Alea Chatman ’20: Bridging Law, Leadership, and Global Understanding

Alea Chatman graduated in 2020 with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Leadership Studies. Today, she applies the critical thinking, cultural awareness, and ethical grounding she gained during her time at university to her work as an attorney. Whether advising corporate clients or representing vulnerable individuals in immigration cases, Alea’s academic foundation continues to shape her approach to justice and service.

In her own words, Alea shares how her studies have influenced her journey through law school and into legal practice:

Practicing Business Law

As an attorney at my firm, I work with clients, primarily companies, to provide the legal services necessary for them to pursue their business objectives. Sometimes this looks like drafting formation documents, assisting startup founders with rounds of investments, or counseling clients generally regarding the best route for them to go about pursuing a business interest. The minutia can be complicated, but, essentially, our clients come to us with an end in mind, and we help provide the legal means to that end.

Serving Through Pro Bono Work

Thankfully, my firm is very supportive of its attorneys maintaining a pro bono practice. In my pro bono practice, I primarily represent immigration clients who are either vulnerable to deportation or currently in removal proceedings. These cases tend to last at least a year, so I’m lucky to get to know these clients and their stories quite well.

The Lasting Impact of Religious and Leadership Studies

There are many ways in which my areas of study assisted me both in law school and in practice. In my experience, the Religious and Leadership Studies curriculums prepare students to think critically and investigate the underlying connection between phenomena or ideologies that may, on the surface, seem entirely separate. The opportunity to study the practice of religions around the world, along with the interdisciplinary layers that come with that, cultivated a curiosity in me for the world and people from other cultures. It taught me that the first answer is not the only answer, “right” answers rarely depict the full story, and nuance is omnipresent. All of these lessons have assisted me greatly as a person, a law student, and a lawyer.