National Jurist magazine honors a handful of students each year in its “Law Students of the Year” issue. Justin Rhuda JD’19 (below) was a finalist this year, joining Suffolk Law graduates Cherina (Clark) Wright JD/MBA’17 and Cherie Ching JD’16 as recent winners.
“When we were asked whether there might be a student appropriate to nominate, it was Justin who immediately came to mind,” said Dean of Students Laura Ferrari. “Justin earned the highest rank in the class and yet made time to serve the school and the community, all with a calm demeanor, which perhaps you need if you are one of the leaders of the Marine Corps’ first global crisis response company—which he was.”
Rhuda, a U.S. Marine Corps captain from 2010 to 2015, was stationed on a naval ship in the Persian Gulf during Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq) in 2014 and 2015. He was second in command of a 180-person company of “911-style first responders in a team designed to rapidly address crises,” he said.
At Suffolk Law, Rhuda is President of the Suffolk Law Veterans Association and participated in the First Year Summer Judicial Internship Program as a judicial intern in U.S. District Court. Rhuda also is a student attorney in the Juvenile Defenders Clinic.
He worked as a summer associate at Holland & Knight in 2018 and will be a full-time associate in the firm’s IP practice in fall 2019. As part of Rhuda’s pro bono work at the firm, he negotiated with a landlord to help a former U.S. Army prisoner of war avoid homelessness.