Hometown: Drexel Hill, PA
Undergraduate School: College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA)
Job: Associate at Ballard Spahr
Experiential Opportunities
I worked at an investment management company before attending Temple’s evening program, and then worked at an insurance brokerage through my third year of law school. I enjoyed the work, and it was a great complement to my legal education. After my third year of law school, I had the opportunity to work at a law firm for the summer. I was faced with a difficult choice – leave a job that I liked, or take a risk and try my hand at private practice. With encouragement from my former colleagues, I left my job to work at the firm for the summer. I look forward to joining that firm as an associate in September.
In my third year, I received the Arthur Pomerantz, Esq. LAW ’72 Scholarship, which goes to a member of the evening program every year. I got to know Arthur and ended up working for him in my final year of school. Arthur operates a solo practice in the Virgin Islands, focusing in the areas of real estate transactions and litigation. I learned a ton working for Arthur and am grateful to have had the experience. The “business trip” to the U.S. Virgin Islands in January wasn’t so bad either.
Student Groups
As an evening student, between my job and my classes, I was extremely pressed for time. But when I was offered a position as staff editor on the Temple Law Review in my third year of law school, I took it. Being on the Law Review gave me the opportunity to improve my research and writing skills.
Favorite Faculty Member
I couldn’t have better things to say about the professors at Temple; it’s very difficult to select one or two. The faculty take turns teaching evening classes, so evening students get the same professors who teach during the day. I also took a number of classes with adjunct professors. Two classes taught by adjunct professors that stood out were Judge Rice’s Evidence class and Professor Broder’s Role of In-House Counsel course.
Jonathan Broder, General Counsel at Conrail, relives the 2012 Conrail train derailment and the life-changing crisis management skills he learned as a result.
Professor Broder’s course taught me a great deal about the types of legal issues in-house lawyers face. We were responsible for giving presentations on these issues to a fictional company’s board of directors. Professor Broder’s course gave me a good idea of what in-house lawyers do, and I will certainly carry the practical skills I learned in that course with me. I also enjoyed Judge Rice’s Evidence class. Going into it, I didn’t think that I would like Evidence, but Judge Rice made it understandable and interesting. Judge Rice teaches Evidence from the perspective of someone who deals with evidentiary issues in the courtroom day in and day out. That, and he’s a great guy. If you have the opportunity to take Evidence with Judge Rice, you will not regret it.
Advice for Future Owls
Find what works for you. Be creative. Get as much experience outside the classroom as you can. I wasn’t sure that I could do the evening program while working. I didn’t need to look further than my mom for inspiration. My mom has balanced a successful legal and business career while raising six kids. In fact, she had twins in her final year of law school! I knew that if she could do that, I could get through law school. And I did.
Temple’s faculty and staff are dedicated to the evening program and are committed to providing students with many of the same opportunities and courses that are available during the day. The convenient location to center city and flexible class schedule gave me the opportunity to get a great deal of business and legal experience while pursuing my J.D. that will serve me well in practice.