4679 Trad - Rutgers University-Camden

B I S H O P E U S T A C E
TRADITION
T H E M A G A Z I N E O F B I S H O P E U S T A C E P R E P A R A T O R Y S C H O O L
SPRING ISSUE 2009
Over 50 Years of Academic Excellence

Over 50 Years of Academic Excellence
Rutgers School of Law, Home To Former Crusaders
ALUMNI PROFILE by Christine Blom, 2003
Law journals are composed of the most intelligent
people in the law school itself. Rutgers was
fortunate enough to have six former Crusaders on
the Journal of Law and Religion: James Burger ’97,
Lian Skaf ’97, Ed Beitz ’98, Michael Iannucci ’00,
Cameron Morgan ’01, and Christina (Adinolfi) Shea ’01,
According to their mission statement, the Rutgers Journal of
Law and Religion membership is highly selective. “Journal
members must have established themselves as Rutgers Law
School’s top students, both academically and within the law
school community. The Journal is designed to help members
improve their researching, editing, and writing skills, all of which
are necessary to become a successful practitioner.”
“When you take a law school with an average of 200 graduates
per class, roughly 25 percent of the school participates in one of
the three law journals. About eight percent works on the Journal
of Law and Religion,” Skaf said. “With six people all from
Bishop Eustace on the same journal, that says a lot about the
education we received.”
Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion was established in 1999 and
was the world’s first online legal journal “dedicated to the study
of the dynamic interaction between law and religion.”
“The Journal of Law and Religion covers controversial issues.
Most of us wanted to write for a journal that was challenging and
rewarding. Thus, it was not surprising to find so many Eustace
graduates embracing the challenge,” Iannucci, who served as the
Journal’s Editor-in-Chief from 2006-07, said.
“I relied heavily on the Eustace grads, more so than other
Journal members, to accomplish our goals.” While these Eustace
graduates excelled in law school, they were quick to point out
that many Eustace alumni played a significant role in their
professional development.
“As a Eustace graduate, my dad began instilling the Eustace
tradition in me as far back as I can recall,” Shea said. “Knowing
that I wanted to be a lawyer like him, I also wanted to follow in
his footsteps when it came to my high school education.” “The
Eustace community had, and continues to have, an enormous
James Burger
Class of 1997
Undergraduate - Providence
College, 2001
Major: Business Management, Studio
Art minor
Position on Journal of Law and
Religion: Business and Marketing
Editor, 2006-2007
Where is he now? Following graduation
from Rutgers in 2007, James served as a
law clerk to the Honorable Marc
Baldwin of the New Jersey Superior
Court, Civil Division. Following his
clerkship, James is currently an associate
in the litigation department at the
Cherry Hill, NJ office of White and
Williams LLP. 7
Lian Skaf
Class of 1997
Undergraduate – Georgetown
University, 2001
Major: English
Position on Journal of Law and
Religion: Lead New Developments
Editor, 2007-2008
Where is he now? After Lian graduated
from Rutgers in 2008, he began clerking
for the Honorable Francine Axelrad in
the New Jersey Superior Court
Appellate Division.
Edward Beitz
Class of 1998
Undergraduate – La Salle University,
2002
Major: Communications
Position on Journal of Law and
Religion: Lead Articles Editor,
2005-2006
Where is he now? After graduating from
Rutgers in 2006, Edward clerked for the
Honorable Francine Axelrad of the
Appellate Division. Edward currently works
as an associate in the litigation department
and is a member of the Healthcare Group
in the Philadelphia, PA office of White
and Williams LLP. Edward’s practice
focuses on medical malpractice defense.
16 traDitioN, spriNG 2009
bishop eustace preparatory school

Over 50 Years of Academic Excellence
impact on my career,” Iannucci said. “While I was in law school,
I contacted Tom Paradise ’78 through the Crusaders Online
Network.”
Iannucci also reached out to Steve Mignogna ’82.
“Steve has had an enormous impact on my career. I first spoke
with him as a first year law student and four years later I am still
asking him every question that comes to mind.” For Iannucci, it
is not only that both Paradise and Mignogna are extremely
respected in the legal community as excellent attorneys, but the
fact that they were tremendous people. “Both Steve and Tom
are very busy people, but they always manage to take the time
and get back to me. In my opinion, they truly embody what it
means to be a Eustace grad.”
One theme that was common among these recent law school
graduates was the fact that Bishop Eustace stresses such a sense
of community to its current students, families and alumni.
“I would have to attribute Eustace’s close-knit community
environment and dedicated faculty to providing the atmosphere,
education, and motivation necessary to work toward my goal of
becoming a lawyer,” Shea said.
“The one thing that helped me most was knowing how to reach
out to Eustace alumni in the Rutgers Law School,” Iannucci
said. “Law school is designed to be extremely competitive. I
sought out people, like Ed [Beitz], for help, advice and peace of
mind.”
Finally, it was the impact that the faculty, staff and coaches had
some of the most profound impact on the lives of these young
alums. It was at Bishop Eustace where these attorneys learned
dedication, responsibility and discipline.
“As a student at Eustace, I always felt encouraged, respected and
appreciated. It was not only time inside the classroom that
shaped me into a dedicated and hard-working individual,” Shea
said. “Extra-curricular activities, most especially being a
member of the cross-country and track team led by the late Bob
Kiessling remains one of the most significant experiences I had
while I was at Eustace.”
“If it weren’t for teachers like Brother Jim and Mr. Brady who
emphasized points such as close attention to detail, professional
writing skills and discipline, we would not have been prepared
for the legal world, let alone the real world,” Burger said.
Michael Iannucci
Class of 2000
Undergraduate – University of
Delaware, 2004
Major: English, Secondary Education
Position on Journal of Law and
Religion: Editor-in-Chief, 2006-2007
Where is he now? After graduating
from Rutgers in 2007, Michael clerked
for the Honorable John J. Hughes on
the United States District Court for the
District of New Jersey. Michael is
currently working as an associate in the
litigation department for Blank Rome
LLP, in Philadelphia, PA. He also serves
on the Young Professionals Committee
Executive Board for Our Lady of
Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, NJ.
Cameron Morgan
Class of 2001
Undergraduate: University of
Richmond, 2005
Major: Political Science
Position on Journal of Law and
Religion: Lead Notes Editor,
2007-2008
Where is he now? Once Cameron
graduated from Rutgers in 2008, he
went on as Judicial Law Clerk for the
Honorable Joseph Lisa in the New
Jersey Superior Court Appellate
Division.
Christina Adinolfi - Shea
Class of 2001
Undergraduate – Villanova University,
2005
Major: Political Science and Honors
Position on Journal of Law and
Religion: Associate Notes Editor,
2007-2008
Where is she now? Following her
graduation from Rutgers in 2008,
Christina is clerking for the Honorable
Marie Lihotz in the Appellate Division.
WWW.eustace.orG traDitioN, WiNter 2008 17