Janika Best

Janika Best is an associate at Connell Foley and a member of the firm's Product Liability and Tort Law, Commercial Litigation, and Franchise and Distribution Groups.

Prior to joining Connell Foley, Janika served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Siobhan A. Teare, J.S.C. in the Superior Court of New Jersey – Essex Vicinage, Criminal Division. In this role, Janika assisted in the management of the criminal, civil and family docket, which included performing relevant legal research, analyzing applicable legal theories, and drafting official judicial decisions. Before attending law school, she worked as a legal assistant for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP in their New York offices. She also served as a paralegal for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in the Alternatives to Incarceration Unit.

Janika's Note "Where Is My Seat at the Table: How Informed Consent Laws Foster the Legacy of Slavery and Discrimination Against Black Women" was published by the Women’s Rights Law Reporter, Vol. 41: Issue 1/2, Fall 2019.

Janika received her J.D. from Rutgers Law School, Newark, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Women’s Rights Law Reporter, a clinical law student with both the Rutgers Intellectual Property Clinic and Child Advocacy Clinic, and secretary of the Northeastern Region Black Law Student Association. She received her B.A. in Criminal Justice and Economics from the University at Albany, SUNY. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and has admission pending in New York.

Professional and Community Affiliations

• Essex County Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division