Daksha Bhatia, BA ’11

I graduated from UAlbany with my BA in Philosophy in 2011. I remember ethics classes the most fondly -- in particular anything with Professor Cohon! 

I attended Fordham Law after graduating from UAlbany. I am a corporate attorney at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, with a focus on banking and finance. Prior to joining Cahill, I practiced at a couple of other law firms and have been in the banking space for 10+ years. I think Philosophy does a fantastic job of preparing you for law school. I spent four years at UAlbany reading complicated (and often old) writings, analyzing them, and then putting my thoughts into words. That is also law school in a nutshell.

Today, I spend my days reading complicated (new) writings, analyzing them, and then putting my thoughts into words. The essays and papers have been replaced with contract drafting, emails and phone calls, but the basic concept is the same. As a corporate lawyer you need to be able to read long, winding provisions and quickly understand what the language is accomplishing (or attempting to accomplish) within the larger context of the contract. Then, you need to be able to explain the issues to clients in plain English (without using a lot of legal jargon). A Philosophy major is a great way to practice these skills.

Profile Information from May 2025.