California ChangeLawyers together with the family and friends of Anjan Choudhury and Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP established the Anjan Choudhury Memorial Scholarship in 2022 to honor the remarkable and yet too-short life of cherished friend, brother, son, partner, board member, mentor and colleague Anjan Choudhury, a prominent entertainment lawyer who worked tirelessly to increase diversity within the legal profession.
Anjan Choudhury Memorial Scholars
As a partner in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson (MTO), Anjan represented major television and film studios, streaming platforms, talent agencies and a wide variety of other companies. He led key client relationships (which is rare for such a young partner) with many of the firm’s most important entertainment clients who routinely turned to Anjan for his insights and counsel regarding their most challenging legal and business issues. In addition to being a trusted advisor, Anjan was a fierce litigator and leader in some of the most challenging cases in the entertainment industry. Among many others, his clients included Disney, Warner Bros., A+E Studios, Netflix, Twentieth Century Fox Television, and Creative Artists Agency.
Anjan brought that same commitment and passion to opening doors, breaking down barriers and dropping down ladders for people of color in the legal profession and beyond. He was dogged in his advocacy, mentoring and the promotion of attorneys and law students across the country. At MTO, he served as co-chair of the Diversity Committee and led the firm’s efforts to recruit and retain diverse lawyers. His numerous and profound contributions include helping envision and co-lead the MTO Fellows Program, a pre-law diversity pipeline program that annually prepares aspiring diverse students for admission to and success in law school. Anjan had an innate ability to spot talent and was exceptionally skilled in investing in, managing and supporting other lawyers to ensure that they reached their full potential.
Outside the firm, Anjan served on several non-profit boards, coached high school debate (a former debate champion himself), was actively involved in mentoring attorneys through bar associations, and worked to advance access to justice through a commitment to pro bono matters and public service. He was the governance committee chair and a member of the executive committee of the board of directors for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, as well as a member of the board of directors of the California ChangeLawyers. Anjan was also a president and a member of the steering committee of the board of directors of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California (SABA-SC). In 2017, Mr. Choudhury was awarded Mentor of the Year by SABA-SC. He served on the board of governors for the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County (APABA) and as a member of the executive committee of the Fulfillment Fund Leadership Council’s Board of Directors.
Early in his career, Anjan served as a clerk to Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served as an editor and Supreme Court chair of the Harvard Law Review. He received his B.A. from George Washington University where he received Phi Beta Kappa honors.
Perhaps most importantly, Anjan was a wonderful, supportive brother who loved to explore the world with his beloved sister Tanya. He was an avid fan of live music, excellent food and his dog, Blu. He shared these passions generously with his friends, his family and his colleagues, creating community and building connections at every opportunity.
Anjan possessed an irreplaceable and rare combination of brilliance, passion, grit and a heart of gold who inspired everyone around him to be a better person and a better lawyer. The legal profession is more diverse, talented and caring because of his tireless work. He accomplished more in his too-short career than many of us can hope to achieve in a long one. His legacy lives on through each of the many lives that he touched, and he continues to inspire us to pay it forward. A legacy which will carry on with this Memorial Scholarship and through the amazing careers and journeys ahead of the recipients of the Anjan Choudhury Memorial Scholarship.
