Law school is grueling for anyone, but even more so when your first language isn’t English.
For Andrea Miceli, who graduates in May from Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law, his Italian roots presented challenges that ultimately became a formative part of his legal education.
Mastery of the law, he says, “required deliberate engagement with language, careful attention to detail, and a disciplined approach to writing and analysis.”
Raised in rural southern Italy, Andrea’s path to the U.S. legal system involved intensive study and dedicated mentorship from Quinnipiac University and ONU Law faculty, who helped him refine the precision required for English legal writing.
A series of internships cemented his interest in a law career, he said. He interned in the appellate division of the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office, and the Ohio First and Third District Courts of Appeals.
While interning with the Public Defender’s Office, he argued a real case involving a 6th amendment issue before the Ohio First District Court of Appeals, right after completing his first year of law school. At the conclusion of his argument, well-respected judges on the panel, including Judges Bock, Kinsley, and Crouse, complimented him and extended the invitation to return the following summer to intern with their court.
Such an experience was reinforced during his last year of law school, while interning at the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals, under the supervision of Judge Willamowski, performing staff attorney and administrative counsel-level work. Since Andrea’s initial work was exemplary, the Judge began giving him cases that are more advanced than what he would typically assign to other students.
His experiences growing up also shaped his interest in law.
While his family wasn’t directly impacted, the area where they lived in southern Italy was dominated by the ’Ndrangheta (organized crime). As he wrote in an article for the ONU Int’l Law Journal, the ’Ndrangheta challenged the rule of law, while brave anti-mafia prosecutors in the region, such as Judge Gratteri, pushed back.
“Judge Gratteri is the first who highlighted to me the importance of the role of law as a mechanism to preserve democratic values,” said Andrea.
Having seen how legal work transforms life, Andrea is ready to advocate for justice. After passing the bar, he will join the Ashtabula County Public Defender’s Office.