Success Stories

A 2L with a passion for becoming a criminal prosecutor, this semester, you can often find Haub Law student Madison Lane in New York City. “I am externing at the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, conveniently located near Pace’s undergraduate campus, 1 Pace Plaza. Often, I spend time studying at 1 Pace Plaza before heading to my externship, where I have gained invaluable experience in the field.” Through Haub Law's Prosecution Externship course, Madison is receiving course credit for this experience. Although she has a passion for criminal law, Madison would like to explore the other side of the legal spectrum and will intern this summer with a private civil litigation firm in White Plains, an opportunity she obtained through the on-campus interview process offered at Haub Law.

Madison has always been confident that she would like to pursue a career as a lawyer. She embarked on her law school journey two weeks following her undergraduate graduation and started as a January admit student at Haub Law in 2023. “I continued full steam ahead and took courses over the summer to become a 2L in the fall. So far, I have loved the close-knit environment that Haub Law fosters. I have had the opportunity to become close with professors and other faculty members. There are endless opportunities and resources to take advantage of both on and off campus.”

Alongside her studies, Madison is actively involved in Haub Law’s Advocacy Program and participates in several mock trial competitions, which occupy a significant portion of her time. “It is a big commitment and very demanding, but I would not trade it for anything else. I have had the opportunity to compete in the Tournament of Champions (Fall 2023), an invite-only mock trial competition hosted by the University of Houston. I also competed as a witness for the National Trial League Competition this semester (Spring 2024). The team won the regular season and the championship title for the first time since the school joined the competition in 2020, making the advocates national champions. I also competed in the American Association for Justice student advocacy trial competition this semester (Spring 2024). I advocated for both sides of the case, plaintiff and defense, as just a 2L, and advanced to the regional finals. This program has been a fantastic opportunity to improve litigation skills before entering the workforce.”

Not one to slow down, Madison is also a Junior Associate for Pace International Law Review and is writing a note on the clash between international cultural traditions and the enforcement of universal human rights. She is also a representative for the law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, at Haub Law and was this organization's Vice President and Treasurer while she was an undergraduate student.

Mentorship has been a critical aspect of Madison’s experience at Haub Law, and she is paying it forward through her participation in Haub Law’s peer mentor program and as a Dean Scholar. A Dean Scholar is an upper-level student who conducts weekly review sessions with 1L students to supplement their regular class instruction. “My experience as a 1L student with Dean Scholars was memorable. Being in contact with another student who had been in the same shoes just a semester before was comforting and reassuring. I knew they intended to help me best understand the material, and all of them had worked hard to do so. I think Dean Scholars are unique to Haub Law and have significantly influenced my success in courses and what I have accomplished here at Haub so far. I am so happy to help provide that same reassurance now as a Dean Scholar for Criminal Law.”

Rounding out Madison’s experience at Haub Law so far has been her participation in a Civil Rights Field Study. “One of the most memorable experiences I have had at Haub Law is the recent opportunity to participate in a Civil Rights Field Study and travel to Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama, to learn more about the civil rights movement. I applied to participate in this course, was selected, and, thanks to a generous anonymous donor, attended at no cost of my own. I was able to walk in the footsteps of those who fought for justice and equality and visit historical sites and landmarks that shed light on the struggles and triumphs of the civil rights movement. The trip broadened my perspective, challenged my preconceptions, and inspired me to advocate for change.”

Although it is hard to believe Madison has any free time, she also enjoys crocheting and spending quality moments with her friends. “I also enjoy crime-related shows on Netflix, which should be no surprise!” As for advice for incoming law students, she would encourage them to come in knowing that the path forward will be challenging and competitive, but always make sure to stop and reflect on what works best for them and be proud of all they are accomplishing.

Professor Barbara Atwell joined the faculty at Haub Law in 1986. A health law teacher and scholar, she was also appointed as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in 2009. Prior to joining Haub Law, she clerked in the sixth circuit and worked as an associate with Arnold and Porter. Now, in her 38th year of teaching at Haub Law, Professor Atwell enjoys all of the courses she teaches, with Bioethics and Medical Malpractice having a slight edge as her favorite. Learn more about Professor Atwell's journey to law, her scholarship, and things you may not know about her such as her passion for Feng Shui, in this Q&A.

