By Taylor Paraboschi
“I’m very excited to have received this award. I really have to pinch myself when I remember that I was chosen from a pool of applicants at law schools across New York State,” said University Law student Nia Jackson, who was this year’s winner of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Minority Fellowship award. The Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Minority Fellowship is a $5,000 award given out yearly by the New York State Supreme Court to students who exhibit great scholarly excellence, along with other personal qualities of excellence.
Jackson is completing her first year at the University’s School of Law, and has previously received a International MBA from Pepperdine University, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Spanish Language and Literature from Villanova University.
Jackson has also traveled to various South American countries, studying business and gaining the opportunity to study various aspects of South American culture. Jackson noted in her biography, which was submitted along with her application to the Foundation last December, that it was during this period in her studies that she decided that she wanted to obtain “a better understanding of Commercial and Federal Litigation in America.”
Jackson added that while the application for the fellowship seemed time consuming and detailed at the time, it turned out to be quite easy to complete. “I submitted my application to The New York Bar Foundation this past December. The process was not extremely difficult,” said Jackson. “It seems easy in retrospect, but while I was putting everything together I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect so, at the time, it was rather tedious. I’m totally grateful to the professors who wrote recommendations for me and everyone who grammar checked my documents,” she added.
“I’ve always been interested in the law, but I knew that I wanted to practice it once I learned how important it is to our daily lives,” Jackson said when asked why she chose to pursue a career in law. She added that it was because of her travels around the world that she was able to see the various types of legal systems deployed in numerous countries, and how deeply they impact the daily lives of the people who live there.
“It was a few years ago that I decided that the best way for me to have an impact on my community and the world, while fulfilling my personal goals, was to pursue a career in the law,” she added.
Along with the $5,000 award, Jackson will also get the opportunity to work in the Chambers of the Honorable Eileen Bransten this summer. Jackson looks forward to this job opportunity and considers it a valuable learning experience for her future. “[Bransten] has had a wonderful legal career and has also used her career to help others, which is very admirable. I look forward to learning many things during my time in her chambers,” she said.
Jackson added that while she does not know exactly what working for Bransten will entail, she has heard that internships such as these include both conducting extensive research and writing. Jackson confessed that this is the part of the internship that “excites her” because she finds this part of the legal process to be an “invigorating challenge.”
While completing her time here at the University’s School of Law, Jackson plans on concentrating her studies on commercial and federal litigation. She cited her parents as one of the reasons why she chose to concentrate on this type of law. “Commercial litigation is one of my interests because I was raised by two entrepreneurs who taught me a lot about business,” said Jackson. She added that studying commercial and federal litigation will also be a good opportunity for her to learn more about “commercial litigation in the U.S.,” and then apply it to a career in “domestic or international practice in law.”
Despite her ambitious goals in foreign litigation and in depth case analysis, Jackson is most looking forward to the immediate benefits and experiences she will receive from this fellowship. “I’m even more excited about the broad range of cases, briefs and types of lawyers that I may be able to see. It’s also nice to be able to focus on classes instead of looking for a summer position,” said Jackson, adding that she wishes her fellow law students success and luck in all of their endeavours. “I truly wish all my classmates the best in finding the perfect position for themselves also.”