Pooja Bhatia

Pooja Bhatia, a 3L, is torn between practicing human rights law and becoming a journalist. Her work with the Human Rights Program at HLS has given her lots of opportunities to pursue the former. As a 1L, Pooja assisted in writing an amicus brief opposing corporal punishment in Trinidad. In her 2L year, she worked on an Alien Tort Claims Act case against Shell Nigeria. The same year, she traveled to Haiti with a team from HLS to interview United Nations peacekeepers, government officials, and human rights abuse victims. The trip provided background for a joint report by the HRP and the Global Justice Center critiquing the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

Pooja comments "At the risk of sounding too much like a cheerleader, I must say that HLS — and especially its Human Rights Program — grants its students an incredible array of resources and superb access to countries and institutions. I've gotten invaluable hands-on experience and training, and my supervisors have managed to provide incredible guidance while granting me (and other students) a lot of independence." Pooja says that this has helped her to understand how regimes of law and power elsewhere contrast with law and power in the United States, and the far-reaching effects of U.S. power. On a more visceral level, it has made her painfully aware of how much people suffer in the world. She takes time out from her work by enjoying movies and reading.

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