Rana spent his 2L summer interning at the Legal Aid Society of NYC in the Juvenile Rights Practice in Staten Island.
My name is Omar Alam Rana and I am a rising 3L at Rutgers Law School's Newark location. I am originally from Oklahoma and I earned my Bachelor's degree at the University of Kansas. I have always wanted to go to law school and work in Public Interest and Rutgers Law School has given me incredible opportunities to help people. As a law student, I have been able to intern and extern at many public sector jobs, take part in two clinics as a Kinoy-Stavis Fellow, and travel to Jordan to do research on refugee law.
I spent my 2L summer interning at the Legal Aid Society of NYC in the Juvenile Rights Practice in Staten Island. I got this internship through the OCI process and I received help in my interview process from Susan Feathers, Professor Jeena Shah, and my career services counselor Elizabeth Acevedo. As an intern in juvenile rights, I represented children who had been abused and neglected and I represented children who were being criminally convicted. On a typical week, I was able to appear in court almost every single day. This helped me hone my trial advocacy skills. I also wrote motions and briefs that helped my legal writing skills. I did many client interviews and home visits that allowed me to really connect with my clients. What I like about working with children is it can be so broad. Legal fields affecting children range anywhere from family law to criminal law to international human rights.
Working at LAS was a dream come true and I learned so much about advocating for underrepresented communities. Children are incredibly vulnerable and advocating on their behalf is needed. I worked with children from all different backgrounds and it reminded me of why I came to law school–to work in public interest and help those who need help. I was an Equal Justice America Fellow and the inaugural Dean Chen Public Interest Fellow this summer to help support my work.
