune next. Joking aside, I think I’ll be happy to focus on law school and being a good lawyer.
Tune in to watch Brendan Liaw compete in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions at 7:30 pm PST on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 on the CHEK+ Livestream.
