As an undergraduate at San Francisco State University, from which she received a B.A. in urban studies and planning, Rachel Moody, a member of the Rutgers School of Law–Newark Class of 2015, interned with the San Francisco Planning Department. Her experience on the Environmental Analysis Division’s transportation team awakened a dormant interest in the law and made graduate school options less straightforward.
“City planners were often pigeon-holed into niches of expertise,” she observed, while the City Attorney was respected as a generalist in numerous areas of policy and planning, a specialist in the law, and a trusted advisor to many on the transportation team. Moody also noticed that the director in her division and those in many other leadership roles had a J.D. “As I considered my options for pursuing a graduate program,” she says, “I decided that a law degree would both expand my horizons and lift the ceiling on my career.”
A Jersey girl who lived in California for seven years, Moody chose to continue her education in her home state. “In part,” she confesses, “I used grad school as an excuse to make a homecoming. I also understood that relocating would give me an opportunity to develop a new network on the East Coast.”
And while the San Francisco weather made it easier to enjoy her favorite outdoor interests, “to be perfectly honest,” she says, “I never quite acclimated to California’s tempo. There’s just something upbeat and urgent about conducting business and socializing in the greater New York area. I always wanted to return to our fast-paced way of life here. I just couldn’t shake the desire to walk, talk, and work at a brisk pace.”
Moody’s preference for a “brisk pace” is reflected in the decision to accelerate her career by pursuing a dual degree program in law and public policy. In May 2014, she received a master of public policy from the Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. She is on track to receive her J.D. in May 2015.
“Fortitude,” Moody declares, is needed to complete the dual degree program successfully. She will have invested four straight years in earning the degrees, including two full summers and 15+ credit course loads most semesters. “I’ve had to learn to juggle a lot of objectives and focus on simultaneously planning for different goals, but the payoff has been tremendous.” The dual degree has helped Moody distinguish herself as a candidate for legal internships and, she adds, “the legal education has also brought depth to my understanding of public policy issues, especially potential outcomes and unintended consequences.”
The best part of law school for Moody has been exposure to practice through internships. “I have begun to fundamentally grasp the law through experiences outside the classroom.” She has held five different internships (with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General) and in the process has seen what it means to be a lawyer from varied perspectives.
The payoff for working “for free” for a summer or a few semesters is priceless, she offers. “In the public sector, attorneys are energized by an intern’s enthusiasm and grateful for her contributions. To me, the work becomes its own reward.”
As a legal intern, she has been briefed on dozens of cases, participated in strategy meetings, drafted motions and filings, investigated facts, observed trials, depositions, and negotiations. She has heard her research quoted by a judge in court, and read an opinion composed largely of her writing. “Still,” she says, “the most edifying part of my internships has been the relationships I’ve created with talented attorneys. I have learned so much by contributing to their cases, and in return they’ve invested in me with great assignments and generous guidance.”
This past summer Moody interned with the Environmental Enforcement Section (EES) of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). It was her second time working with DOJ attorneys and she cannot say enough about their diligence and dedication to helping courts arrive at a just and fair outcome in every case.
Not that the quality of the experience came as a surprise. She explains: “Professor Steve Gold built his expertise in environmental law through 17 years of lawyering in EES, and sent me down to the DC office with high expectations. Those expectations were exceeded greatly. The EES office has a great work culture, complex, interesting cases, and a tremendously encouraging intern program. I was brought into at least a dozen attorneys’ cases and given substantive work.”
While happy to be back in New Jersey, Moody has had to transition from hiking, her favorite California activity, to bike riding. She incorporates it into her daily commute, riding to her local NJ Transit station every day – rain, shine, snow or slush. “Oftentimes,” she says, “my bike commute is the most pleasant part of my day, but in New Jersey it can also feel like a radical act. I hope that by being a responsible rider, I am a good bicycle ambassador to motorists and maybe inspire others.”
Moody also rides for sport. In Fall 2013 she participated in a 300-mile charity ride from New York City to Washington, DC, raising $2,500 for New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition. Once in Washington, she lobbied her Congressional representatives for more federal funding for traffic studies that properly identify bicycle and pedestrian safety issues.
In the last year of her dual degree “journey,” Moody declares that, despite the challenges, “I am still enthusiastic because I am genuinely passionate about both programs. For me, this dual degree fits perfectly into my career goals: government service, leadership roles, and broad understanding of planning and policy processes.”
Photo Caption: Rutgers-Newark-Law's Rachel Moody ’15 in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on the day she lobbied for more federal funding for traffic studies.