Q: What was your journey to ultimately becoming a professor at Haub Law?

A: After receiving my undergraduate degree from Smith College, I worked at IBM for three years.  From there, I went to Columbia Law School. After graduating, I clerked for a year on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Still unsure about my career path, I decided to move to Washington D.C. and joined Arnold and Porter as an associate. While I was in law school, I thought about pursuing a career in academia, but it wasn’t until I was working at the firm that I began to seriously consider it again. I had a friend who started teaching a few years before I did, and he encouraged me to pursue a career in teaching. I ended up at Pace in part because of the location, and in part because of the people I met when I interviewed here.

Q: What was your experience working at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit?

A: Working on the Sixth Circuit was amazing.  I had the opportunity to watch many oral arguments – in some ways, it’s like watching a lot of Moot Court arguments because the Sixth Circuit is, of course, an appellate court, so you are watching lawyers come in and make oral arguments every few weeks or so. My responsibilities as a judicial clerk included drafting opinions and writing bench memos. In other words, I did a lot of legal writing, which was quite beneficial for my subsequent positions.

Another invaluable part of my clerkship experience were the people I worked with. Judge Nathaniel Jones had three clerks, and we became close friends, so in addition to being a great learning experience, my time as a clerk was like working with family.

Q: Would you recommend clerking as an entry point before getting out into the legal workforce?

A: Absolutely! Every judge and every clerkship is different, but often times it gives the clerk an opportunity to refine his or her research and writing skills. If you have a chance to clerk for a judge, you should definitely take it because I don’t believe there is anything else quite like it. For me, it truly was a wonderful experience. It also enhances your resume.

Q: What made you want to practice health law?

A: There wasn’t one single precipitating factor that pushed me toward health law. I clerked in the midst of the Reagan Administration when people were losing social security disability benefits.  I remember seeing cases where people who, for example, complained of pain that prevented them from working were suddenly losing their benefits. My recollection is that some of these people lost their disability benefits without any documented change in their medical conditions. Later, at Pace, I began teaching health law when the school was building up the health law program. I volunteered to teach health law, and I’ve been doing so ever since.

Q: What is your favorite course to teach?

A: Well, I really enjoy teaching Bioethics and Medical Malpractice -- that is probably my favorite class. To be honest, I really enjoy all the health law classes.  I’ve also begun to teach Poverty Law, which I also find quite rewarding.

Another course that was special to me was a course I created a few years ago called Great Migrations. I think it was just a 1 credit course, and it was a lot of work because there was no casebook, but I taught things like the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese Internment, Operation Wetback, etc.

Q: How did you get involved with diversity and inclusion at Haub Law?

A: I was appointed as director of diversity in 2009. I was appointed to help ensure that the Law School is a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all genders, races, cultures, ages and abilities.  As Director of DEI, I serve as a resource for students, faculty, and staff and regularly meet with heads of student organizations, assist in planning events, and advocate for certain institutional changes on campus. My role runs the gamut and I truly enjoy it.

Q: You have a number of publications, which were your favorite to work on?

A: The last one I wrote was very interesting to me, From Public Health to Public Wealth: A Case for Economic Justice. This article was in the process of being edited when the pandemic hit.  And since the article has a section on public health, I was happy to be able to edit it before the final publication and add in the current information we had at the time. Things changed so rapidly, though, that even as I added new information, it was quickly becoming dated!

In some ways my article Mainstreaming Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Face of Uncertainty was my favorite to work on because I am a big believer in complementary and alternative medicine. Teaching health law gave me insights into how traditional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine can fit nicely together.

Q: What advice do you have for students?

A: My biggest piece of advice would be to really take advantage of all the opportunities that are available to you as a law student. This includes getting to know professors, participating in student organizations, and getting involved in work outside of the classroom (while not slacking off on class work).

Q: Can you tell me about your certification in Feng Shui?

