Hometown:
Reading, PA
Undergraduate School:
Dickinson College; Carlisle, PA
Temple Law Class:
2014
Post-Graduation Employment:
Law Clerk for two federal judges, the Honorable William H. Yohn, Jr. and the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell; Associate, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Experience Prior to Law School
I grew up outside of Reading, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College.
Clinical Experience
With each clinical, I developed new skills and built upon the ones I had developed earlier. In trial court, I observed how the law operated in practice by observing trials and analyzing pretrial motions. At the appellate level, I improved my writing by drafting non-precedential opinions and bench memoranda.
Overall, my clinical experiences were the perfect supplement to my classroom education at Temple. In the classroom, I learned the law, the policy, and the theory behind it, while in my clinicals, I wrestled with how to actually apply it in a way that was consistent with the jurisdiction’s precedent.
Volunteer Service
As a Temple Law student, I was an Academic Core Enrichment (ACE) Counselor and a member of the Student Faculty Selection Committee.
My time as an ACE counselor was incredibly rewarding. The ACE program helps 1L students adjust to the rigors of law school classes and exams by providing regular lectures on skills like case briefing and exam taking. It is run by one of Temple’s best—Professor James Shellenberger—and each year he recruits 2L students to serve as counselors. I benefited from the ACE program as a 1L and was honored to serve as a counselor my 2L year.
As an ACE counselor, I attended the lectures and talked to 1L students about my experiences. I described where I struggled and how I ultimately overcame certain issues. For example, in my first semester, I did not take many practice exams and thus struggled when taking the real exam. As a result, I took more practice exams the next semester, with much better results on the real exams. By giving 1L students these kinds of practical tips, I felt like I contributed to the school and gave back what was given to me.
Favorite Faculty Member
My positive experience with Professor Green as a 1L motivated me to ask him to be my faculty advisor for the paper I wrote as a 2L staff member on the Temple Law Review. He told me right away that he would be as involved as I wanted him to be; he would look at a few drafts or fifty drafts. I decided to take advantage of his offer to look at many drafts—although not quite fifty. With his guidance and feedback, I wrote a paper that was ultimately published in the Temple Law Review and featured at the Temple Law Student Symposium.
Professor Green also served as an invaluable resource for me while applying for judicial clerkships. He not only wrote me letters of recommendation, but he also helped me prepare for interviews, no matter where he was or what he was doing. When I was preparing for my first interview, Professor Green was in Boston running the Boston Marathon. The interview was the next day, so he had me call him in Boston to talk about the interview, which went way above and beyond his job duties.
Faculty members like Professor Green make Temple an outstanding place to attend law school. They care about more than their own scholarship; they are invested in the learning and success of their students. For that reason, they inspire tremendous loyalty toward them and the school.
What about Temple Law will you carry with you as you leave to pursue your career?
Temple Law reinforced in me the importance of developing strong and lasting relationships with your peers. People commonly perceive law school as a place that rewards only those who are ruthless competitors. While law school is certainly competitive, I found that most of the competitive edges that I gained came from working with other classmates. I will carry this focus on working with others with me throughout my career.