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Alumni Bios

USC Gould School of Law

USC Gould's annual Mentor Lunch can be a pivotal experience for first-year students who are just beginning to explore the legal profession. Just ask Emily Cronin '18.

"I think it was luck that I was at Justice Manella's table at the Mentor Lunch last year," she said. "I kind of won the lottery there."

When Cronin found out Justice Nora Manella '75, a Justice with the Second District Court of Appeal, would be sitting at her table, she did a little research in advance. "She has one of the most fascinating legal careers," Cronin said. "As a woman in law school I have been trying to find other women whose career paths I could emulate in some way."

Over the past four decades, Manella has served as legal counsel to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, a civil litigator with O'Melveny & Myers, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Chief of Appeals in the U.S. Attorney's Office, a judge on the L.A. Municipal Court and L.A. Superior Court, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and a U.S. District Judge.

The respect Manella has earned throughout her career is evident in the numerous awards and distinctions she has received, including the Los Angeles County Bar Association Criminal Justice Section's Career Achievement Award and being named one of the "50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in the United States" by the National Law Journal.

At the lunch, Manella and Cronin hit it off immediately when Cronin mentioned her interest in clerking.

Nora Manella

"I feel pretty strongly that a clerkship is one of the most valuable experiences any lawyer can have," Manella said "It's really your only experience to see — up-close and personal — how judges make decisions, particularly at the trial court level."

Manella gave Cronin her card and told her to call.

"It's important for alumni at that luncheon to encourage the students to follow up, and I would urge students not to be shy about reaching out," Manella said. "If you have practical questions, most USC alumni are happy to share their experiences and help the next generation move forward in their own careers. That's the whole point of the Mentor Lunch."

"Emily really took the bait. She reached out," Manella added. "As her academic career progressed, she did so well that it was clear that she would have a real shot at several prestigious clerkships. She is receptive, bright and promising."

The Justice helped Cronin navigate the federal clerkship application process and decide which firms to interview with for work.

"I'm going to be clerking with Judge Klausner in the Central District. He was one of the judges she spoke very highly of. I submitted my application to him. She also made phone calls on my behalf to other judges she had worked with," Cronin said.

"After that clerkship for a year, I hope to go back to the firm I'm going to summer with, Munger, Tolles and Olson in downtown L.A., and do some sort of litigation. I'm not sure which specialty yet. I'm hoping the clerkship will help me figure it out."

Cronin said she was most impressed with Manella's accessibility for questions about everything from interviews and cover letters to career plans, as well as her genuine enthusiasm and sense of humor. "For someone as busy as she is, she made herself available to me whenever I needed it, and she was so generous in her feedback. Her generosity and trust in me was why I went to USC. I guess I was hoping to find someone like her."

Manella, who received her law degree from USC, Order of the Coif, and was an editor of the Law Review, admitted she has never been to an SC football game. But she has participated in the Mentor Lunch for the past several years.

"I find it tremendously satisfying to help the next generation," Manella said. "If you have been as fortunate as I have in my career, especially if your own career has been positively affected by the support of someone else, you look to find a young person with potential whom you can assist in getting a leg up another rung of the ladder. What better thing can you do for students and your alma mater? It also means that people of talent and diligence are making their way in the L.A. legal community, and that benefits all of us."

Mentor Lunch 2017 will be held Wednesday, Feb. 22.