Riker Danzig welcomed seven fall associates to the firm: Ruben Attia, Samantha Fitzgerald, Toni M. Mitchell, Daniela Nieves, Spencer Shih, Allison Straub-Dolan and Shelley Wu.
Riker officials said the new class of associates brings a wide range of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to the firm.
Five of the new associates started their careers at Riker Danzig as summer associates. Hailing from a variety of top law schools, including Rutgers Law School – Newark, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Fordham University School of Law, Boston College of Law and University of Maryland School of Law, the seven new attorneys will work in the firm’s commercial litigation, corporate, environmental, insurance, products liability and securities litigation areas.
More than 50% of the class identifies as diverse.
“We are very pleased to welcome such an impressive class of fall associates, and excited that the majority of the class were previously summer associates with Riker Danzig,” Managing Partner Michael O’Mullan said. “Each of our 2024 associates brings notable educational achievements and a great enthusiasm for the law.
“We know they will each contribute greatly to our firm and look forward to helping them hone their legal skills and build strong careers.”
A look at the new associates:
- Ruben Attia: An associate in the firm’s Corporate Law Group, Attia received his J.D. in 2024 from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he served as staff editor of the Cardozo International and Comparative Law Review (Volume VI). He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Yeshiva University in 2020, where he was on the Dean’s List all semesters. Attia began his career at Riker Danzig as a summer associate in 2023.
- Samantha Fitzgerald: An associate in the firm’s Insurance and Reinsurance Group. Fitzgerald received her J.D., cum laude, in 2024 from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where she served as co-president of the Women’s Bar Association and was a staff editor of the Maryland Law Review. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences in 2021. Fitzgerald started her career at Riker Danzig as a 2023 summer associate.
- Toni Mitchell: An associate in the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group. Mitchell received her J.D. in 2024 from Rutgers Law School, where she served as an ambassador for the Minority Student Program. While in law school, she served as a judicial intern for the Hon. Michael A. Shipp, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. Mitchell received her B.A., cum laude, from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Mitchell worked in law enforcement, serving as a patrol officer for the Princeton Police Department.
- Daniela Nieves: An associate in the firm’s Products Liability and Mass Tort Practice Group, Nieves received her J.D. in 2024 from Rutgers Law School, where she was a member of the Minority Student Program and was the 2L rep of the Association of Latin American Law Students. She received her B.A., cum laude, from Rutgers University in 2019. While at Rutgers, Nieves was on the Dean’s List all semesters and a member of the Tau Sigma Honor Society. During law school, Nieves served as a judicial intern for the Hon. Paul Nieves in the family division of the Union County Superior Court. Nieves started her career at Riker Danzig as a 2023 summer associate in the firm’s Minority Student Program, spending half the summer with Riker Danzig and the other half with Crum & Forster.
- Spencer Shih: An associate in the firm’s Securities Litigation, Arbitration, Regulation and Investigations Group, Shih received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 2024. While at Fordham, he was a staff member of the Fordham Law Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal. Shih received his B.A. magna cum laude, from George Washington University in 2021. Shih started his career at Riker Danzig as a 2023 summer associate.
- Allison Straub-Dolan: An associate in the firm’s Environmental Group. Straub-Dolan received her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2024. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Catholic University of America in 2021, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Straub-Dolan started her career at Riker Danzig as a summer associate in 2023.
- Shelley Wu: An associate in the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group, she received her J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2023. While there, she was a submissions editor and podcast editor of the Cardozo Law Review Volume 44 and a Staff Editor for Volume 43. Wu received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Fordham University in 2016, where she was on the Dean’s List all semesters. Following law school, Wu served as a law clerk to the Hon. Greta Gooden Brown in the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division. Wu is licensed to practice in New Jersey and New York.
