My externship with the Federal Public Defenders provided critical real-world context to my criminal law classes, and through the Youth Opportunity Clinic, I also worked with young adults on special education matters, school discipline cases, and expungements,” she said. “My most impactful classes were those where I got to observe how the law works in action and practice skills, and I particularly enjoyed my work in the Nashville community. I also really enjoyed Professor Mayeux’s American Legal History class, which gave me insight into the political, social, and legal movements that shaped our current legal system from the 1960s to the present,” she said.ĭivya sought out clinics and externships that gave her opportunities to apply the knowledge she gained from her academic courses. “My Cryptocurrency seminar with Professor Yadav provided an interesting meta-markets comparison of our traditional financial system with the emerging cryptocurrency financial system. She also took upper-level finance and legal history electives.

Newton, who directs the International Legal Studies Program.

Those conversations really highlighted to me that I could succeed here and get back to California with a Vanderbilt Law degree,” she said.ĭivya’s previous work experience in global health led her to join the staff of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law as a 2L and to take International Criminal Law and the International Law Practice Lab from Professor Michael A. “I spoke with several grads who talked at length about the wonderful experience they had here and emphasized Vanderbilt’s collegial culture. “Ultimately practicing in California was non-negotiable for me, so I was looking for schools that placed graduates nationwide,” she said.Ĭonnecting with VLS alumni who lived and worked in California helped confirm her decision to choose Vanderbilt. “I worked on intellectual property, contracts, and sales, but I really loved product counseling and working with our privacy and security team, both of which were very collaborative,” she recalled.ĭivya applied to law schools throughout the nation, and Vanderbilt stood out due to its strong record of national placement.

She found the legal work with complex regulations safeguarding patient health information especially intriguing. Divya Bhat decided to earn a law degree while working as a product legal operations manager at a San Francisco-based healthcare technology start-up.

Vanderbilt rec center classes