Life at Duke Law

Jerry Ahn ’24 is a third year law student from Bundang, South Korea. He attended Cornell University, where he graduated with a B.S. in Industrial & Labor Relations. After his junior year, Jerry served for 21 months in the Republic of Korea Army. On campus, Jerry is involved with the Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law and the International Law Society. He has also worked as a pro bono volunteer for the Duke Afghan Asylum Project. This past summer, Jerry was working at Dechert LLP in New York, and he hopes to return to the big apple upon graduation. He is really excited to welcome the incoming LLM Class and to share his knowledge of the wonderful food scene in Durham!

Allison Bryski, JD ’25, was born and raised in California and spent three years in Hong Kong. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2018 with a double major in English and Chinese with a minor in Business Institutions. Prior to law school, she worked in New York and Chicago in consulting and financial compliance. She is primarily interested in corporate transactional law and is taking classes in the field. This past summer, she interned at the SEC in the bankruptcy trial division. At school, she is in the Business Law Society and the Duke Food Pantry. She can often be found playing ping pong in the Blue Lounge. She is excited to welcome everyone to Duke and is here for any questions!

Kristie Chan '25 was born in Vancouver, Canada, and moved to Hong Kong when she was 10. She attended high school in Massachusetts and then studied English and Psychology at New York University, with a minor in Politics. She spent this summer in Ireland doing human rights research and studying in the Netherlands as part of the JD/LLM program and is looking to go to New York post-graduation to work at a firm. In her free time, she enjoys playing sports (squash and brazilian jiu-jitsu are favourites, but she's down for anything! Rock climbing, anyone?) and reading fiction (to remind herself reading doesn't have to be capital-P Pain. She's very excited to meet the new LLMs and down to explore the surprisingly impressive food scene in Durham anytime!

Joe Donohue '25 was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He attended undergrad at Boston College, where he majored in Communication and minored in Economics. Prior to Duke, he worked as a legal intern for a plaintiffs’ firm in New York City where the majority of his work focused on cases representing human trafficking survivors against their traffickers. He also volunteered with a nonprofit victim services organization, in their anti-trafficking program where he helped survivors explore lawsuit options, navigate the visa process and obtain counseling. At Duke, he is a member of both the Business Law Society and 1GP(First Generation Professionals) and enjoys playing in the law school softball league. In his free time, he enjoys practicing mixed martial arts, traveling to new places, and trying the local restaurants. He is incredibly excited to welcome the LLMs to the Duke Law community and is happy to help in any way!

Yuriko Harimoto ‘25 is a two-year law student from Tokyo, Japan. She grew up in Shanghai, China. She attended Peking University, where she graduated with a B.S. in Law. She was an LLM student at Duke and then transferred to the JD program. She is interested in litigation practices, especially international arbitration. On campus, Yuriko is involved with the Law and Economic Society and worked as a research assistant for Professor Shitong Qiao. She has also worked for the Human Right Pro Bono Program and went on Duke Law’s Spring Pro Bono Trip. She is excited to welcome the incoming LLM Class and to share her knowledge about good food in Durham!

Evangeline Inyang LLM ’24 is from Nigeria and lives in London, England. She received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nottingham in the UK and started at Duke in August 2022. Evangeline has taken classes focusing on International Law and Development/Project Finance. She extended her LLM for an extra semester to pursue an internship in D.C. and complete the International Development Policy Certificate from the Sanford School of Public Policy. Last semester, she was involved with the founding of the Global Law Student Association (GLSA) and served as the vice president of the association. She is also a graduate usher for Duke Men’s Basketball. In her free time, Evangeline watches Formula 1 and when it is not a race weekend, she watches YouTube videos about Formula 1. She looks forward to helping the LLM class of ‘24 settle into life at Duke Law and making the transition as smooth as possible!

Yuying (Helen) Jing, J.D. ‘25, was born in China and raised in Beijing and Boston. She attended Brandeis University and graduated in 2018. After graduation, she worked at a bank in New York City as a risk analyst and later became an associate at a private equity firm. At Duke, she is involved with various law school organizations, including the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Women Law Students Association, and Duke Immigrant Stories Lab, where she serves as the VP of Finance and Development. Last summer, she worked as a legal intern at WSGR's Beijing Office, focusing on IPO projects. In her free time, Helen enjoys playing table tennis, listening to music, and traveling. She is thrilled to welcome the class of 2023 to Duke Law, and she is fully prepared to offer any necessary help and support!

