Erinmarie Byrnes ‘23 always had a passion for social justice, and knew she wanted to dedicate her legal career to serving communities in need. Unfortunately, this path is incredibly difficult for new attorneys because the nonprofit sector often lacks the time and resources needed to pay, train, and mentor them. But Byrnes is meeting this challenge head-on thanks to the Maida Postgraduate Public Interest Fellowship, a two-year program specifically designed to support and sustain public interest legal work by graduates of Rutgers Law School.

For new attorneys, a judicial clerkship is an experience like no other. It’s an opportunity to intimately understand the judicial system, collaborate closely with a judge, and fine tune various legal skills in a unique environment. That said, even applying for one of these positions can be overwhelming, and not just because it’s highly competitive—most applicants find themselves juggling a law school career or a full-time position while also compiling and tracking several applications at various stages. The good news is that Rutgers Law School’s Center for Career Development can help carry some of the load.

Please join us in celebrating the distinguished careers of Rutgers Law School faculty who are retiring soon or have retired this past academic year. Each professor has left an indelible mark on the law school community and the legal field around the world.

Whether they met on campus or attended as a married couple, these pairs journeyed through Rutgers Law School together and emerged stronger.

Years of work by Professor Ruth Anne Robbins, her students, and their partners at the NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NJCEDV) culminated on January 8 in the signing of bill A-1475, which requires the court to consider information regarding coercive control in domestic violence proceedings.

The Rutgers Law National Trial Team’s current season has become a season of championships. The National team won their third Championship title in a year this past weekend at the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) National Trial Competition Regional in Philadelphia. Rutgers Law third-year students and team competitors Livie Ruhl, Elizabeth Weinman, and Melanie Zelikovsky earned the Championship title at the Criminal Courthouse in Center City and will compete in the TYLA National Competition in April. Livie also won the award for Best Advocate in the Competition. 

Rutgers Law School’s “The Power of Attorney” podcast is the silver winner in the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Podcast & Media category in the third annual Anthem Awards. This year’s winners were selected from a pool of over 2,000 submissions from 44 countries by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Every year in February, the nation recognizes the history and contributions of the Black community in the United States. There is no shortage of trailblazers at Rutgers Law School who paved the way for generations and altered the course of American history. Here are just a few Rutgers Law alumni who broke ground in their respective legal fields and beyond.

The U.S. Supreme Court has recently made pivotal decisions carrying profound short- and long-term implications and changing the landscape of American law. Rutgers Law professors in Camden and Newark take a look at the most pressing legal issues in 2024.

Thanks to summer internships offered through the Center for Transnational Law (CTL), Rutgers Law students interested in international law and human rights can hone their skills while living and working like a Latin American local. Now accepting applications for summer 2024, these unique internships place students in non-governmental organizations across Latin America where they’ll enrich their classroom education with global, hands-on work.

School of Criminal Justice Professor Sarah Lageson has spent years researching how online access to criminal records—including expungements that are granted but not made public for years–can damage lives and perpetuate inequality.

Meghan DeVol `24 was honored with a law student award from the Philadelphia Bar Association at its Public Interest Law Day celebration on December 5. Each year, the Public Interest Section recognizes one graduating student from each Philadelphia area law school.