Eight Rutgers Law students have been chosen for prestigious clerkships with justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court and will be clerking post-graduation. They include: Sabah Abbasi RLAW '21, Pierre Avalos RLAW '21, Pati Candelario RLAW '21, Kaitlyn Flynn RLAW '21, Eric Garcia RLAW '21, Justine Jacobs RLAW '21, Colin Sheehan RLAW '20 and Yaffa Stone RLAW '21. The students are from the law school's Newark and Camden locations. Read more about them below:
Sabah Abbasi is a 3L in Newark and will be clerking for Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. She is Associate Managing Editor of the Rutgers University Law Review and a student attorney in the housing section of the Civil Justice Clinic. As an Immigrant Rights Fellow at the law school, Sabah successfully represented clients in the Immigrant Rights Clinic before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and helped develop a weekly pro bono DACA Renewal Clinic with Make the Road New Jersey. Last summer she interned for the Legal Aid Society’s Exploitation Intervention Project, which provides immigration relief for trafficking survivors charged or convicted with prostitution-related offenses. In her 1L summer she interned at the Brennan Center for Justice, and before coming to law school she was an investigative analyst at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Sabah graduated with a B.S. in Public Health and a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
Yaffa Stone will clerk for Chief Justice Stuart Rabner upon graduation. She grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. She attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick for undergrad, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and Economics. She also received a certificate in American Politics and Public Policy from the Eagleton Institute of Politics. After graduation, Yaffa moved to Cherry Hill. She is now a 3L in Camden, where she is an Executive Editor on the Law Review and a Hunter Appellate Advocacy Fellow. In the summer of 2019, Yaffa interned for the Honorable Michael Haas in the New Jersey Appellate Division in Westmont. She also externed for the Honorable Joseph Rodriguez in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey last spring . This past summer Yaffa worked as a summer associate for Archer Law in Haddonfield.
Pierre Avalos is a third-year student in Newark. Pierre has always been defined by his grit, love of fitness, and passion for advocacy. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Law and Human Rights Journal, a member of the National Trial Team, and a Teaching Fellow with the Minority Student Program. He graduated from Montclair State University, summa cum laude, majoring in Jurisprudence and Political Science. He also earned his M.A. in Law and Governance from Montclair State University, receiving high honors for his thesis work. Pierre interned for the Honorable Esther Salas last spring. In the summers of 2019 and 2020 he worked for Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, where he will return as an associate after clerking for Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis RLAW '06.
Pati Candelario is currently a Law Fellow at the Center for Security, Race and Rights in Newark. She also serves as a teaching fellow in the first-year legal writing and contract law courses. Before joining the legal community, Pati was a Teach For America corps member and a distinguished teacher for five years, receiving recognition for her excellence teaching on local, regional, and national levels. She was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence for the State of Delaware in 2015 for her activism in the community for her work toward educational equity. She started the first chapter of Youth in Government, a national mock legislation and moot court program, in her school district and her students went on to compete at the national level. Pati received her Master’s degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University in 2018. Her interests include constitutional law and education. Pati maintains a website that provides educators with curriculum development, educational resources, and strategies to increase access to education and advocacy in their classrooms and communities. Upon graduation, Pati will be clerking for Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis RLAW '06 for the 2021-2022 term.
Kaitlyn Flynn is a third year student in Camden, graduating in May 2021. After graduation, she will be clerking at the New Jersey Supreme Court for Justice Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina. Following her clerkship, Kaitlyn will be headed to Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O'Connor as a Litigation Associate.
Eric Garcia, a 3L student in Camden, was born in Middletown, New York, and grew up in Pine Bush, New York. He attended got a bachelor's degree in political science at Stockton University, where he discovered his passion and interest for the law. Rutgers was his first choice for law school. He interned at FMC Corporation his 1L summer as a PDLG fellow and at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis his 2L summer, and will be returning as a litigation associate post-clerkship. He also previously externed for Judge Robert B. Kugler at the District of New Jersey. Garcia served as the managing articles editor for Journal of Law and Public Policy. He is thrilled to be clerking for Justice Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina in the 2021-2022 term. He hopes to better understand the development of the law and the court’s role in it while at the same time being exposed to legal writing and research experience.
Justine Jacobs hails from Washington Township, New Jersey. She holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s from The New School. Prior to enrolling at Rutgers Law, she oversaw marketing initiatives at Technicolor PostWorks New York, the largest film and television post-production facility on the East Coast. Now in her 3L year, Justine is an Executive Editor with the Rutgers University Law Review and Law Clerk at employment and civil rights firm Costello & Mains. She will be clerking for Justice Lee Solomon.
Colin Sheehan graduated Order of the Coif from Rutgers Law in Camden in 2020 and summa cum laude from Rutgers University in 2018 with a B.A. in Political Science. He earned his degrees through Rutgers’ six-year Bachelor’s/Juris Doctor program. Sheehan was a Best Brief winner and Board Member for Hunter Moot Court, Staff Editor on the Journal of Law and Religion’s New Developments subsection, and Eagleton Fellow. He also externed for Judge Robert B. Kugler at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Sheehan currently clerks for Judge Richard S. Hoffman of the New Jersey Appellate Division. He will be clerking at the New Jersey Supreme Court for Justice Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina.