Biography

Julie A. McGrain is a passionate advocate for both her clients and students. She brings practice experience to the classroom and guides students in practice settings. McGrain currently works as an Assistant Federal Public Defender (AFPD) for the Federal Public Defender’s Office in the District of New Jersey (Camden). She previously served as a Research and Writing Attorney prior to being selected for her current role an AFPD.

As an AFPD, McGrain handles a variety of direct criminal appeals, petitions for certiorari, and post-litigation matters. She has succeeded in securing numerous sentence reductions for clients serving mandatory terms of imprisonment for non-violent drug offenses. In addition to her own caseload, McGrain provides legal research and writing support to trial attorneys, consults with members of the Criminal Justice Act panel on their cases, and teaches at a yearly training seminar for federal criminal defense attorneys. She also supervises her office’s legal interns.

As a teacher, McGrain regularly works with both lawyers and law students. She is a yearly presenter at the annual CJA Seminar hosted by the New Jersey Federal Public Defender’s Office in conjunction with the Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey and the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey. She began teaching as an adjunct faculty member at the Kline School of Law at Drexel University in 2011.

McGrain earned her JD with honors from the University at Buffalo School of Law in 1997 and has been with the Federal Public Defender’s Office since April 1998.