Cheering Each Other On

April 15, 2013 at 10:04 pm

I was studying at a coffee shop. Writing a feminist jurisprudence paper about human trafficking, arguing (via the paper) with Catharine MacKinnon’s conception of sex work. My phone rang – it was my dad calling.

“Hi Elizabeth.”

“Hi Dad.”

“Where are you?”

“Uh, a coffee shop.”

“Where?”

“In Cambridge, why?” I was vaguely annoyed at this point. He interrupted my academic reverie, and I was studying with two friends, in a busy coffee shop. Not the ideal place for a chat.

“Have you talked with Allison?” he asked. Allison is my 19-year-old sister, a freshman at Northeastern University.

“No, whyyyyyy?” I asked, annoyance creeping into my voice.

“Oh,” he said. “Well, I was just checking. There’s, um, there’s apparently been some sort of explosion at Copley. Near the Marathon finish line. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t near there.”

“No,” I said. “No, no, I’m fine.” And we chatted another minute, then hung up.

One of the friends I was studying with looked up from her laptop. “An explosion,” she said. “At Copley.”

Suddenly, conversation erupted around us. Words floated in and out of my brain and ears: explosion. Copley. Maybe a manhole or something? No. Bombs. Two of them. Bombs. Marathon. At Copley.  Words pierced me, and  I felt my panic level rise. Explosions. Blood. Limbs. In my home.

Friends and I had been watching the Marathon shortly before this phone call. We had just left, actually, to get lunch and to study (exams and final papers are coming up), when my phone rang. I tried to work out was going on, to put my panic at bay, but I kept thinking about friends, hoping they were safely ensconced in the law tower, deep in Mergers and Acquisitions outlines. And then it hit me – why my dad had asked about Allison. My little sister is a college freshman.

“Wait – I – “ I stared at my friends. “I – I just realized, I realized why my dad asked about my sister.” Of course she would be watching the Marathon. Everyone in Boston watches the Marathon.

I tapped the contacts screen on my phone, but couldn’t tap her name. My hands were shaking too badly. Finally, I managed to call her, but no dial tone. I set the phone down. Blood pounded in my head as I tried to clear my panic to think clearly.

“Too much cell traffic,” said one of my friends, watching me. “You should try to text.”

I picked up my phone again, and saw that it was exploding with texts from friends and family, out-of-town and in Boston. My screen and Facebook newsfeed became a blur of: “Are you okay?” and “I’m fine.”

Texts between my sister and me. We do generally use punctuation/grammer.

I texted Allison, and quickly received a response. She was fine, safely at Northeastern. I replied I was also fine, safe in Cambridge. But for those few minutes, while I tried to get in touch with my littles sister, and with friends, I was terrified. More terrified than I have ever been in my entire life.

I’m no longer terrified, but my heart is still racing and my thoughts are disjointed. It’s shocking, really, to see my home in the international news, but my home as I’ve never seen it. Covered in smoke and shattered glass.

I love the Marathon. Runners, dressed in bright clothes and sweating like nobody’s business, start in Hopkington in the mid-morning, then run 26.2 miles into downtown Boston. Pretty much everyone in the Boston-Metro area lines the route, cheering on the runners. Each time a runner passes, the crowd, several people deep on each side, bursts into applause, blows horns, chants, “You can do it!” and “Keep going!” People train for months, years to run a really crazy long distance, proof of what human spirit and hope and strength can do, reiterating a persistent belief that we can get there. As they run, sweaty, pushing themselves, working as hard as they possibly can, they’re surrounded by us, cheering them on.

In one second, laughing, cheering, clapping transformed to screaming, running, bleeding.

But that one second is so overwhelmed by the many, many seconds that followed it. When that bomb went off, journalists and firefighters and police officers and regular people who were just there to watch loved ones ran toward the smoke. People helped. We donated blood – so much blood, in fact, that the Red Cross tweeted that really, they were good with the blood, thanks. First responders stepped forward. Regular people offered our apartments and houses, no questions asked, to runners from out of town who weren’t able to get back to their hotels.

Boston is recovering. We’re strong. But we need people cheering us on.

