For Achyuth Anil ’24 LL.M., trade law is the area of legal studies that makes sense of the world. 

“It’s structured and logical,” he says. “It underpins everything that goes on in the world, so you can attribute a reason to how and why things are the way they are.” What’s more, he says, trade is an ever-changing field. “That keeps it interesting and relevant as well.”

For his studies at Columbia Law, Anil was awarded a Jagdish Bhagwati Fellowship, achieving a goal he had set as an undergraduate at India’s National Law University, Jodhpur. “Those who do trade law know what the Bhagwati Fellowship is,” he says. “Since I was an undergrad, this is something I wanted to do.”

The first lawyer in his family, Anil is looking toward future work in government service or academia, although he is currently studying for the New York bar exam. Whichever route he takes, he says, trade law will continue to be a challenging field.

“Trade law morphs and adapts and changes based on the situation, geopolitical as well as other ways, and evolves. You have to always be on your toes to keep up with that. There’s always going to be a little bit of uncertainty. But to be very honest, I think it’s the most rewarding thing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing it because you don’t know what’s going to be coming your way tomorrow.”

After obtaining his first degree in law in India, Anil worked for EY, a consulting firm, focusing on infrastructure project finance and public-private partnerships, then moved to the Centre for Trade and Investment Law, the organization advising the Indian government on trade and investment matters, where he was a researcher and negotiator. 

During his year at Columbia Law, Anil worked as a research assistant for Michael Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, and Stratos Pahis, visiting assistant professor of law, and interned at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. In his coursework, he deepened his expertise in trade law but also studied energy regulation and environmental and social governance issues in business. “I wanted to deepen my knowledge in trade and investment law, but I also wanted to study how other areas of the law intersect with trade law and the impact they have on trade,” he says. 

It added up to a packed year in New York. “I don’t know where the time went,” he says, “but I think I utilized every second of it.”