Brooklyn Supreme Court interns thrive under Judge Maslow’s guidance

On some mornings, the line to get into the Supreme Court building on Jay Street stretches all the way out of the building, around the corner and up Johnson Street towards Brooklyn Bridge Boulevard.

Anyone who isn’t an attorney or court staff has to wait in the line from the airport-style security checkpoint at the door, but a select group of students get to show a security badge and skip the line.

These are the summer judicial interns, and among them are Sam Allenson, Daniel Denaroso, Allen Livitz, Jennafer Mukofsky, Stephan Toljan, Huda Tombul and Israel Yunatanov, who all work in the building in the chambers of the Hon. Aaron D. Maslow, Justice of the Supreme Court for Kings County.

What makes Justice Maslow’s chambers interesting is the fact that he is a Civil Term judge who sits in the Criminal Term building and that he has eight judicial interns working in his chambers this summer.

“It’s kind of a running joke around the floor where chambers are that Judge Maslow has so many interns,” said Toljan, a rising 2L at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. “I’m not sure how many interns would be considered normal or average, but apparently, eight is a lot.”

“I would imagine, though, that it’s more normal for the interns to all be law students because we are usually the ones who need the experience,” Toljan said. “But Judge also brought on some non-law students this summer, which I think is unique for them, especially given that Judge loves to teach, and he explains complex legal issues in an easily digestible way.”

Specifically, there are two non-law student interns who form part of the roster for Judge Maslow’s chambers: Sam Allenson and Huda Tombul.

Allenson is a rising first-year student set to begin studying at NYU in the Fall. When asked why he decided to work for a judge this summer, Allenson said, “This internship encouraged my dream to pursue law and gave me a taste of what that dream could look like. It allowed me to have hands-on experience where I did things like write decisions and sit down with lawyers to conference cases.

“These experiences and the unique opportunity to have them are why I chose to intern for Judge Maslow this summer.”

Tombul is a rising senior at Baruch College. When asked the same question, she said, “This internship was a perfect opportunity for me to see both sides of legal disputes without being tied to either one. As a result, I was able to assist with the background work that goes into running our judicial system and making sure that justice is served.”

Among the new faces is a familiar one, that of Mukofsky, a rising 3L at CUNY Law School who has been working in chambers since last summer.

Aside from reviewing motions submitted to the court by litigants, Mukofsky is also in charge of all of the interns, which includes handing out assignments and ensuring that all of the work gets done on time.

Appropriately, her title is “Senior Intern.”

“Balancing chambers and school has been both a challenging and rewarding experience. All of the work coupled with Judge Maslow’s unique insight has given me a greater understanding of the law, which has helped me immensely in law school,” Mukofsky said about her role in chambers.

Judicial internships are common for rising 2Ls, as students have established a good foundation of legal knowledge, research skills, and writing ability, and the internship offers the opportunity to put those skills to use in real-life scenarios.

When asked about how working in a judge’s chambers compares to school. Livitz, a rising 2L at New York Law School, said, “In law school, it’s more or less do as you’re told without really getting creative. Judge Maslow had confidence in us to craft memos and write decisions, letting us sit in the driver’s seat.”

About her experience, Lee, a rising 2L at Cornell Law School, said, “Throughout this internship. I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the intricate details of litigation and the decision-making process. Thanks to Judge Maslow’s mentorship. I have also been able to contribute to the resolution of complex legal issues and assist in crafting decisions.”

In describing what makes working for Judge Maslow unique, Toljan said, “Judge Maslow believes very strongly in teaching through doing, so I can say for my part that I was always encouraged to really push myself to do challenging work that I otherwise may have shied away from.

“Aside from that, Judge Maslow always wanted us to know more, and he treated us to lunch very often, during which people in the legal community from all different backgrounds would come in and talk to us about what they did. I’m very grateful for those experiences because I don’t think I would have found that with another judge.”

Recapping his experience, Livitz said. “It has been a very rewarding summer, and I could not be more grateful for this opportunity.”