Mr. Watkins clerked for the Hon. Robert W. Sweet of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  He has also served as a Court Attorney in the Housing Part of New York City Civil Court.

Mr. Watkins graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was a Ray Eder Scholar, Chayes Fellow, Henigson Human Rights Fellow, and Articles Editor for the Harvard Journal on Legislation.

During law school, Mr. Watkins led a group from the Harvard Law Student Advocates documenting the effects of American nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands.  Mr. Watkins presented the group's findings to a joint meeting of the Senate Energy and House Resources Committees staff.  Separately, and at the request of the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Marshall Islands, Mr. Watkins co-authored an extensive re-drafting of the Marshall Islands Rules of Criminal Procedure, which was subsequently adopted by the Parliament.  Practicing as a student attorney, Mr. Watkins also represented clients in the areas of consumer fraud, bankruptcy, and public housing.

Mr. Watkins received his bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 2000, with a double-concentration in economics and public policy.  Mr. Watkins has worked as a management consultant, co-directed a startup non-profit corporation, and volunteered as an English teacher in the Marshall Islands.