Student Spotlight: LLM Student Pinar Kilic

LLM student Pinar Kilic knew she wanted to attend GW Law when she learned about the courses and faculty expertise in the Environmental and Energy Law Program.

Having previously worked at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Project in Turkey as the chief legal expert in the plant’s EPC claim management division, Kilic has a strong interest in energy and sustainability law and chose to come to GW Law to earn her LLM in that area. She is also a recipient of the Randolph C. Shaw Graduate Fellowship at GW Law, which recognizes outstanding candidates in the field.

Kilic said her experience at GW Law so far has helped turn an interest in energy and sustainability law into an expertise. 

“Working with [Assistant Dean of Environmental and Energy Law Kristoffer Svendsen] and benefiting from his knowledge and experience has been especially valuable,” Kilic said. “Our conversations have helped me look at the field with fresh eyes and think more clearly about where I want to take my career.”

Read the full conversation with Kilic below. 

Why did you want to pursue an LLM?

I chose to pursue an LLM because I have always believed that professional experience is most valuable when reinforced by academic study. Law is a broad discipline that touches nearly every area of social life, which makes developing a clear area of specialization especially important. 

For me, an LLM was an opportunity to deepen the knowledge I had gained in practice, strengthen my chosen area of specialization, and complement my civil law background with a common law perspective that would help me approach familiar legal questions in new ways.

Why did you choose GW Law? How did it feel when you were accepted?

I chose GW Law because its energy and sustainability LLM program matched the expertise I wanted to develop. GW Law has one of the strongest programs in the field with a wide range of courses and professors who are leaders in it. The opportunity to learn from these scholars was especially important to me. Being in Washington, DC, right next to the institutions that shape energy policy, made the decision easy.

When I received my acceptance and then learned I had also been awarded the Randolph C. Shaw Graduate Fellowship, which has recognized outstanding candidates in this field, I was overjoyed. Being welcomed by a law school with this much history, and having my work recognized this way, is something I’m very proud of and grateful for. I felt proud of the work that had brought me to that point and grateful for the opportunity.

Why are you interested in energy and sustainability law? How do you see this LLM advancing your career? 

My interest in energy and sustainability law comes from how closely energy connects to everyday life. Energy powers everything from our homes and hospitals to major industries and even artificial intelligence. What interests me is that energy is never only a technical question. Every power plant, pipeline, wind farm, and cross-border project sits inside a web of regulation, contracts, and policy. As economic and environmental conditions change, that web has to be rebuilt, and lawyers are the ones who help build it. The energy transition will only work if it is fair to both people and nature, and I see law as the tool that turns those good intentions into rules that actually hold up. 

My LLM at GW Law is helping me turn that interest into deeper expertise. It is broadening my understanding of energy law and sustainability while encouraging me to examine legal questions from different perspectives. I can already see a wider range of possibilities ahead, particularly in advising on energy projects and the legal challenges of the energy transition.

How has your past experience working at the nuclear power plant informed your legal studies? 

Working at the nuclear power plant gave me the opportunity to be part of an international team alongside professionals from a wide range of backgrounds. It also showed me how closely legal issues are connected to technical, commercial, and operational decisions. I learned to ask questions beyond my own area of expertise and to consider how a legal decision might affect the wider project. I bring that perspective into my studies at GW Law. 

When we discuss energy regulation, risk, or sustainability, I think about how those concepts influence practice and what they mean for the people involved. Having worked on a major energy project, I can contribute a practical perspective to these discussions and connect what we learn in the class with the challenges I have seen firsthand.

What has been the most impactful part of your GW Law experience so far? 

What has meant the most to me so far is learning from the people around me. Working with Assistant Dean for Environmental and Energy Law Kristoffer Svendsen and benefiting from his knowledge and experience has been especially valuable. Our conversations have helped me look at the field with fresh eyes and think more clearly about where I want to take my career. 

That learning continues with my fellow LLM students, who have come to GW Law from all over the world. We each bring different legal backgrounds and life experiences, so even a casual conversation can give me a perspective I had not considered before. Getting to know them as both friends and colleagues has been one of the most rewarding parts of being here. 

The GW Jacob Burns Law Library has also become an important part of my experience. Having such extensive resources available means I can follow up on an idea from class and explore it further. Together, these experiences have made my time at GW Law feel like an ongoing exchange of ideas with something new to learn every day.

What's an Only-at-GW moment that you've experienced?

One of my most memorable “Only-at-GW” moments was our visit to the Library of Congress. While I was amazed by its beautiful architecture and extraordinary history, what made the visit truly special was the personal connection I had to that place. Before coming to GW Law, I graduated magna cum laude from my first LLM program at Istanbul University Faculty of Law, one of Turkey’s oldest and most prestigious law schools. My thesis supervisor Professor. Faruk Kerem Giray had conducted research at the Library of Congress, and his experiences and encouragement played a major role in my decision to pursue my second LLM at GW Law. It was a wonderful feeling to realize that a place I had known through my supervisor’s experiences had suddenly become part of my own story.

What advice do you have for anyone considering pursuing an LLM?

My advice would be to think about the area of law you want to specialize in before choosing an LLM program. If possible, I would also recommend gaining a few years of professional experience first. I think working in the field helps you understand what interests you and what you want to get out of your studies. Beyond academics, it’s also important to make the most of the people you meet and the opportunities available to you. I would definitely encourage anyone considering an LLM to explore what GW Law has to offer.

Learn More about GW Law's Environmental and Energy Law Program