A: I think it was 2004 when I went to feng shui school. There is a bit of background that goes into this – in 2000, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I attended a yoga class. My yoga instructor had books about Feng Shui. At the time I didn’t know anything about it. My journey of healing led me to acupuncture and to feng shui. In some ways, they are similar in that they are both focused on energy. Acupuncture balances the body’s energy, and feng shui is about balancing the energy of our physical spaces. Feng Shui is really about balance and de-cluttering. I haven’t had time to do much Feng Shui in recent years. When I retire, I will probably dedicate some of my time to Feng Shui.

Q: What is something that your students or fellow faculty do not know about you?

A: I’ll give you a couple of personal tidbits that not everyone knows. First, my children are adopted and so I am a strong advocate for adoption as a way to form a family. Both of my children have met their birth mothers, and my daughter also recently met her birth father.

Second, my partner is a man I started dating in 2014, but we met back in 1976 at the beginning of our senior year in college. I was at Smith College, and he attended Williams College.  We met at a party and remained friends. Although we lost touch for a few years in the middle as we each got married, had kids, etc., we never lost touch for very long.  You never know when a longstanding friendship may evolve into a life-long partnership.

Learn more about Professor Atwell.

It was 4L Ellie Taranto’s own personal journey that inspired her to pursue a career in law. “My older (twin) brother, Dennis, is an expert when it comes to all things YouTube, Raffi, Thomas the Train, and Disney World. Dennis has autism and has limited communication,” said Ellie. “He requires constant supervision for his safety and attends a day program with other adults with different abilities. My mother has been an amazing support system for my siblings as we navigate our lives. When a member of your family has special needs, your entire family's life depends on putting their needs first.” Witnessing her mother first-hand navigate the legal system to ensure that her brother Dennis had proper guardianship, care, and benefits inspired Ellie to want to pursue a career that similarly helped others.

“My first legal job out of undergrad was as a legal assistant at a workers' compensation and Social Security law firm,” said Ellie. “I loved being able to help people in this capacity during difficult periods of their life, but more importantly I learned so much about the legal system.” This job was a turning point for Ellie as she realized that it was through the law that she desired to help others. She has continued to solidify this decision through then working full time as a paralegal in personal injury and insurance recovery prior to and during her time at law school. 

When she applied to law school, of primary importance to her was her ability to not just continue to work while she attended school, but to have the ability to participate in important law school experiences even as a “non-traditional” student. “With the help of Adjunct Professor Lisa Denig, I was able to complete a Guided Externship (or, a "flex"-ternship as Professor Denig and I refer it to) during my 3L year.” Since she was working full-time, Ellie could not participate in a traditional externship or clinic, however, the guided externship allowed her the opportunity to receive class credit while being placed at a company outside of the school, during non-traditional working hours. “This opportunity allowed me to gain invaluable experience in a new and unfamiliar field to me on a schedule that worked best for me. I am forever grateful for that flexibility.”

Ellie is also on Pace Law Review, where she is serving as the Executive Promotions Editor for this school year as they’re hosting the Symposium later this Spring. Ellie notes that “Pace Law Review (and our other two law reviews as well) went above and beyond to make sure that Flex students were offered the same opportunities that were traditionally for full-time students.”

For Ellie, knowing she wanted a career helping others led her to explore law as an option, but it was her work experience that solidified that choice. “By gaining work experience in the legal field, I not only solidified my interest in law, but I also gained other skills that have benefited me in my studies and will ultimately help in my career. I would encourage others thinking about law school to consider volunteering or gaining work experience in law as well before applying to law school to ensure their interest in the field.”

In her spare time, Ellie loves utilizing her Peloton, spending time with her husband and stepson, and taking long walks with her (rescue) dogs, Tucker and Cooper.

When Dan Ruben was a 2L he read a small article in the NY Times about a program at another law school where students were raising money to fund summer public interest jobs. A self-starter, committed to public interest, he thought this program was a great idea and decided to start a similar one at Haub Law, which today, we know as PILSO.

