GPI Speaker Series: Careers in Criminal Law

Please join us for our first panel in a four-part series highlighting a range of government and public interest careers. The program will cover a range of careers in criminal law. Hear what it is like to practice in these areas and ask for advice from our panelists:

Shamieka Rhinehart, Durham District Court Judge, formerly with the Durham District Attorney’s Office
Judge Rhinehart joined the District Court bench in Durham County in 2017.  She ran county wide and was elected to the position in 2016. She is a graduate of the University of NC and NC Central School of Law. She was a prosecutor for eleven years before running for judge. She has been extensively involved in the Durham Community is a wide range of capacities.

Phillip Rubin L’11, Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of NC
Phillip Rubin is a graduate of Duke University School of Law, has a Master of Psychology from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. During law school he interned with the U.S. Department of Commerce and Covington & Burling. After graduating, he clerked for Judge Sentelle on the DC Circuit and then returned to Covington & Burling in DC.  In the summer of 2014, he became an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  He works in the Appellate Division handling criminal cases before the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and post-conviction matters before the US District Court for the EDNC.

Sneha Shah L’14, ACLU of NC
Sneha Shah is a Staff Attorney at the ACLU of North Carolina where she focuses on civil rights and public defense.  She joined the ACLU in early 2018 after several years as an attorney with the Center for Family Representation in NY. The Center is a non-profit providing holistic services to families in crisis to allow children to live safely with their parents.  Immediately following graduation, she was a law fellow at the Legal Aid Society of NY doing public defense and working in the Trafficking Victims Advocacy Project.  While at Duke Law, she externed at the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, and interned at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in DC, the Advancement Project in DC and the Greenlining Institute in Oakland, CA.

Samantha Grill L’12, Mecklenburg County Public Defender in Charlotte, NC
Samantha Grill is an Assistant Public Defender in the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office. She received her undergraduate degree from The College of William and Mary and her law degree from Duke University’s School of Law (class of 2012). She was a member of the Wrongful Convictions Clinic and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy during her time at Duke Law. Samantha has been an Assistant Public Defender for six years and currently represents individuals charged with property crimes. She is also active in the North Carolina Racial Equity Network and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice.

Sponsored by the Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono, the Career and Professional Development Center, and the Government and Public Service Society (GPS). Lunch will be provided, please bring your own beverage. For more information, contact Stella Boswell (boswell@law.duke.edu).