Ahead of Family Weekend 2024, the Department of History spoke with Anya Goldstein '06—a panelist at the upcoming event "What Can't You Do with a History Concentration!" In this spotlight, Anya details how her undergraduate experience prepared her for a successful career as a civil and criminal litigator. 

"I treasure my Brown education. At Brown, I embraced the open curriculum, taking classes in History, American Civilization, Sociology, Political Science, Africana Studies, Ethnic Studies, English, Public Health, Spanish, German, Comparative Literature, International Relations, Education, Visual Arts, Art History, and Modern Culture and Media. I pursued my interests, which were largely in the humanities, and was encouraged to shape my own educational journey.

From my studies, I learned about what it means to be human, across time, space, perspective, and experience. I learned empathy; I learned about context; I learned to welcome (rather than resent) complexity. I learned about beauty. I learned that other worlds are possible. 

By taking classes across so many disciplines, I explored the connections between different fields of knowledge. I also learned how different each discipline’s approach to its subject matter was, which taught me a larger lesson in the benefits of diverse perspectives and an interdisciplinary approach to inquiry and problem-solving.

Among the fields I studied, I was particularly drawn to U.S. history. I care deeply about the human condition in the present, and cannot imagine being able to understand where we are today without understanding how we got here. Professor Vorenberg’s course on the Civil War and Reconstruction, Professor Huebner’s course on war and American culture, and Professor Self’s course on the ‘Urban Crisis’ particularly impacted my understanding of our world today.

More than the substance, of course, these courses taught me a process: to unpack my assumptions; to look for context; to understand my source – the speaker, the audience, their motivations; to form a hypothesis and test it; to locate and analyze evidence; to uncover patterns and draw connections; to produce a nuanced and creative argument that stands up to prodding and scrutiny.

Engaging with primary sources as an UTRA (Under Graduate Teaching and Research Award research assistant) supporting Professor Self’s research for All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy Since the 1960s (Hill and Wang, 2013) also deepened my perspective.  Previously, I had understood the work of historians to be a process of uncovering (and, therefore, what I read in secondary sources as more or less the truth revealed). But, over the course of a summer pouring over microfiche in the freezing bowels of the Rock, I discovered that the work of historians is more critical analysis than discovery. The process involves, yes, an uncovering (of the raw material, the primary sources), but also a sorting (what matters and what does not? why?) and a construction (what is the throughline? how does this all fit together? what’s the narrative?). This was revelatory for me at the time, and recognizing the choices the historian (the journalist, the documentarian) necessarily must make continues to inform the way I consume journalism and nonfiction.

Today, I’m a lawyer in Los Angeles specializing in white collar, federal civil and criminal defense, investigations, and appeals. I attended UCLA Law on a merit scholarship and graduated third in my class.  I started my career as a law clerk to the Honorable Kim McLane Wardlaw, a U.S. Circuit Judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then practiced at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP.  In 2018, I co-founded a successful federal criminal defense/white collar litigation boutique, Summa LLP. I’m proud of my record in a tough field, including victories in two published Ninth Circuit opinions and, much more significantly, having made a difference in the lives of dozens of clients facing the crushing power of the federal government.

I am also active in my communities.  I served for 10 years on the governing board of UCLA Law’s women’s initiative (since its founding), and I co-founded a social and racial justice group in my small southern California town.  I’m currently managing the campaign of a stellar City Council candidate who, if elected, will be the only Democrat, the only out LGBTQ+ person, and the only renter on our Council.

I’ve used the skills that I learned at Brown every day since I graduated nearly 20 years ago.  It is these skills that allow me to understand, strategize, and problem-solve, no matter the context. They helped me excel at law school. In my practice, they help me connect with clients, judges, juries, and opposing parties; they help me gain command of facts, analyze law, and weave the two into a compelling story; and they help me think strategically and creatively to achieve my clients’ goals.

In my personal life, they help me digest information with nuance and a critical eye; they help me empathize; and they help me recognize and feel beauty.

I’m at a point in my career and life where I’m thinking more than ever about how to make an impact, how I can be a part of making our world more just. I’ve come to see the skills I nurtured at Brown as among my greatest assets in this work."

Learn more about Anya’s legal practice, the community organization she co-founded, and the City Council candidate campaign she’s managing.