TRADITIONT 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

Over 50 Years of Academic ExcellenceSPRING ISSUE 2009

B I S H O P E U S T A C E

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Over 50 Years of Academic Excellence

Rutgers School of Law, Home To Former CrusadersALUMNI PROFILE by Christine Blom, 2003

James BurgerClass of 1997

Undergraduate - Providence College, 2001

Major: Business Management, Studio Art minor

Position on Journal of Law andReligion: Business and MarketingEditor, 2006-2007

Where is he now? Following graduationfrom Rutgers in 2007, James served as alaw clerk to the Honorable MarcBaldwin of the New Jersey SuperiorCourt, Civil Division. Following hisclerkship, James is currently an associatein the litigation department at theCherry Hill, NJ office of White andWilliams LLP. 7

Lian Skaf Class of 1997

Undergraduate – GeorgetownUniversity, 2001Major: English

Position on Journal of Law andReligion: Lead New DevelopmentsEditor, 2007-2008

Where is he now? After Lian graduatedfrom Rutgers in 2008, he began clerkingfor the Honorable Francine Axelrad inthe New Jersey Superior CourtAppellate Division.

Edward BeitzClass of 1998

Undergraduate – La Salle University,2002

Major: CommunicationsPosition on Journal of Law and

Religion: Lead Articles Editor, 2005-2006

Where is he now? After graduating fromRutgers in 2006, Edward clerked for theHonorable Francine Axelrad of theAppellate Division. Edward currently worksas an associate in the litigation departmentand is a member of the Healthcare Groupin the Philadelphia, PA office of Whiteand Williams LLP. Edward’s practicefocuses on medical malpractice defense.

Law journals are composed of the most intelligentpeople in the law school itself. Rutgers wasfortunate enough to have six former Crusaders onthe 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 ofLaw and Religion membership is highly selective. “Journalmembers must have established themselves as Rutgers LawSchool’s top students, both academically and within the lawschool community. The Journal is designed to help membersimprove 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 graduatesper class, roughly 25 percent of the school participates in one ofthe three law journals. About eight percent works on the Journalof Law and Religion,” Skaf said. “With six people all fromBishop Eustace on the same journal, that says a lot about theeducation we received.”

Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion was established in 1999 andwas the world’s first online legal journal “dedicated to the studyof 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 andrewarding. Thus, it was not surprising to find so many Eustacegraduates embracing the challenge,” Iannucci, who served as theJournal’s Editor-in-Chief from 2006-07, said.“I relied heavily on the Eustace grads, more so than otherJournal members, to accomplish our goals.” While these Eustacegraduates excelled in law school, they were quick to point outthat many Eustace alumni played a significant role in theirprofessional development.“As a Eustace graduate, my dad began instilling the Eustacetradition in me as far back as I can recall,” Shea said. “Knowingthat I wanted to be a lawyer like him, I also wanted to follow inhis footsteps when it came to my high school education.” “TheEustace community had, and continues to have, an enormous

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Over 50 Years of Academic Excellence

Michael Iannucci Class of 2000

Undergraduate – University ofDelaware, 2004

Major: English, Secondary EducationPosition on Journal of Law and

Religion: Editor-in-Chief, 2006-2007Where is he now? After graduatingfrom Rutgers in 2007, Michael clerkedfor the Honorable John J. Hughes onthe United States District Court for theDistrict of New Jersey. Michael iscurrently working as an associate in thelitigation department for Blank RomeLLP, in Philadelphia, PA. He also serveson the Young Professionals CommitteeExecutive Board for Our Lady ofLourdes Medical Center in Camden, NJ.

Cameron MorganClass of 2001

Undergraduate: University ofRichmond, 2005

Major: Political Science Position on Journal of Law and

Religion: Lead Notes Editor, 2007-2008

Where is he now? Once Camerongraduated from Rutgers in 2008, hewent on as Judicial Law Clerk for theHonorable Joseph Lisa in the NewJersey Superior Court AppellateDivision.

Christina Adinolfi - SheaClass of 2001

Undergraduate – Villanova University,2005Major: Political Science and HonorsPosition on Journal of Law andReligion: Associate Notes Editor, 2007-2008

Where is she now? Following hergraduation from Rutgers in 2008,Christina is clerking for the HonorableMarie Lihotz in the Appellate Division.

impact on my career,” Iannucci said. “While I was in law school,I contacted Tom Paradise ’78 through the Crusaders OnlineNetwork.”Iannucci also reached out to Steve Mignogna ’82.“Steve has had an enormous impact on my career. I first spokewith him as a first year law student and four years later I am stillasking him every question that comes to mind.” For Iannucci, itis not only that both Paradise and Mignogna are extremelyrespected in the legal community as excellent attorneys, but thefact that they were tremendous people. “Both Steve and Tomare very busy people, but they always manage to take the timeand get back to me. In my opinion, they truly embody what itmeans to be a Eustace grad.” One theme that was common among these recent law schoolgraduates was the fact that Bishop Eustace stresses such a senseof community to its current students, families and alumni. “I would have to attribute Eustace’s close-knit communityenvironment and dedicated faculty to providing the atmosphere,education, and motivation necessary to work toward my goal ofbecoming a lawyer,” Shea said.

“The one thing that helped me most was knowing how to reachout to Eustace alumni in the Rutgers Law School,” Iannuccisaid. “Law school is designed to be extremely competitive. Isought out people, like Ed [Beitz], for help, advice and peace ofmind.” Finally, it was the impact that the faculty, staff and coaches hadsome of the most profound impact on the lives of these youngalums. It was at Bishop Eustace where these attorneys learneddedication, responsibility and discipline. “As a student at Eustace, I always felt encouraged, respected andappreciated. It was not only time inside the classroom thatshaped me into a dedicated and hard-working individual,” Sheasaid. “Extra-curricular activities, most especially being amember of the cross-country and track team led by the late BobKiessling remains one of the most significant experiences I hadwhile I was at Eustace.”“If it weren’t for teachers like Brother Jim and Mr. Brady whoemphasized points such as close attention to detail, professionalwriting skills and discipline, we would not have been preparedfor the legal world, let alone the real world,” Burger said.