With an English professor as a father and a research pathologist as a mother, Usha Rodrigues, an associate professor in the School of Law, always knew she wanted to be part of academe. However, she never imagined that her dream would take the shape of a corporate law professor.
“I grew up with Tony Morrison and William Faulkner books on the shelves and retinoblastoma slides projected on the wall as my mother prepared for conferences,” Rodrigues said. “I didn’t really grow up exposed to business or the law.”
However, after earning a graduate degree in comparative literature, Rodrigues decided to specialize in a field with more everyday practicality. This is what led her to law school and eventually to transactional law.
“Transactional law, at heart, is about doing things and accomplishing something positive. You get money for your client. You help your client sell something. You help your client make an investment,” Rodrigues said. “What you are doing day to day actually achieves something in the world or creates something new.”
After law school, Rodrigues clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit then worked as a corporate associate at the firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati. In 2005, she joined the Georgia Law faculty.
“What I really liked about the practice of law is the main thing I love about teaching: explaining difficult legal concepts in a way that general people can understand. That is really what a lawyer does,” Rodrigues said. “A transaction lawyer, in particular, is someone who translates the law for a client. I want to train lawyers who can understand the law and communicate it effectively.”
Rodrigues said she tries to make business law seem less intimidating to her students, particularly those without a business background.
“I start out my corporations class saying all we are going to talk about is relationships,” she said. ‘That is all that corporate law is, and it really is true.”
Rodrigues hopes by taking this approach she can reach out to law students who might not have considered practicing in the business sector.
“I was stunned when I was in law school and realized I didn’t like litigation,” she said. “Law school is extremely litigation focused, particularly in the first year. One of my goals as a professor is to let students know that there is another way to practice law out there.”
In support of this goal, Rodrigues has played an integral role in the development of the law school’s newly formalized Business Law and Ethics Program.
“I find business and business law very exciting and interesting,” Rodrigues said. “When I look up and I see students looking at me who are clearly engaged with the class and what I am saying—that’s really why I do it.”