Ridwan Khan

News @ Georgia Law February 2012 Student Profile

 

Name:  Ridwan Khan
Age:  28
Hometown:  Lawrenceville, Ga.
Expected graduation year:  2012
Georgia Law achievements and awards:  Tara Baker Memorial Scholarship Recipient (Fall 2011 - Spring 2012), Award for Legal Studies Excellence: Study of Japanese Law at Michigan State University (Summer 2010)
Georgia Law extracurricular activities:  Asian Law Students Association: Co-President (Fall 2010 and Spring 2011), Oxford program (2011)
Undergraduate degree(s)/institution(s)/year(s):  B.A. with high honors in Asian Studies, minor in Japanese/Emory University/2007

 

1. What did you do before attending law school?

  • After graduating from Emory, I worked in Japan for two years. I taught English in elementary and middle schools in rural Aomori prefecture. It was a great experience and improved my conversational and written Japanese. I also studied Japanese calligraphy for a year while I was there. I actually left Japan only a few weeks before the start of my first year at UGA.

 

2. Why did you choose to attend the University of Georgia School of Law?

    Georgia had a great law program and was close to my family, but the deciding factor for me was University of Georgia’s Oxford program. After living in Japan I was interested in studying in another country, and UGA provided the opportunity for me to study at one of the world’s best universities.

 

3. What inspired you to become a lawyer?

  • My parents are from Bangladesh and many members of their families were judges, attorneys and prosecutors during the British colonial period and after independence. Growing up I heard my parents talk about those members of my family, which inspired me to work for the equitable administration of justice. In particular, my great uncle was a noted judge in post-independence Bangladesh and he serves as an important inspiration for me.

 

4. What are your plans after graduation?

  • I hope to use my interest in international law and Asia to foster stronger ties between the U.S. and Asian countries.

 

5. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

  • Whatever I am doing, I am sure I will be combining my interest in law, Asia, policy and politics to improve the administration of justice and foster stronger ties between my two homes, the U.S. and Asia.

 

6. Who is your favorite Georgia Law professor? Why?

  • I have been lucky enough to study with a number of great professors and it is impossible for me to choose. Professor Matt Hall helped me through my first year with his wry sense of humor during my Civil Procedure course. Professor Lori Ringhand taught two classes during the Oxford program, and I have enjoyed her teaching style and her interest in international issues. Professor Logan Sawyer taught one of the most challenging classes I have had in law school, Corporations, but because of that course I have developed a keen interest in corporate law. Finally, Professor Carol Morgan has helped guide me further in corporate law through a Business Ethics course and a very important externship.

 

7. Thus far, what is your most memorable experience from your time at Georgia Law?

  • Professor Coenen questioning my ability to read after being called on during my first week of law school.

 

8. What are some activities/clubs/clinics you are involved in at the law school?

  • As a 1L I studied Japanese law during the summer at Doshisha University in Kyoto. As a 2L I was co-president of the Asian Law Students Association and, during the spring, I participated in the Oxford program. I also had the privilege of working at the Athens-Clarke County Magistrate Court through the Civil Externship program and at YKK Corporation of America through the Corporate Counsel Externship program. Finally, I worked at The Blakeslee Law Firm in Washington D.C. and Voices for Georgia’s Children in Atlanta.

 

9. What are your hobbies?

  • My hobbies have taken a back seat to law school, but as far as possible I continue to be interested in music, movies (especially foreign movies) and literature. As a poor student I still participate as much as possible in men’s fashion, programming and aquariums. Of course, continuing to study Japanese takes a great deal of time as well.

 

10. If you could share an afternoon with anyone, with whom would you choose to spend it?

  • The author P.G. Woodehouse. His good-natured stories about Edwardian dandy Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves have helped me through the tough times in law school. Plus I am crazy about 1920s fashion and slang.

 

11. Where is your favorite place to study? Why?

  • The Annex. I enjoy the library as a social space, but when it comes time to get some work done, I have to put on a sweater and my iPod and find a space in the Annex to focus.

 

12. What are two things you always have to have with you when you study?

  • My iPod and my highlighters.

 

13. What do you like most about living in Athens?

  • The weather. I can spend more than half the year in sandals and very rarely is snow a concern, which is just fine with me.

 

14. What do you do to handle the stress of law school?

  • I have read about lawyers who never read novels or non-fiction during and after law school, but I would not have made it through school without a novel to come home to and a well-stocked iTunes playlist.

 

15. What would you consider your greatest accomplishment in life?

  • Living in Japan. Throughout law school, I have always thought, "if I can navigate the Japanese subway and bus system in Japanese, I can navigate law school. At least it's in English!"

 

16. What is your favorite place on campus? Why?

  • The top floor of the North Parking deck. You can nearly see all of Athens from there.