Five Years Out: Charlotte Verdon ’21

Tell us about your current position. What are the challenges? What do you like most about it?

I’m an associate in the international law and arbitration department at Foley Hoag. What that means concretely, and what’s so special about our practice, is that we represent mostly states in interstate disputes before the International Court of Justice or an arbitral tribunal, and we also advise them outside of disputes, so it can be on any public international law issue. We also represent them in investor-state arbitration against private companies.

That’s a really awesome thing because I specialize in public international law. This has been my passion for years. I actually went to NYU Law because it has such a good program in international law, and we’re one of the few firms that get to do that. It’s really, really cool because it blends in not just purely law, but also a lot of political, geopolitical, and international relations issues.

You mentioned that you knew when you went to law school that you wanted to do this line of work. So how did you learn about it initially? What has your career trajectory been like?  

I am from France originally; I went to law school in France first. And even before going to law school, I was always interested in international relations. I wanted to do law, but I knew I wanted an international component to it, so then I fell into the public international law realm. I did the [Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition] my first year in France, which is an international law moot court. I also had the opportunity to work in international arbitration in Paris. So I developed this passion for it, and I knew I wanted to pursue it.

And then I knew, because I wanted to have an international career, that I needed to have another degree abroad, preferably a common law degree. I thought about doing an LLM, but then I realized I’d have more opportunities with a JD to work either in the US or anywhere else where I could be a common law attorney. So I applied to law schools, but I really focused on American law schools that had a good international law program. And NYU Law really stood out for me.  

What were your favorite classes, or things that you were involved with, at law school?  

Probably my favorite thing that I did was the United Nations Diplomacy Clinic. It’s a clinic where we’re placed with the Permanent Mission of Small Island Developing States at the UN, and we act as student legal advisors where we provide legal advice on anything that they might need, typically international law issues. I was placed with the Maldives Mission and it was really great. I was able to go to the Sixth Committee meetings, which is the legal committee of the UN, and be an observer and see everything that’s going on. It really gave me a lot of insider information on how the UN works and how diplomats work, because it’s not a room full of lawyers, it’s really a roomful of diplomats, and it’s just kind of a different way of thinking. I was able to work on really interesting international law issues like the sea level rise issue, which is super important for small island developing states. I think it was an incredible experience.

One of the experiences that really attracted me to NYU is being in New York, being able to be so close to the UN. I don’t think you really get that anywhere else, so it was really cool. I was spending a lot of time at the UN for a whole semester or so.  

What do you do outside of work?

I have a golden retriever who’s two and a half years old. In my third year after law school, I did a fellowship as a clerk at the International Court of Justice, which was also through NYU, and I lived in the Hague for a year. I’d always wanted to have a dog, but I never really had the opportunity or space. I just kind of impulsively decided that I would get a dog. I rented a car and drove myself to this place all the way in the north of the Netherlands and got this puppy and came back. I didn’t even have time to buy many things. I think I bought a water bowl or something. I was completely unprepared, but it was the best decision I’ve ever taken.

So he takes up a lot of my free time because I have to get him to the dog beach and give him his exercise. Otherwise I love cooking. I love going to the movies. I live near a movie theater, so I try to go as much as possible. I try to see my friends when I can—though a lot of them are lawyers, so it’s hard to get together.

This interview has been condensed and edited.
Photo credit: Foley Hoag LLP