Evelynna (Shiyue) Jiang ‘25 was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She attended Colgate University, majoring in International Relations and Psychology, and she graduated in 2022. At Duke, Evelynna is pursuing a JD/LLM degree in Law and Entrepreneurship. She is also involved in student organizations, including Duke Law & Technology Society (DLTS) as the co-president and Duke Immigrant Stories Lab (DISL) as the co-founder. Last summer, she worked at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a public interest organization in Los Angeles, and served as a law clerk on matters involving seniors and small businesses. In her free time, Evelynna enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling, and playing video games. She is excited to welcome the LLM class of 2024 to Duke and looks forward to meeting everyone in person!

Summer Johnson ’25 is from Orlando, Florida. She graduated from Florida State University in 2021 with a B.S. in Political Science. At Duke, Summer is the Vice President of Entertainment in the Sports and Entertainment Law Society. This past summer, she worked as a legal intern at BSE Global, the parent company of the Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets. In her free time, Summer enjoys listening to music, watching and attending sporting events, and watching reality TV shows. She is very excited to welcome Duke’s LLM Class of 2024 and happy to help in any way!

Hannah Kanter ’24 is an incoming 3L. Last year, she served as president of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. She is also a member of the Moot Court Board. This year, she will serve as a student lawyer for the Duke Law International Human Rights Clinic. This past summer, Hannah interned at Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel, a law firm in New York City. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 with a B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics as well as a minor in survey research and data analytics.

Grace Li ’24 grew up in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada and attended the University of Alberta, where she studied political science and history. At Duke, Grace is one of the JD/LLM-ICL students and has been involved with several student organizations including The Duke Journal of Law & Contemporary Problems, Duke Law & Technology Review, APALSA, and Duke Immigrant & Refugee Project. She spent the first half of her 1L summer with the World Bank Group’s anti-corruption unit in Washington, D.C., and the second half in the Hague, Netherlands at the Duke-Leiden Institution of Transnational Law as part of her LLM degree. For her 2L summer, Grace will be working at Paul, Weiss’ New York office. Outside of the classroom, Grace is a huge fan of Drake, comedy, movies, and sneakers. Go Duke

Victor Liao ’25 was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. He obtained his LL.B from Soochow University in 2019 and his LL.M. from National Taiwan University (NTU) in 2022. After obtaining his LL.M., he practiced law in a Taipei-based boutique for 10 month before coming to Duke. At Duke, Victor has taken BA with professor Cox and is going to take Corporate finance, Energy law, and Judicial decision making this coming fall semester. Also, he is involved in the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA), mootcourt, and the LLM representative. This summer he worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Houston office as a summer associate and is really excited to have the opportunity to return next summer. In his freetime, Victor likes to travel around (provided the trip is not over budget!), workout and eat a ton of BBQ and Mexican foods. He’s very excited to welcome the LLM Class of 2024 to Duke and help in any way he could!

Shuwen Lin’25 was born and raised in China. She attended the University of Richmond in Virginia and graduated in 2020. Before coming to Duke, she worked at a law firm, a think tank, and as a private tutor. At Duke, Shuwen has been pursuing her interest in health law. In addition to her J.D. degree, Shuwen is also an M.A. candidate in Bioethics & Science Policy. She is the internal vice president of the Health Law Society and a member of the Asian Pacific Law Students Association (APALSA). Last summer, she worked at the Duke Law Health Justice Clinic and assisted clients in obtaining disability benefits and name changes. In her free time, Shuwen loves traveling and exploring interesting restaurants. She is also a big fan of musicals. She is excited to welcome the class of 2024 to Duke and would love to make friends with talented LLMs from all over the world.

Meghna Melkote '25 grew up near Scranton, Pennsylvania, and her family is originally from Bangalore, India. She studied Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Richmond. She has a background as a pianist, minoring in music in college, and continues to teach piano. This past Summer, Meghna worked as a Summer Associate in the Atlanta office of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, and is interested in litigation, broadly. She's involved with Moot Court, the South Asian Law Students Association, and the Duke Law Music Association. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, playing instruments and listening to music, and trying out new restaurants!

Gabriela Nagle Alverio '25 is a J.D.-Ph.D. candidate studying the impacts of climate change on human rights and the legal and policy solutions therein. She received her B.A. in International Relations and M.A. in Environmental Communications from Stanford University. Prior to her time at Duke, she worked as a Consultant for a diversity and inclusion consulting firm, Inclusion Design Group. At Duke, Gabriela is proud to serve as the Executive Director of the Immigrant and Refugee Project and the Vice President for Public Interest and Academia of the Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA). Last summer she was conducting field-work for her dissertation in Panama and Costa Rica. In her free time, you can find Gabriela doing yoga, eating (but not cooking) delicious food, or traveling. She is very excited to welcome the LLM class of 2024 and is more than happy to be a resource throughout and beyond their time at Duke!

