Six questions with Camila Rhoden, visiting scholar from Brazil

Rhoden is a graduate student at the Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul School of Law in Brazil who will be with KU Law through the end of February. She recently collaborated with Professor Stephen Ware and co-authored a paper with him titled “Consumer Debt Relief in Brazil and the United States: A Partial Convergence with Brazil’s Consumer Over-Indebtedness Law.” The paper will be published in the Connecticut Journal of International Law in the coming months. 

Tell me a little about yourself. Why did you choose law?

I am an attorney and a master’s student in Brazil. I am from Porto Alegre, the capital of the southernmost state of the country. I do not have the kind of story that goes, “Oh, my parents were lawyers, and I decided to follow the same path.” On the contrary, my entire family works in the medical field, but, for some reason, I have always been certain that I wanted to study law. I entered law school intending to work in criminal law, as I have always enjoyed investigative TV series and similar content, but I fell in love with business law in my second year of law school, especially insolvency law. I have been working in this field ever since.

Why did you choose to come to KU Law?

When I was a child, I lived in the United States for some time because my parents completed their doctoral degrees at Harvard. In some ways, that experience led me to develop a strong connection with the United States, and American culture ended up accompanying my personal growth. My academic path was no different. From the very beginning of law school, I participated in research groups focused on comparative law, which led me, as an admirer of Professor Stephen Ware’s work, to reach out to him so he could supervise the development of an article. We ultimately co-authored an article, which is scheduled to be published in the coming months. Through this process, we established a connection, and I shared with Professor Ware that my master’s dissertation would be a deeper exploration of the ideas developed in our article. Coincidentally, Professor Ware had planned to teach courses on this topic in February, which led me to decide to come to KU, allowing me to have closer contact with U.S. law in order to enrich my master’s dissertation.

What are your professional goals for your time at KU Law?

While I am at KU, I want to make the most of all the resources the law school provides, from access to classes to access to a wide range of books and research platforms that I would not have access to in Brazil, to gather data for my research. With this experience, I intend to complete my master’s dissertation, which focuses on a comparative analysis of civil insolvency and Brazil’s over-indebtedness law in comparison with Chapters 7 and 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

How does the academic and research environment at KU Law differ from your home institution?

I am completely delighted with the academic environment at the law school. I feel that KU offers a range of resources that my law school in Brazil does not, especially in terms of books and research platforms. In addition, I have been able to conduct empirical research for my work thanks to Professor Ware’s efforts to introduce me to practitioners in the field who are able to provide practical insights into this area of law that no book can fully convey.

What are your favorite things about Lawrence so far?

As I live in a large city, I was very excited to spend a month in a small city like Lawrence. I am finding everything truly amazing, as the city offers both quieter neighborhoods and more lively areas, such as the bar district along Mass Street. I really enjoy walking, so I take advantage of Saturday mornings to explore the city on foot. That said, I must say that my favorite place here is still the university, especially because of everything it offers — study spaces, the gym and basketball games. I truly hope to return here in the future, whether as a researcher working on new projects or simply as a tourist.

What advice would you offer to other scholars who may want to do research abroad?

I would tell other scholars not to let fear or nervousness about spending time away from home and from our usual routines prevent them from living this experience. During my time in the United States, I have been learning a great deal about life itself and about our responsibilities — things that go far beyond academic studies.