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By: Peter John Ciotta ‘25
The wild wild west!! Lawless and untamed. Unfiltered chaos, unexpected turns at every corner and endless surprises. It’s everything the Robert H. Jackson Courthouse is not. The United States District Court for the Western District of New York (located in Buffalo, NY) is a place of rules (and definitely, absolutely ZERO surprises…like seriously, none ever). But rules alone don’t make a federal court run. It is the people there. My experience working as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Lawrence J. Vilardo allowed me to see first-hand a justice system operating in the way I think it should.
The people that make it all happen really do work behind the scenes. I was able to work with an amazing team in Judge Vilardo’s chambers. I would like to give special thanks to Colleen Demma (Courtroom Deputy Clerk), Ann Sawyer (Court Reporter), William Hayes (Law Clerk), Dylan Jarrett (Law Clerk), and Allison Gioia (Law Clerk). All of these people work extremely hard while handling a high volume of work and somehow manage to keep things running in a way that makes defendants feel comfortable, respected, and fairly treated in court. Judge Vilardo and his chambers are everything I hoped that our justice system would be. They humanize complex cases and remind us all that at the end of the day we are all people trying to navigate difficult situations.
Interning in federal court was the best experience I could have asked for as a 1L. I was able to see a wide variety of cases which has helped me to narrow the list of what I might be interested in doing with a career in law. Every day I was introduced to lawyers who shared their experiences and talked about the path they took throughout their career. I cannot say enough about how important that is as a beginner in the legal profession.
I am especially thankful for the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office through their summer speaker series. Every Wednesday, we listed to speakers from different areas of public interest law. I was most captivated by the speaker from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
I would like to end this post by thanking the donors who have so generously partnered with the University at Buffalo School of Law Summer Public Interest Funding & Fellowship Program. Your support has made it possible for countless UB Law students to pursue public interest work and gain invaluable experience in the public sector. I am so fortunate to have received the 2023 Francis M. Letro ’79 & Cindy Abbott Letro Fellowship.
Name: Peter John Ciotta ‘25
Fellowship: 2023 Francis M. Letro ’79 & Cindy Abbott Letro Fellowship.
Placement: Judicial Intern for Judge Vilardo. United States District Court, Western District of New York.
Location: Buffalo, NY
One important lesson I have learned from this fellowship: “The work done behind the scenes creates an atmosphere in court that is fair, respectful, and one that we all hope for out of our justice system.”
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