By Elizabeth McIntyre | Posted in In the Community | Comments (0)

Moot Court and Mock Trial

April 15, 2013 at 2:18 pm

This week I had my 1L appellate moot court oral argument, and I also volunteered as a ‘witness’ for a friend’s clinic mock trial. Today’s blog will compare the two experiences.

First, this week marked the much anticipated final assignment for the 1L writing program: the appellate oral argument. My argument concerned whether evidence of conduct that takes place outside of work is admissible in Title VII sexual discrimination claims. I’ve spent the last month or so researching to make the argument that such evidence should be admitted. The oral argument was the ultimate test of how well I’d come to understand the law surrounding this question, and  how well I could argue for my client.

For our moot court argument me, my writing partner and our two opposing partners met in the Stone Court Room at BU. The big room felt so empty with just four of us there! Then the clerk told us to rise and our judges – two upper classmen and a faculty member – entered and took their seats. We each had 15 minutes to make our arguments. A few things were surprising about this process; I would not have imagine them this way when I first started law school. First, because these were appellate arguments the facts were not as much at issue as the law. Second, we had no jury – the case was completely in the hands of the judges. Third, during these arguments the judges constantly interrupted us and asked us questions. I had thought before entering law school that the oral argument would be more of a speech, but it was really a question and answer session with our judges, who had already read our briefs and knew the case very well. It felt good to try something new and to know that we’re done with one of our classes for the year!

Second, on Friday I volunteered to be a witness in a friends mock trial for the Employment Rights Clinic. This case also concerned Title VII sexual discrimination claims, so it was especially interesting for me to see how another such case went. For this role, I had to read a 15 page fact pattern that was my character’s ‘sworn deposition’. I had to memorize the names of other characters in the facts, dates that important events took place, and my character’s personal situation. I went over all of this a few times with the attorney’s on my side of the issue, and read the questions they would ask me on the stand. I didn’t know exactly what the other side would ask me, though so I had to read all the facts and remember as much as possible.

On the day of the mock trial I tried to dress as convincingly as I could (I was supposed to be a 41 year old mother of two and a law professor). I, the other witness, and the jurors sat outside the courtroom for about a half an hour at the beginning of the trial while the two sets of lawyers negotiated some issues of evidence and procedure. We then entered the courtroom and the trial began. Unlike the moot court exercise, this mock trial was done at the trial level – so the facts of the case and the rules of evidence were critical.  A BU alumnus who was an experienced trial attorney served as the judge, and ruled on every question of evidence and procedure that came up.

After opening statements from both sides, I was called to the stand. I was nervous at first that  I would forget something, but after a few minutes I eased into it and had fun playing my part. It reminded me a lot of improvisation. I knew I couldn’t mess up the facts, though, because the attorneys on both sides were counting  on me, so I paid as close attention as I could. After about half an hour, examination, cross examination, and redirect were over and I was done with my job. I was pleased to hear my friend won at least one of the claims in his case and I had fun helping them and seeing what a mock trial was like.

 

By debarton | Posted in Academics | Tagged | Comments (0)

Springtime in Boston

April 15, 2013 at 1:06 pm

It’s a beautiful spring day here in Boston, and because I’ve been studying all weekend and I’m not in the mood to write about anything related to law school, here are some things I’m loving about this time of year:

1. Patriots’ Day

Today is Patriot’s Day! Huge perk of going to law school in Massachusetts. Honestly, it’s like they knew back in 1775 that I REALLY needed just ONE extra day to outline for Property.

Imagine this: the semester is flying along, you can read for classes and still have some fun on the weekends, spring break comes and goes, summer job is secured, and all of a sudden you realize your exams are in less than three weeks and you start having heart palpitations. But then wait, what’s that? The state of Massachusetts has it’s own holiday to celebrate the American Revolution and it means you don’t have class on Monday?!

Thank you, Massachusetts.

2. Red Sox fans

I live in the Fenway/Kenmore area, and this means that periodically my neighborhood is filled with tons of excited people wearing assorted pieces of clothing that say “Red Sox” on them. Couples, families, groups of friends… it’s a mass migration from the T stop to the stadium, and on to the restaurants and bars afterwards.