“To get the program off the ground, I went knocking on the office doors of every faculty member. I was surprised and very pleased that nearly all of them took out their checkbooks and made a contribution,” said Dan. “I realized that this idea could grow beyond fundraising at the level of a single school.” Dan describes starting PILSO as the highlight of his law school career. “The issue driving it—the lack of adequate legal representation for so many Americans—is so compelling, the need is so great, that I imagined such an organization could be successful on a national scale. I realized almost right away what I’d be doing when I graduated.”

In 1993, Dan launched Equal Justice America.  His goal upon founding EJA was “to put as many law students and graduates as possible to work on behalf of people in need.” Dan wanted to help law students committed to public interest get hands-on experience that would help them achieve their career goals and thereby the greater good.

“I wanted to see our EJA Fellows become inspired by the work and turn their Fellowship experience into careers devoted to helping others in need. The organization started off modestly but has grown exponentially. In the summer of 1994, EJA awarded five law student fellowships. Since then, more than 6,000 law students have served as Equal Justice America Fellows working with more than 700 legal aid programs across the country. “So many of our EJA Fellows have done exactly what I had hoped.  They’ve devoted their careers to public interest and provide shining examples of how the benefits of our program long outlive the duration of each individual fellowship.”

In more recent years, EJA has started funding post-graduate fellowships. “We currently have post-grad EJA Fellows advocating for domestic violence victims, veterans, young people trying to avoid the school to prison pipeline and human trafficking survivors,” said Dan.  “Another post-grad EJA Fellow’s work is focused on civil rights, racial justice and ending the criminalization of poverty.”

In 2000, Equal Justice America partnered with the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University to establish its Disability Rights Clinic. “I was grateful to the Law School and wanted to give back.”  One of EJA’s Board Members, David Santacroce, was the very first student at Pace to respond to Dan’s call to his fellow students for help launching PILSO. “David and I had conversations with Professor Vanessa Merton way back then and the EJA Disability Rights Clinic was the result of those conversations.”  The Clinic was launched with a major grant and an ongoing commitment from EJA.

Over the years, the EJA Disability Rights Clinic led by Professor Gretchen Flint and more recently Professor Patricia Angley, has helped develop so many students into public interest attorneys and as a result helped so many low-income individuals with disabilities.

When Dan started law school, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. “I was looking for a way to try to do some good. When I had that great success in getting Pace faculty to support PILSO I knew that I was on to something and that I had found a way to use my law degree in a constructive way that would help lots of people who really needed it.”

Over the years, PILSO has remained steadfast in their commitment to helping students launch careers in public service. The student run organization runs public service networking events, career panels, and also collaborates closely with the thriving Public Interest Law Center (“PILC”). PILC was formed at Haub Law in 2009 to unite and expand the public interest programs and career opportunities at the Law School and has continued to grow and expand their initiatives.

In the early 2000’s, Haub Law and PILSO recognized Dan and his trailblazing efforts of founding PILSO and Equal Justice America with a Lifetime Achievement Award. “Dan has done more for the practice of public interest law in this country than any other Pace Law graduate,” Haub Law Professor Vanessa Morton wrote in an e-mail to her faculty colleagues, which was read at the dinner that honored Dan.

Today, Dan is confident he made the right career path for himself in founding PILSO and ultimately, EJA. “The U.S. Constitution rightly guarantees that criminal defendants will be provided with legal counsel.  There is no such right to counsel for people who are unable to afford lawyers in legal matters involving basic human needs - such as shelter, sustenance, safety, health, and child custody.

The Legal Services Corporation estimates that 80% of the legal needs of low-income people are not being met. “That justice gap needs to be closed,” said Dan.   “Unfortunately, what EJA is able to do is really just a drop in the bucket. Legal aid programs need to be better funded to meet the need. However, in our own small way, I believe EJA has contributed to a better and more just legal system by encouraging students to make careers serving others and giving them the opportunity to get the experience necessary to have successful public interest careers. Countless thousands of individuals struggling to keep it together in difficult and often desperate situations have received help from our EJA Fellows during their Fellowships and during their careers as public interest attorneys.”

Equal Justice America is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.  Please consider a donation at http://www.equaljusticeamerica.org.