Though law students are no strangers to research, it’s rare for their work to land on the floor of a governing body and lead to concrete legal change, all before they pass the bar. But that’s just what happened after Professor Ruth Anne Robbins reached out to members of the New Jersey Legislature and offered to help advance two significant bills.

Every year, the Rutgers Law School–Camden Alumni Association convenes for its annual awards ceremony, designed to honor notable alumni and raise funds for its long-standing Scholarship Fund, which has benefitted as many as 10 students every year since its launch in 1983. This year, the fund and ceremony are both sporting a new name in honor of the late James J. Florio, New Jersey’s 49th governor.

 Queens, New York judge vacated the conviction of Armond McCloud, 49, who was forced to falsely confess at age 20 to the 1994 shooting murder of 22-year-old Kei Sunada. Mr. McCloud was incarcerated from August 8, 1994 until his release on parole on January 31, 2023.

The newest class of Rutgers Law School students has the distinction of having the largest female enrollment in the law school’s history. Of the 400+ full-time and part-time students who began their law school journey last week, 59% of the class is comprised of women. 

At Rutgers Law School, learning happens both inside and outside the classroom. As a result, its faculty is—by design—one of the finest and most diverse groups of legal scholars and clinical practitioners in the nation. This year, eight new professors join the ranks, each boasting their own scholarly and clinical expertise as well as a zeal for teaching the next generation of legal minds.

The Rutgers Law School Housing Justice & Tenant Solidarity Clinic in Newark is representing tenants filing two lawsuits over the deteriorating condition of their building.

At the beginning of this year, a group of entrepreneurs and advocates convened for the first session of Rutgers Law School’s new Certificate in Cannabis Law and Business. Over the course of the six-month program, they learned about the rules and regulations impacting New Jersey’s cannabis industry as well as what it takes to fund, launch, and run a compliant cannabis business in the state. A core team of Rutgers instructors from across the law school and university was enhanced by more than 30 guest speakers including medical practitioners, compliance specialists, legislators, business owners, lobbyists, and advocates, all focused on charting the way forward for the emerging industry. By the conclusion of the program in July, 18 students earned their certificates and solidified their place within a growing network of cannabis professionals.

Lana Ivory Lee ‘23 was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic Award, designed to celebrate a student who has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in the clinical practice of intellectual property law. She was awarded on August 1, 2023.

Rutgers Law students Jacob Honesty ’25 and Emily Konell ’25 were among six exceptional Rutgers-Camden students who participated in the 2023 Chancellor’s Mayoral Internship Program. Rutgers-Camden Chancellor Antonio Tillis founded the eight-week summer program as part of his “15 in 5” slate of initiatives introducing students to the wide range of ways to make a difference in public service careers.

The New Jersey Innocence Project at Rutgers University (NJIP) has helped exonerate a Hudson County man who served 20 years for a crime he did not commit. Dion Miller, now age 54, was released from prison on July 27. He was represented by NJIP Director, Professor Laura Cohen, and Managing Attorney, Nyssa Taylor.  Mr. Miller was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Romeo Cavero in 2007 and sentenced to a term of 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Newark native Mubdi R. Sanni-Thomas ’23 wants to be a corporate attorney. Since high school, he says he has wanted to deal with business transactions, including negotiating, drafting contracts, and all aspects of the transactional side of the law, in addition to counseling corporations on various legal matters.

A group of globally recognized scholars met at Rutgers Law School in Newark for two days to present their work on comparative enforcement of international law and engage in an intense discussion on international and comparative law.