Yeah, I’m sure I’ll get sick of them eventually, or at least get jealous that they’re out watching baseball/drinking/soaking up the sun while I’m inside busy being pale/sober/stressed about exams. But, for now, watching the stream of happy fans go by while I’m studying in Starbucks is a welcome distraction.

3. The Boston Marathon

Patriots Day is also Marathon Monday! My neighborhood is around mile twenty-five, and this morning I got to see several handicapped runners (unbelievable), as well as several of the leading male and female runners. Now, I’ll spare you the whole metaphor about how 1L year is like a marathon, but I will say that there’s something undeniably inspirational about a marathon. Before today I had never seen one in person, but the atmosphere is just electric. Even back in my apartment I can hear people cheering for friends, family, and strangers pushing themselves to the finish line.

Anyways, that’s a taste of my first spring in Boston! Hopefully I’ll add to this list in the next few weeks!

 

*Update*

About two hours after I posted this, I was no longer enjoying the jubilant atmosphere of the city but instead trying to make sure friends and family were accounted for after two bombs went off near the marathon’s finish line. My thoughts go out to all those personally affected by the tragedy, and I hope that the incredible spirit of this city endures as we move forward.

 

By clarussa | Posted in In the Community, Social Life/Boston | Comments (0)

Out of the Park

April 5, 2013 at 8:20 pm

It’s that time of the year again. Spring training is over and the regular baseball season has begun. The Boston Red Sox are off to a great start with two big wins in New York against the Yankees. No matter what team you root for, the greatest thing about America’s pastime is the sense of community and excitement it brings. Baseball fans are some of the most passionate around, and I have a feeling that Sox fans like me are going to be the most excited when they play their first home game at Fenway Park next week.

I live fairly close to Fenway on Commonwealth Avenue. It’s convenient because I’m close to the law school and Kenmore Square. Still, the best thing about where I live is that it’s only a short walk from the oldest ballpark in the country. Not only is there a lot of history in the area, but there’s also plenty of sports bars for those nights when tickets are sold out and you still want to watch the Red Sox play. On  days when there’s a home game Yawkey Way is packed with Sox fans that are either trying to get into the stadium or just having a good time.

I’ve been inside Fenway Park a few times, and each time you’re there it feels like you’re truly part of something special. The Red Sox are more than just a baseball team; they’re a symbol for both the enduring legacy of the sport and the city of Boston. Over time I’ve come to understand why Red Sox fans support their team with so much energy and enthusiasm. It’s because the Red Sox have always been there supporting them by giving them something to look forward to and something to look back on.

As with many things, it’s easy to draw a comparison between baseball and law school. Baseball is a very numbers-driven sport. Players are judged by a variety of percentages and statistics play a huge role in how teams are put together. Numbers can play a big part in law school as well. Scores, stats, rankings; they all factor into the calculations that ultimately result in important decisions.

Even with all the numbers, though, there are things that set certain players apart from the rest. Just think about David “Big Papi” Ortiz or Dustin “The Laser Show” Pedroia. They are both good players in their own right, but there’s something unique about them that makes them such a hit with the fans. It’s something you can’t really quantify. The experiences you have both before and during law school have the same effect; they make you stand out in ways that numbers can’t.

Many great players spent a long time in a minor league before they made it to the major leagues. Likewise, you’ve got to spend a long time learning the law before you can practice the law. Going to a baseball game and going to law school are both memorable experiences. The greatest memories come from being engaged while you’re there. Live in the moment and make the most of the time you have so it will be something worth remembering.

By Zack Rothman | Posted in Academics, Extracurriculars, In the Community, Social Life/Boston | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

A Pitcher for PIP

April 4, 2013 at 3:02 pm

Some cases I had while working at Greater Boston Legal Services last summer were complicated, involving me muttering (okay, cursing) under my breath about inscrutable Social Security regulations and the like. Occasionally, though, I got a case where someone was so cruelly and illegally being taken advantage of that all it took was a few scary letters (including phrases like “numerous violations of statutory obligations”) on GBLS letterhead to knock some semblance of justice into the situation.

One afternoon I had scheduled a meeting with a client who had one such easy case. When she arrived, I invited her into a conference room, and she had a large white shopping bag with her. I didn’t inquire what was in the bag, figuring if it was any of my business, she’d tell me. As the meeting ended, and she understood her situation was resolved, she hugged me tearfully, then handed me the big white shopping bag. I looked at her, confused. “It’s for you,” she told me, laughing at my confusion.

