Rachel Moseson worked on trial research and sat in on hearings at the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Rachel Moseson
Rachel Moseson spent the first few weeks of her summer internship sitting in on a national security trial as one of her responsibilities at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
Moseson, a 2L, said she and other summer interns worked on a variety of assignments to assist Assistant U.S. Attorneys who were preparing cases.
“It was an amazing experience. I assisted with discovery and production, strategy research, evidence review, and general trial prep, including moot sessions,” she said. “Ultimately, the defendant pled guilty on the day of jury selection, but the hands-on, immersive trial prep experience I gained was invaluable.”
She added that she wrote research memos on criminal and civil matters and attended hearings and trials at court. At the end of her internship, she took part in a criminal mock trial under the supervision of an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Moseson, who is a staff editor for the Law Review, said her internship will definitely help her achieve her goals of attaining a clerkship after graduation, working in litigation at a large firm and ultimately, becoming a judge.
This fall, she will be a judicial intern for the Hon. Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice for the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Ardinez Domgjoni '17 stands with Susan Blount, the General Counsel for Prudential, where he interned last summer.
Ardinez Domgjoni
Ardinez Domgjoni ‘17 has a passion for commercial litigation and a deep interest in public policy, including economic development.
A graduate of Fordham University and a Governor’s Executive Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Domgjoni said he knew he wanted to be a lawyer in middle school, after emigrating to the United States from his native Albania. As a member of his middle school law team, he said, “I learned to cultivate the love of words, an important tool for lawyers.”
This summer, Domgjoni worked as a summer associate for Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., doing the same types of tasks as junior associates – including drafting pleadings, writing research memos and preparing for FINRA (securities dispute) arbitrations. He was exposed to a variety of legal specialties, including securities, insurance, employment, franchise, family, probate and professional liability law.
“I truly felt like a contributing member of the team,” he said. “I learned so much by contributing to the work of talented attorneys at the firm, and in return they invested in me with great assignments and generous guidance.”
A member of the Minority Student Program, Domgjoni said he’s benefitted from the support provided by the program, through mentorship and relationships with students and alumni.
Besides working at Bressler, Domgjoni was a summer intern for Prudential Financial last year, working in the legal department’s enterprise regulatory law group and was a judicial intern for U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton during the fall semester of his second year. He is a Teaching Associate for the first year legal writing program this fall.
Mark Marsella spent his summer training with the United States Marine Corps.
Mark Marsella
Mark Marsella’s goal is to become a Judge Advocate for the United States Marine Corps. He started that journey this summer at Officer Candidate’s School in Quantico, Virginia, where he went through a vigorous training program with other Marine Corps officers.
For 10 weeks, Marsella ’18 took part in intensive training on military academics, physical fitness and leadership and took daily classes and passed weekly tests on military knowledge, including the Uniform Code of Military Justice and International Rules of Engagement.
From May 28 to August 6, he also took part in a number of physical fitness tests, including obstacle courses, long-distance runs and simulated combat scenarios. He was screened by his peers and sergeant instructors to see if he could function in a stressful environment. By week nine, nearly 20 of the original applicants had dropped out, he said.
But his hard work over the summer paid off. Marsella was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, and remains on inactive duty while he finishes law school. Once he graduates and passes the bar exam, he will attend a six-month military school, called Basic School, which is required for officers and ten weeks of Judge Advocate School. When he completes all of that training, he will become a Judge Advocate.
At Rutgers, he is a member of the Law Review and the Public Interest Law Student Association Executive Board.
Conner Ouellette was a summer intern at the District Attorney's Office in New York.
Conner Ouellette
Conner Ouellette ’17, the co-president of the Criminal Law Society, spent his summer as an intern with the trial bureau in the District Attorney’s Office in New York County.
There, he conducted research for cases, such as looking into whether a defendant’s gang membership is admissible in court and conducting research about a defendant’s right to remain silent following a conviction.
He said he also assisted attorneys in developing case theories, drafted briefs for trial courts, and prepared to be second seat at a felony trial, “This internship has been a fantastic opportunity to further fine tune my research and writing skills, as well as gain hands-on litigation experience.”
While at Rutgers Law, Ouellette has been secretary of the Public Interest Law Student Association, participated in the Baker Mock Trial Competition and has been a member of the Law Review. This fall he is an articles editor for the Law Review.
After graduation, he has lined up a clerkship and plans to pursue work in criminal or civil litigation once his clerkship is over.
Ouellette encouraged students to get involved in law school and said his involvement has helped him towards his career path, “I think that these experiences and my other work experiences in criminal litigation were a big part of securing this internship and my post-graduate clerkship.”