Jessica Utnick

Jessica L. Utnick is an Associate in the Public Law group at Scarinci Hollenbeck, based in the firm’s Little Falls office.

Before joining the firm, Jessica served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Charles F. Kenny in the Family Division of the Hudson County Superior Court. In that role, she prepared legal and factual analyses across a wide range of matters, drafted bench memoranda, written decisions, and dispositive orders, and conferred regularly with the Judge on legal and evidentiary questions. She also helped manage a high-volume docket, conducted consent conferences that guided parties toward negotiated agreements, and served as a mediator in Special Civil Part cases.

Much of Jessica’s legal training centered on research, writing, and advocacy with real stakes. At the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice, she drafted a memorandum advocating for a client’s actual innocence that led to an exoneration in December 2024. She also co-headed a testimonial project whose resulting white paper advocates for passage of the Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act. As a clinical student with Appellate Advocates, Jessica researched and wrote a criminal appellate brief for the Appellate Division, Second Department, and argued in a mock oral argument before appellate attorneys.

Earlier, as a law clerk with the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network, she contributed research and writing to Know Your Rights voter and election guides and worked alongside public interest attorneys on legal advocacy strategies.

Jessica earned her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, in Psychology from Binghamton University.