Alberto Poleo ’25 I am originally from Caracas, Venezuela and moved to Miami, FL at 10 years old. I attended undergrad at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where I spent four years playing for the university’s soccer team at a Division I level. I graduated UCLA in 2019 with a degree in Economics. Prior to law school, I spent three years working as a legal assistant at a big law firm in New York City. This summer I worked at a firm in Miami, FL named Bilzin Sumberg. I am now a rising 2L at Duke, where I am the Sports and Entertainment Law Society’s (SELS) VP of Marketing, Duke Law Florida Club’s VP of Communications, and the Latin American Law Students Association’s (LALSA) VP of Internal Relations. In my off time, I love to play soccer, golf, and padel. I also enjoy playing the drums and cooking with friends and family.

Cassie Shapiro ’24 is originally from Sunnyvale, California. She attended UC San Diego, where she double majored in Global Health and International Studies-Political Science. Before law school, Cassie worked as a barista, a paralegal, a yoga teacher, and at the international non-profit Human Rights Watch. At Duke, Cassie serves as the DBA Wellness Chair, the President of the Human Rights Pro Bono Project, and is in the JD/LLM-International and Comparative Law dual program. This past summer she explored NYC while working for the law firm WilmerHale. When she catches a free moment, you can find Cassie trail running, at the rock climbing gym, or drinking a lavender latte and cuddling her cat.

Raashi Shastry ’25 is from Dallas, TX. She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she studied International Relations and Economics and Arabic. After graduating in 2021, she worked at an immigration law firm before coming to Duke. At Duke, Raashi is involved with the South Asian Law Students Association and the Duke Immigrant Rights Pro Bono Project. In her free time, Raashi enjoys going out to eat, doing martial arts, and running. She is excited to welcome the new LLM class and support them in any way!

Ella Shlonsky ’24 is from Cleveland, OH and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2020 with a B.A. in Sociology. While at WashU, she lead an orientation program for incoming freshman, tutored at a local refugee resettlement agency, and studied abroad in Durban, South Africa. At Duke, she’s involved with If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, Jewish Law Students Association, the international/comparative law journal, and has spent time doing pro bono work with the Health Care Planning Project. This summer, she was a summer associate at a law firm in New York. In her spare time, she likes to cook, watch miniseries, and check out the breweries and restaurants around Durham. She was part of the LLM Ambassador program last year and is so excited to welcome the new LLMs to Duke and Durham!

Claire Tanenbaum '25, is a proud native of Memphis, TN. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020 with a degree in Mental Health. Following graduation, she moved to Denver, Colorado, where she worked as a paralegal for two years. At Duke Law, Claire is a member of the Innocence Project’s Reintegration team, the Jewish Law Student's Association, and Outlaw. She also holds the esteemed position of co-president of Duke Law's Sketch Comedy Club, better known as Tricky Dick. Over the summer, Claire worked as a Summer Associate at Jones Day in Chicago. Beyond her legal pursuits, Claire is a certified yoga instructor and a dedicated albeit slow runner. She is looking forward to getting to know the LLM Class of 2024

Zeke Tobin ‘ 25 is from Virginia Beach, VA. He attended Washington & Lee University where he studied Business and German language. The German skills are a little bit rusty nowadays. After college, he worked in Charlotte, NC for a software company and then came to law school. He is looking to go into corporate/transactional law. Zeke is involved with the Guardian Ad Litem pro bono project. In his free time, he enjoys, running, lifting, hiking, and playing with his mini-dachshund.

Lucy Walton ’24 is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended Davidson College in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she studied history and English. Her legal interests are in healthcare law, litigation, and alternative dispute resolution. She has worked for the US Department of Justice in the Criminal Fraud Division, the Duke General Counsel’s Office, and most recently as a summer associate at McDermott, Will, & Emery in its Washington D.C office. At Duke she serves as the internal executive editor on Duke Law and Technology review and formerly served as chair of the healthcare planning project. In her free time Lucy enjoys yoga, reading, baking, hiking in Eno park, and exploring Durham. Her summer highlight was seeing the Taylor Swift and Beyonce concerts! She’s really excited to welcome the LLM class of 2024 to Duke and get to know you all!