#FutureFordhamLawyers Pave Their Own Paths

“During high school, I interned with Judge Nushin Sayfie ’93, Chief Judge of the Florida 11th Judicial Circuit, and volunteered at a nonprofit immigration law firm in my hometown of Miami. I found those early experiences to be foundational in my law career because they helped me realize my passion for law and policy and led me to become the person I am today. I’m working as a summer associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where I’ll be learning the ropes and dipping my toes in different areas of law. I’m passionate about stepping up and being a problem solver during times of crisis. When a company is facing litigation during the most critical moment, I want to be that person they pick up the phone and call for help. I’m looking forward to learning from experienced and successful attorneys, who will help me become the best lawyer that I can be.”

“Growing up as a dancer, I was surrounded by a lot of creative people—including other dancers, designers, and musicians—and would sometimes see people taking advantage of them. Seeing others rip off their designs, or steal their choreography or music, inspired me to apply to law school to figure out how to help prevent that and provide resources to people of color to help protect their creative work. It’s been great to explore different practice areas at Fordham Law and take classes on copyright law and fashion law. I was also named one of the inaugural Deborah A. Batts Scholars in February 2021, alongside Lamar Smith ’23, which has been a really rewarding experience. Together, we’ve made many connections over the past year and a half and have had the opportunity to work closely with Professor Bennett Capers as research assistants. With the addition of two new Batts Scholars this year (see p. 48) and Zenande Booi, the Center on Race, Law and Justice’s new executive director, I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in the future.”

“I knew I wanted to be a part of an institution that had a great sports law program, and one of the first things that appeared during my online research was Fordham Law’s annual sports law symposium. When it came time to apply, I wrote in my personal statement to Fordham Law that my goal was to lead the Fordham Sports Law Forum and organize their symposium one day. I applied to be the Forum’s symposium chair last year and helped arrange a really successful event that featured 16 guest speakers and more than 300 attendees. But when I applied to become the Forum’s editor-in-chief this year, I was also asked to serve as the symposium chair again for its milestone 25th anniversary. This past fall, I received many emails from 1Ls who told me they attended last year’s symposium while they were in college and that the symposium was a big reason why they wanted to go to Fordham Law. That was a full-circle moment for me.”

“I watched my parents, who were both born in India, go through the process of becoming American citizens, and how politics transformed their lives. That gave me the idea—as a 7- or 8-year-old—to become president of the United States when I grew up. And I thought, since all presidents are lawyers, I needed to be a lawyer too. As a first-generation student, I had a lot of imposter syndrome when I started law school, but decided early on I was going to be unapologetically true to myself and that, hopefully, it would work out. And it did. The people that I’ve met and the professors, mentors, and coaches that I’ve had—especially as a member of the Moot Court Board, the Trial Advocacy Center, and the Dispute Resolution Society—have always helped guide me, and that made me feel really supported. Trial advocacy gave me a way to think on my feet and a lot of confidence in myself. I know that I can walk into any situation and handle it—because if you can handle these competitions, you can handle anything. I’ll be working as a Litigation and Government Enforcement Associate at Baker McKenzie. I’ll never rule out that presidential run, but I think, right now, my focus is learning how to be the best litigator that I can be.”

“Before pursuing an LL.M. in one of the world’s most dynamic cities—New York—I worked as an associate attorney for more than five years at BMVN International, a premier intellectual property law firm based in Hanoi that is also a member of the Baker McKenzie’s global network. I came to Fordham Law earlier this year as one of seven Fulbright scholars to focus on IP and information technology law, with the ultimate goal of delving into the U.S. common law system and its IP regulations to solve current loopholes in Vietnam’s IP framework and enforcement mechanism. IP is all around us, from the smartphones we use to communicate to the consumer goods we rely on every day. Protecting IP is an incentive for innovation and literally improves our daily lives.”