I looked inside, and saw two bowed boxes wrapped in that distinctive Tiffany blue poking up at me.

“Oh no,” I said, thrusting the bag back at her. “No, I can’t take this.”

“Yes you can,’ she said, folding her arms against her chest.

“No,” I persisted. “Really, I can’t. There are rules. I can’t take this. GBLS doesn’t charge. I can’t take gifts with this kind of value.”

Still laughing slightly, she shook her head at me. “I’m not going to tell! You’ve earned it.”

“No,” I said, my voice pitch rising, giving my panic away. I am terrible at accepting gifts and compliments graciously in the best of circumstances, never mind circumstances in which the gift is unearned and in which I know the giver is undergoing an enormous sacrifice to provide me the gift. “Really, I just, I can’t. I haven’t earned it.”

“Yes you have. I want to give it to you,” she persisted.

I continued shaking my head emphatically and, I’m embarrassed to admit, ungraciously. “Thank you, really, I appreciate it. I just can’t take it.”

Finally, she left, large shopping bag in tow. I returned to my desk, and a few minutes later, went to get a document from our floor’s printer. I entered the copy room, and saw, in the corner, to my immense chagrin, a large, white shopping bag. My client had left the bag in the copy room on her way out.

Tiffanys glasswareI picked the bag up and carried it back to my desk. Feeling it would be churlish to call her and demand she pick it back up, I opened up the boxes. They contained a beautiful pitcher and bowl (plus a gift receipt), nicer than everything in my apartment put together. My fellow interns cracked up laughing at my awkwardness, and then, with a sigh, I walked down the hall to my supervisor’s office.

“I have a problem,” I announced, plopping down in a chair in her office.

She turned to me, concerned. “Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”

“Oh no,” I responded. “It’s not – like – well – “ I explained that a client had left me gorgeous Tiffany’s glassware, I was sure I couldn’t keep it, and I wouldn’t feel right keeping it in any case.

“That is the best problem I have heard all week!” my supervisor exclaimed cheerfully. “Can I, I mean, can I see it?”

Shortly thereafter, it seemed our entire unit had heard one of the intern’s clients had given her Tiffany’s glassware and she didn’t know what to do with it. People kept walking by and asking to see it, mostly, I think, in bemusement. My supervisor and I talked with our unit’s managing attorney, who talked to the ethics folks, who concluded that indeed, I could not keep the bowl and pitcher. This did not bother me in the slightest. I would not have felt right keeping it.

But then, what was I going to do with it? I started thinking of places to donate it, and finally, I thought of the perfect place: BU Law’s Public Interest Project Auction.

Brian, one of PIP’s Co-Presidents, has already done a beautiful job explaining everything PIP does. I won’t regurgitate that, but will encourage you to read his post and check out our website to learn more about PIP. I’m PIP’s Service Chair, which means I organize group volunteer events and find individual, ongoing service opportunities, both legal and nonlegal.

Every year, PIP raises money to give out summer grants to pay law students taking public interest jobs over the summer. These are needed because although firms generally pay their summer interns, nonprofits and government offices generally cannot afford to do so. Students need some form of income over the summer to be able to, you know, eat. One of PIP’s big fundraisers every year is the auction. Students get donations, PIP auctions them off, and all the proceeds go to summer grants.

The Tiffany’s glassware, I am proud to report, sold at the auction last week. Perfect ending to this story, I think. Even though it only took a few letters and phone calls, I was able to make a serious difference in this family’s life. This family was deeply grateful, and tried to express their gratitude with a gift. I profoundly (though awkwardly) appreciated their expression. Now their gratitude will fund more advocates for more clients.

By Elizabeth McIntyre | Posted in Extracurriculars, Jobs/Internships | Tagged | Comments (0)

The House of Knowledge

April 4, 2013 at 2:09 pm

Everyone who goes to BU Law knows about the construction that is going on around the law school. Thanks to a very large donation made by Sumner Redstone, what is now a rather vertically-oriented tower is expanding horizontally to include additional classrooms, study space, and much more. Our school is growing, and every time I walk past the construction crews and their machinery I am excited about what the future has in store.

