News & Events Grace O’Brien accepted onto 1st Circuit Court of Appeals internship programme

Grace O’Brien, a final year student in the BCL (Criminology and Criminal Justice) degree programme, has interviewed for and been offered a prestigious internship with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.  She is assigned to Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, who was appointed to the federal appellate bench by President Barack Obama in 2010 and assumed senior status on the court in 2022.

Ms O’Brien obtained the internship through the summer exchange programme between the School of Law and Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, which is directed in Galway by Larry Donnelly and Dr Conor Hanly and by Professor Sara Dillon in Boston.  Dozens of students have obtained invaluable legal and cross-cultural experience on both sides on the Atlantic since the programme was founded.  The partnership agreement between the two law schools also includes a popular annual summer school on the campus of the University of Galway.

Ms O’Brien is the first student in the history of the exchange programme to be awarded an internship at the federal appellate level.  This June and July, she will divide her time between Judge Thompson’s offices in Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.  The School of Law extends hearty congratulations to her on this extraordinary achievement and wishes her the very best with this tremendous opportunity.

More details about the Suffolk Law Programme can be found at: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/business-public-policy-law/school-of-law/students/careeropportunities/internships/suffolk/