On Saturday, May 18th, 2013, the Joint Minority Bar Judicial Internship Program (“JMB JIP”) held its 2013 Orientation Program for judicial interns at the New York office of Gibson Dunn.   

This year, JMB JIP received one hundred and twenty-two (122) applications for judicial internships.  After reviewing applications and conducting numerous interviews, JMB JIP was able to place twenty-nine (29) rising second and third year law students in judicial internships with judges/justices in various federal and state courts in New York and New Jersey, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York State Supreme Court – Civil and Criminal Terms, New York City Civil and Criminal Courts and the New York State Court of Claims.

During the 2013 Orientation Program, JMB JIP Directors Rahul Agarwal, an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and William Ng, an Associate at Littler Mendelson, provided a brief overview of the New York State and Federal Court systems.  Emily A. Kim, Chief Legal Officer of the Success Academy Charter Schools, then taught a legal writing and research course, entitled “Tackling Assignments Successfully,” which was followed by an intensive and interactive legal writing assignment that required the judicial interns to analyze and revise a legal brief.  Ms. Kim has taught her legal writing and research course to JMB JIP for the past three years and each year her course continues to be extremely well-received by participating interns.

JMB JIP’s Orientation Program ended with a career panel of former and current judicial law clerks, including Goutam U. Jois, an Associate at Gibson Dunn and former Law Clerk to Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and Judge Chester J. Straub of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals; Jay Kim, Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Jenny Rivera, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals; and Richard Tsai, Principal Court Attorney to Justice Michael D. Stallman of the Civil Branch of the Supreme Court of New York, New York County.  During the panel, Mr. Tsai led a discussion on chamber protocols and ethics for judicial interns, which was followed by a lively discussion on how to succeed as a judicial intern as well as the benefits of a judicial clerkship.

JMB JIP would like to thank Gibson Dunn and Chief Diversity Officer Zakiyyah T. Salim-Williams for hosting and sponsoring this year’s orientation program as well as all of the speakers for volunteering their time to contribute to a successful event.

JMB JIP would also like to thank Simpson Thacher and its partner bar associations for their continued contribution and sponsorship in 2013.  JMB JIP’s partner bar associations include: the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY), the Asian American Law Fund of New York (AALFNY), Association of Judges of Hispanic Heritage (AAJH), Black Bar Association of Bronx County, Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA), Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA), and the South Asian Bar Association of New York (SABANY).