Jessy Leifer, Attorney-At-Law

My family is originally from New York City, but I grew up outside of Washington, D.C. After college, I worked as an international human rights defender for non-governmental organizations like Freedom House and International Crisis Group. I moved to Newark in 2015 when I decided to go to Rutgers-Newark for law and graduate school. I currently live in the Ironbound neighborhood with my partner, a Newark native, and our dog, a Puerto Rican native.

I am committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as demonstrated by my past experiences. I continued my human rights efforts while in law school, working in the International Human Rights Clinic and Constitutional Rights Clinic, and interning with the International Legal Foundation, Amnesty International, and Open Society Foundations’ Justice Initiative, where I decided to focus on human and civil rights work within the United States. For two years I worked as a Law Clerk in the immigration law firm Jane Orgel, PC in New York City. After, I worked as a law teacher with the Newark Board of Education for over a year, instilling an underprivileged and vulnerable population of high school students with a legal foundation that empowered them by ensuring they had competitive career skills upon graduation, as well as opportunities to further their education. I also have experience in New Jersey Landlord-Tenant court and consumer debt negotiation. 

I am passionate and dedicated to making the voices of the voiceless heard, ensuring their rights and freedoms are respected, and advocating for underrepresented, disenfranchised, and vulnerable populations, especially within my community.