One would assume that influence mainly characterizes people with years and years of experience in their fields. However, the list we have compiled for you today will clearly show you how the right amount of determination can get you where you want, regardless of if you’re a fresh college graduate or a policy maker with 40 years of experience.
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We would like to present you with the top 6 lawyers and policy makers under 30, based on the 30 under 30 list released by Forbes Magazine earlier this year. Curious to see who are most influential young stars in public policy and law? Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 6: David Demirbilek
Age: 28
Demirbilek is a counsel for the Department of Homeland Security and the Governmental Affairs Committee. His current job description revolves around outlining fraud, duplication, and waste in countless areas, from the National Park System to federal civil services. Demirbilek also played an active role in the Accountability Office Improvement Act, which is presumed to be signed into law sometime in the near future.
No. 5: Leif Dautch
Age: 28
Former student at Yale and Harvard Law, Leif Dautch is nowadays the Deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice. Up till now, Dautch has not only argued, but also won 12 criminal cases in California’s Court of Appeal. He was also a member of the Obama campaign and worked alongside Judge Carlos Bea on the Ninth Circuit.
No. 4: Adam Chandler
Age: 29
Graduate of Rhodes College, Adam Chandler became the youngest lawyer to ever handle antitrust appeals for the Federal government. Moreover, he was the first starting attorney to get hired in the Antitrust Division in over 18 years.
No. 3: Amanda Brown
Age: 28
National political director Amanda Brown, postponed law school at Chicago University, in order to work for the Obama campaign. Her calculated risk paid off, as she is now in charge of the Rock the Vote campaign, meant to attract young voters through a variety of digital strategies and civic engagement programs.
No. 2: Josh Blackman
Age: 29
At just 29 years of age, Blackman is an assistant professor at the Houston South Texas College of Law, who also doubles as a writer covering the US Supreme Court, tech policy, and constitutional law. In September 2013, he published a critically-acclaimed book entitled Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare. In his spare time, he manages FantasySCOTUS, which is a prediction market and Supreme Court Fantasy League.
No. 1: Nate Levine
Age: 22
At only 20 years old, while still a sophomore at Stanford University, Nate Levine founded OpenGov, a platform meant to aid governmental agencies with their decision-making process and financial reporting. The data collecting tool envisioned by Levine is reported to impact over 7 million people around the US as it works with countless school districts, municipalities, and local government agencies. The startup raised $4 million in funding in 2013 alone.