I think it serves as a nice parallel to the process of becoming a lawyer. Learning the law is much like a construction project. It starts with establishing a foundation of knowledge in your first year upon which you can continue to build in your second and third years. Throughout that time, you will probably make some renovations, changing your perspective on certain issues as you learn about legal theories and doctrines.

It will time, lots of work, and plenty of investment, but eventually the day will come where you’ve finished constructing a respectable structure to house everything you’ve learned.  The process of building it can be difficult and inconvenient at times. Yet, the finished product will be something that will bring you great pride.

As our own law tower has shown, the fact that a building is completed doesn’t mean it can’t continue to grow. Lawyers continue to build their knowledge base each and every day they practice. You’ve got to make room so that you can keep bringing in new ideas about the law. Only then will you be able to meet the demands of the constantly expanding world around you.

By Zack Rothman | Posted in Academics | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

What is a law school “clinic”?

March 27, 2013 at 12:28 pm

Clinics, clinics, clinics!  When I was considering law schools, all of my lawyer friends emphasized the importance of clinics and selecting a school that offered at least one that I’d be interested in. After completing my first clinic last year, I whole heartedly agree and strongly recommend you take this advice into account (particularly if you’re short on work experience or are unsure about what type of law you’d like to practice).

First, what is a clinic?  No, it has nothing to do with doctors, shots, or awkward waiting room encounters.  Law school clinics provide an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a specific area of law.  This could include criminal law, housing disputes, immigration/asylum issues, and even legislative drafting.  Clinics provide a unique opportunity to gain real work experience, which is surprisingly in short supply in law school.  You’d imagine that since a JD is a professional degree the academic experience would include a lot of hands-on, real world work-like experience.  Unfortunately this is not so.  Most of your work will be in the classroom, discussing cases and doing legal analysis, which is helpful but not nearly the same as replicating the work you’ll be doing after graduation.

So, why participate in a clinic? Clinics typically partner up with practitioners in the field and provide you with an opportunity to assist them in taking on actual cases, working with real clients, and going to the court or legislature (depending on your clinic).  Participating in a clinic is a good way to learn more about a specific field of law and may help you decide whether you want to commit to that particular practice area.

Last semester, I participated in the Africa iParliaments Clinic, which is linked with the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network (a United Nations affiliate).  The main point of the Clinic is to help parliamentarians in African countries draft coherent, well-targeted legislation and also by providing this service to help demonstrate what well-drafted legislation looks like.  The APKN helps the Clinic in reaching out to parliamentarians in their network and then comes back with requests for assistance.  For example, last semester, we were approached by (1) a legislative drafter in Uganda who asked us to draft an amendment to the current petroleum refining bill and (2) a parliamentarian in Liberia seeking assistance in drafting a new state-sponsored health insurance bill.  Cool stuff, right?

By participating in the Africa iParliaments Clinic, I learned not only the mechanics of drafting legislation (e.g., what words to use; how to format; etc.), but also the many other considerations that go into understanding legislation and its purpose.  For the Liberian bill, we had to do extensive research on the existing health care structures so that we could understand what was in place as well as what was working (and not working). We also had to explore social and cultural values in Liberia to better grasp what the citizens of Liberia actually wanted and what services would best serve their needs.

To be honest, I didn’t expect to like the Clinic very much.  I was never very interested in legislative drafting;  instead I was more excited by the opportunity to develop my geographic expertise.  But, in the end, I learned how legislation (even when aspirational) shapes society and politics and can help cultivate development.  This experience has proved very valuable in understanding how legislation may impact my future work in post-conflict development and the important (and many) considerations involved in developing a coherent legal framework.

By tamaru | Posted in Academics, Jobs/Internships | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

PIP With a Purpose

March 27, 2013 at 3:07 am

I apologize to my many devoted readers (Do I even have those?!) for my absence this semester. As you may or may not know, currently, I serve as the Co-President of the Public Interest Project (“PIP”). PIP takes a large amount of my energy, especially as we prepare for our biggest fundraiser, our 22nd Annual PIP Auction Gala.

