Nausherwan Aamir CC ’19, LAW ’23: From Policy to Practice

Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan

Why Columbia: Nausherwan Aamir’s interest in public international law stemmed from his “experiences growing up as a dual U.S.-Pakistani citizen in Pakistan during the war on terror. . . . I realized that I had two goals informed by my experiences growing up: The first was to understand how policy is shaped. And the second was to understand how public international law constrains policy choices available to these decision makers.” Aamir studied political science as an undergraduate at Columbia College. Attending Columbia Law was the next logical step. “I’m a Columbia lifer. . . . I loved it enough to come back again.”

Favorite Law School Memory: As a 3L, Aamir participated in Columbia Law’s Externship on the Federal Government: Semester in Washington, D.C. Externing for the Office of the Legal Adviser in the U.S. State Department was all the more meaningful because of the classes he took with Lori F. Damrosch, Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law and Diplomacy, who served in that office. “It was just remarkable knowing that Columbia provides students a platform to engage with practitioners who have been out in the real world.”

At Columbia Law: Extern, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser, Economic and Business Affairs Office and Political and Military Affairs Office; extern, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Office of International Affairs; co-president, Prison Healthcare Initiative.

After Columbia Law: Returning to Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City, where he worked the summer after his 2L year.

“I think the legal profession is one in which you can continue to learn and you can continue to have new and refreshing experiences. That’s something that drew me to this profession, and that’s something that’s drawn me to the practice of law.”