Henaa Salehi is a dual LLM graduate of Fordham University School of Law and Fulbright Scholar. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Salehi now resides in the United States working for a top global law firm. The ABA’s Middle East Review highlights her extraordinary circumstances and great achievements.
A: I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. However, when I was a few months old, my family moved to Pakistan due to the war. I grew up as an immigrant child and teen in Pakistan. When I was starting high school, my family moved back to Kabul to give me better educational opportunities.
A: I was fond of math and physics while growing up and wanted to pursue science but spending my last two years of high school in Afghanistan changed my perspective and I grew an interest in law. Eventually I studied law, graduated from Kabul University, took the bar exam, and practiced as a commercial lawyer in Afghanistan for around seven years before coming to the United States. My experiences growing up in a different country and as an immigrant child also grew an immense desire in me for working for human rights and women’s rights. It was important for me to educate myself and work in a male-dominated industry where women you couldn’t see women’s footprints. In traditional definitions, law was not a common or dignified career for a woman, and I wanted to change that narrative and especially you wouldn’t see many women players in the commercial law industry. I am proud that I am the first lawyer in my family.
A: Before the collapse of the Afghanistan government, I was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship and my admission was for the fall of 2020, but COVID postponed my start date. In 2021, I got my student visa and moved to New York City to attend Fordham University School of Law to pursue my LLM. My departure from Afghanistan coincided with the collapse of the Afghan government and I happened to be on the last commercial flight out of Kabul. So, it was a mix of feelings: happy for starting a new journey and sad for losing everything we had.
A: I recently graduated from Fordham Law in December 2022 with two LLM degrees, Corporate Compliance and International Business and Trade Law. With my previous experience in commercial contracts and education in international trade law, I would like to do something in the sidelines of trade and cross-border agreements. However, that doesn’t stop me from learning and exploring different areas of law. I consider myself a student of the law forever and would like to explore unique practice areas in the United States.
A: I am currently a Paralegal for Global Regulatory at Hogan Lovells. In my role, I will be working with the FDA team of the firm. It’s a great opportunity to work in a whole new practice area and a different legal system in a big law firm set up. I am super excited about this opportunity, and I believe it gives me a platform to learn, grow more, and unfold the new capacities ahead of me.
Henaa Salehi plans to sit for the bar exam and is excited to be further involved in the ABA International Law Section.
