Co-President, Law and Business Association
Co-Vice President, Law Women
How did you decide to pursue law?
Beyond being told by every person in my life that I’m argumentative and therefore would make a good lawyer? While I had toyed with the idea of going to law school all through undergrad, it took a couple of years in the workforce to realize it was truly the right path for me. I worked in consulting for two and a half years prior to law school. There were a lot of things I loved about that job, like working for clients, problem solving, and working on a team. That said, I realized I liked reading and writing a lot more than I liked building financial models. As a result, I decided to apply to law school and feel gratified by that decision every single day.
You wrote a book called The Trials of Imperium in 2022. Tell us about what inspired you to start writing fantasy novels. How has your experience as a writer informed your legal education?
Fantasy has always been my favorite genre to read and write. Nonfiction and traditional fiction can be tough to grapple with, but fantasy repackages real world issues into a non-real context. Magic and dragons make it way easier to analyze modern issues of morality, ethics, and oppression. Fantasy simply makes reality more palatable. The experience of writing my own book has made my legal education even richer. The law is ultimately about crafting narratives. I try to tell stories with every brief and memo I draft, asking, “Who is my protagonist? What is their conflict? Why should my readers care?”
Which Law School class or experience has had the biggest impact on you?
I loved Artificial Intelligence in the Criminal Legal System with Professor Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez and Professor Emily Prokesch. The class explored the history and development of technology use in policing and prosecution. The professors challenged us to understand the technologies we were discussing, whether it was how facial recognition algorithms work or how DNA is actually analyzed. These are skills that have already been super helpful in my local prosecution externship, and I know will continue to serve me in my future practice. I also have to shout out Law and Literature with [Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation] Daniel Shaviro. That class was the loveliest experience I had in law school, and I would recommend it to anybody who wants to read something beyond case law.
You currently serve as the co-president of the Law and Business Association (LBA). What inspired you to get involved with the organization, and what has it taught you about leadership?
Given my background in consulting and my interest in private practice, Law and Business felt like a natural next step. I wanted to better understand the world of Big Law, and LBA was the perfect setting in which to do that. My goal on entering the executive board was to build on this foundation, making a robust space where people could effectively navigate firms and recruiting. Karen Zhan, my incredible co-president, and I have worked really hard with our event chairs to create new impactful events this year, from resume review with big law firms to interview practice. If there’s anything I’ve learned from the experience, it’s that delegation is a privilege and an amplifier. Our executive board is brilliant. The only reason the club has been able to grow as it has is because it is filled with good, talented people.
What do you most like to do outside of class? What’s your favorite way to spend a day in New York City?
Outside of class I love complicated baking projects, running and lifting, reading (fantasy, of course), and spending time with friends. I am also an avid reality TV watcher—the trashier, the better. The past few weeks, though, Dean’s Cup practice is taking my outside-of-class time as the team gets ready to rip a second win from Columbia Law.
My favorite way to spend a day around New York City is kicking it off with a run along the East River down into the financial district. My boyfriend and I will then usually go and get breakfast sandwiches and pastries at wherever doesn’t have a line, as I refuse to support line culture. At the end of my favorite kind of day, you would find me at my local bar, trying to run the pool table with my friends.
Have you read any books or heard any podcasts lately that you would recommend?
I just finished reading Victoria E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series and was absolutely floored. She is a brilliant writer who rewards her readers for sticking along for the ride with a deliciously satisfying ending. I am also a regular listener of Maintenance Phase, a podcast about health and wellness myths, and 5-4, a podcast that critically analyzes Supreme Court decisions that have targeted our civil liberties.