Entering the Lion’s Chambers

The Hon. Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. CC’78 and Robert Staenberg CC’18 in the judge’s office.

Interning at a federal court is an important step for law school students interested in public service. Now imagine getting that opportunity as a 21-year-old Columbia College student.

For two months this past summer, Robert Staenberg CC’18 interned in Newark, N.J., in the chambers of the Hon. Joseph Greenaway CC’78, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the Third Circuit. Staenberg was the only college intern in the building — a far cry from where the Santa Monica, Calif., native thought he’d be spending a college summer.

Staenberg applied to Columbia College as a creative writing and English major. Following the Columbia Summer in Paris: Arts and Music Humanities program, which he was able to do thanks to the Beesen Global Travel Fellowship, he noticed a shift in his interests toward history and international relations, and especially public service. This shift, in part, drew him to an internship with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in fall 2016 and also to apply for the Columbia College Alumni-Sponsored Student Internship Program through which he interned for Greenaway, a University trustee.

“Throughout the summer, the judge allowed me to sit in on discussions, and so I had the unique opportunity to watch him come to a decision on a case and thus see the law form in front of my very eyes. This alone would have been worth a summer, but it has only been the tip of the iceberg.”
— Robert Staenberg CC’18

Staenberg also learned a great deal from Greenaway’s clerks, who are law school graduates of Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard and Yale. “Despite the fact that they each know almost infinitely more about the law than I do,” Staenberg says, “they consistently engaged me in substantive dialogue, treating me like a colleague.”

This was key because while the disparity of law knowledge between a college student and others working in the chambers is significant, Greenaway says, “There’s nothing like youth to understand what’s going on culturally. Collectively, over time, being around college students does a lot for your psyche and your intellectual curiosity – it’s enormously valuable.”

This reciprocity contributes to why Greenaway has offered this exclusive summer spot to College students for many years. He says, “Mentoring is a lot about learning about yourself. I think one’s mantra should be ‘How do I improve?’ and one improves as much by receiving as one does by giving. I’m giving a College student a unique opportunity, but I want enthusiasm in return … Someone who isn’t just doing well on exams but who also is edified in what’s going on in the world, has an opinion and is willing to share their opinion, because what’s important in chambers are robust exchanges.”

Staenberg’s enthusiasm was evident when he interviewed for the summer position, even though he says he was initially intimidated by the façade of the courthouse. “When it was my turn, back in the day,” adds Greenaway, “I was equally petrified, but I think it shows a great appreciation on his part that it is an unbelievable opportunity. [Staenberg] is a fun, interesting and thoughtful young man and he’s smart because he knows that the more he listens the more he’ll learn. I think he enjoyed the environment — and we enjoyed having him!"

As for Staenberg’s takeways from the experience, Greenaway keeps an open mind: “I’m not trying to proselytize. My objective is not that he says public service is his life or that he eschews private practice. The one thing I hope for Columbia College students in this position is that they get exposure to the judiciary in a way that they wouldn’t otherwise and that they have an experience that will edify and inform them. If it also entertains them from time to time and might inspire them, that’s all good.”

Reflecting on the summer, Staenberg agrees: “I leave this office inspired by both the people and the process, equipped with a newfound interest in law. As I have watched the American understanding of justice shift, expand and contract, I have realized that our laws are the articulation of our society — what we value, who we were, and who and what we hope to become. That is worth a summer.”