Student and Alumni Profiles

Professional Experience Prior to Law School:

After college, I worked in New York in the securitization group of a major investment bank, enabling the real estate bubble. After the market crash, I worked as a stock picker and researcher at a hedge fund.

What I Am Hoping to Do with My Law Degree:

The work I’ve enjoyed most professionally has been where business and law have intersected, for example, securities regulation, or bankruptcy. I intend to be a master of that intersection. For now, I’m flexible about where that takes me.

My Best Experience at Penn Law:

Making new friends. That’s something that can be difficult in the working world, and a return to collegiate life is refreshing. Everyone in our class is friendly (the Admissions Office does a great job with that!), the professors are engaged and engaging, and students from other programs, such as the MBA students, or the Law School’s LLM students visiting from overseas, are worth getting to know.

Professor Who Influenced Me Most:

Tobias Wolff in Civil Procedure. Basically, this is a class in how the courts operate – a very practical subject that doesn’t sound very interesting theoretically. Professor Wolff brings to it both an intellectual rigor and a passion for justice that makes it seem the most important thing in the world. He’s inspired me to make sure that work in the court system be a part of my career.

My Favorite Course:

Torts with Jacques deLisle. Torts is the study of reimbursement when someone has injured someone else. It’s a bit of black humor, but Professor deLisle is constantly hilarious as he thinks up Rube Goldberg situations and asks us to resolve them. He ties in a substantial amount of economics, and interesting theoretical models that we are invited to disagree with. Professor deLisle is also in charge of the school’s Chinese Law program and is a great resource in that regard.

An Example of How the Law School's Cross-disciplinary Approach Influences My Legal Education:

Sarah Gordon is inspiring as a Property professor.  You can almost feel how much she cares about the issues of policy and justice that come out of the court cases we read.  I think we all benefit from teaching like hers that is encouraged to include aspects of history, politics, economics, and philosophy.

Meaningful Cross-disciplinary Experience at Penn:

In spite of its recent (2009) genesis, the three-year JD/MBA program here is one of the best joint degree programs I've ever seen. Combined with regular opportunities at Penn Law and at Wharton (which are open to law students) to meet with or listen to senior professionals and theoreticians in the fields of business law, finance, and law and economics, it is great opportunity to learn from the masters. When you're listening to one of those masters, she's brought her "A" game, and you're keeping up with everything she's saying, you know you can tackle pretty much anything in the field.

Penn Law is known for its collegial environment. Why is collegiality important to a legal education? How has it affected your legal education?

I chose a law school very carefully on the basis of where I believed I would feel most at home. I hear such horror stories about law school, and they are at a 180-degree remove from my experience. There is a lot of studying, but I'm having as good a time socially and intellectually as I've ever had. I'm grateful for such a welcoming environment for learning such interesting material.

My Favorite Philadelphia Moment:

Biking up and down the Schuylkill River is invigorating, and the scenery is beautiful. I was taken aback when, one morning, a hawk was standing on the grass five feet off of the bike trail. We eyed each other with wariness and respect. I decided it would be prudent to continue pedaling.

My Extracurricular Activities at Penn Law:

Law Review, East Asia Law Review, and various business-oriented groups.

What I Did For Public Interest:

I work with the Penn Housing Rights Project, which helps low-income tenants in landlord-tenant disputes. You feel great helping out those who would have no other recourse if it was not for our help. It is also a great primer working with practicing attorneys as they interview clients and craft their arguments. I anticipate joining one of Penn Law's clinics at the Gittis Center during my third year.

My Favorite Place or Activity on the University Campus:

I had a chance to visit the law school before construction began on Golkin Hall, and the courtyard was quite beautiful. In its reduced form, it's still a very nice place to mingle, eat lunch, and enjoy the fresh air. I look forward to it being whole again.

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