Raquel Y. Bristol, Esq. is a 1992 graduate of Rutgers College and a 1997 graduate of Rutgers Newark Law School, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Juris Doctor, respectively.
After graduating law school, she served as Judiciary Law Clerk to the Hon. Katherine R. Dupuis, J.S.C., at the New Jersey Superior Court in Union County. Subsequently, she practiced for two years as an associate of Lynch & Lynch, LLP, specializing in personal injury insurance defense in both New York and New Jersey. Thereafter, she worked at LexisNexis/Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. as Legal Editor of law school publications in the areas of Conflict of Laws, Criminal Law and Procedure, Federal Courts, Civil Litigation and Procedure, Family Law, and Juvenile Law.
In 1995 she began working as an adjunct instructor for Essex County College’s Humanities Division where she taught developmental Reading and English, as well as college-level Writing courses until fall 2008. She served as and adjunct instructor at William Paterson University circa 2001 where she taught taught college-level writing classes.
In fall 2002, she instructed her first Legal Research and Writing Course for Essex County College’s Legal Assistant Studies Program. She went on to instruct the Advanced Legal Research and Writing course in spring 2003.
Also in fall 2002, Ms. Bristol also developed, researched and taught a seminar at Rutgers College entitled: “Topics in American Politics: The Black Woman and the Criminal Justice System.” This exposure to criminal justice issues piqued her interest in both criminal and constitutional law, and led her to pursue her current position.
Ms. Bristol is now an Assistant Deputy Public Defender for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. She practices criminal appellate advocacy including case analysis, issue framing, and court appearances and brief-writing. The appeals she handles may address issues that are specific to the client or may have a larger constitutional effect. As a part of her advocacy, Ms. Bristol has appeared in the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court.