Krishna Ammisetty JD’24, BA’18 was selected to participate in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Honors Program, a comprehensive two-year program designed to introduce highly motivated individuals to the field of labor law.
Candidates have an opportunity to work directly beside practicing labor lawyers and technical professionals in its Washington, D.C. Headquarters and Regional Offices. As an Attorney in the Field, Ammisetty will act on behalf of the General Counsel by investigating charges of unfair labor practices, resolving, or litigating cases, conducting elections to determine union representation preferences, and acting as hearing officer in contested representation matters.
“The experiences I gained at Vanderbilt have been instrumental in helping me attain a position as a government Honors Attorney,” Ammisetty said.
Ammisetty clerked with the NLRB in Washington, D.C. during his 1L summer, where he found mentors, including Board Member Wilcox and Chief Counsel Jaret, who encouraged his interest in labor law and connected him to the broader labor community. He found the position through Vanderbilt Law’s Public Interest Office, “which has supported me every step of the way,” he said. He spent his 2L summer working at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union in D.C. as a Peggy Browning Fellow.
During Law School, he served as an officer for the Vanderbilt Labor and Employment Law Society and the American Constitution Society. He credits labor law classes taught by Judge Nicole Berner and Sarah Fowler as pivotal in deepening his knowledge of labor law and encouraging his interest in the field.
Ammisetty earned a B.A. in English from Vanderbilt, where he was a Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholar. It was there he was first exposed to unions through campus food workers and adjunct faculty efforts to unionize. He worked at the Legal Aid Society of Tennessee before attending Vanderbilt Law School as a Chancellor’s Scholar.
“I was drawn to labor law because I’ve come to believe that the best way to address inequality in this country and protect the interests of working people is to give them the tools to advocate for themselves,” said Ammisetty. “I believe that while a legal education is an enormous privilege, it also comes with an obligation to do some good. I’m grateful that my Vanderbilt education has prepared me to hopefully do just that.”