What is PIP?
PIP is one of Boston University School of Law’s largest student-run organizations with a general membership of over 200 students. PIP is not just any student organization, however. PIP functions as a non-profit to support and encourage public interest and pro bono work inside and outside of BU Law.

Public Interest Project ("PIP")

How does PIP support public interest?

PIP accomplishes its goals by providing and promoting community service, pro bono, and internship opportunities for interested law students.

Volunteerism and Community Service

This year, our membership contributed over 1400 hours of community and pro bono work since September 2012, and we’re still going strong! Our Community Service Chair, Elizabeth McIntrye, provided numerous and diverse community service and pro bono opportunities throughout the Greater Boston area, including Cradles to Crayons; Boston Cares; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders; Shelter Legal Services; Greater Boston Food Bank; Desmond, Strang & Scott LLP’s Criminal Offender Records Information (“CORI”) Project; Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights’ Election Protection; and more. I am so proud of Liz’s initiative and our membership’s hard work.

Career and Pro Bono Panels

In addition to our community service, PIP also encourages students to pursue and accept public interest internships, externships, and jobs. To meet this goal, PIP hosted multiple new events and panels to enable students to network and learn within the public interest sector. Led by the brillant Career Development & Programming Chair Amy Baral and Social Programming Chair Sara Fiorillo, PIP kicked off the year with the 1st Annual PIP Networking Event with support from McDermott Will & Emery and the BU Law Career Development Office (“CDO”). We had over 100 attendees with speakers from the public interest, private, and academic sectors. We continued this success in the Spring by offering a Public Interest Summer Internship panel, featuring student speakers and local attorneys from legal service organizations who routinely hire BU Law student interns for the summer. Finally, we hosted a Pro Bono panel, which allowed students and local attorneys to speak about the importance of pro bono work, local legal projects looking for law students’ help, and the benefits of this kind of work for any legal career.

Summer Internship Opportunities

With excellent connections with the CDO and Alumni Office, PIP benefits from a strong alumni network of resources to help students find public interest summer internships. Each week, PIP emails its general memberships a list of available opportunities, generated with large help from PIP Secretary Alexandra Bonneau and CDO Assistant Director for Public Interest Advising Michelle Grossfield. PIP also boasts an impressive membership of second and third-year students who are available to discuss their summer and semester internships and pro bono activities.

Summer Grant Program

To support our membership and the law school dedication to public interest, PIP leverages resources to provide a number of grants for students who accept unpaid summer internships with legal service agencies, non-profit organizations, and government entities. These students are able to work in these positions with grants, allowing them to focus on helping some of their communities’ most disadvantaged individuals and to remedy gross injustices within their local community, nation, and world. Each year, between 45 and 80 first and second-year students apply for these $4,000 grants by completing PIP’s competitive grant application process. Last year, PIP was able to fundraise, with support from the Dean’s Office, Student Affairs Office, CDO, and Alumni Office, to fund 100% of its applicants. This year, PIP has 48 eligible applicants who completed over 15 community service hours and 10 hours devoted to PIP, and wrote a narrative about their commitment to public interest, scored by faculty, PIP Executive Board members/former PIP grant recipients, and local attorneys. We hope to fund each and every one of these deserving applicants!

What makes PIP unique?

Obviously I’m biased; PIP has become my first exploration into non-profit management. I’m hooked and I know that I will return in some capacity to working in these endeavors after graduating. PIP helps diversify BU Law’s student body, serves as a valuable resources for students by students regarding public interest and pro bono work, and fundraises extensively to help subsidize students without burdening the school’s administration. After looking at multiple public interest initiatives and programs at other law schools, I can honestly say that PIP is a gem. Not many schools subsidize to the extent of PIP’s grant program nor do they do so with the initiative of a student executive board. Further, this organization helped me, as a third year student, to develop my leadership, management, and organizational skills by serving with my beautiful and talented Co-President, Zoë Sajor. I was able to encourage and support a marvelous board of 15 first, second, and third-year students, who I have come to regard as some of my colleagues and best friends. PIP has become my vehicle to express my creativity by creating new projects and programs to accomplish our goals. This year, Zoë and I introduced, with extensive help from Fundraising Chairs Kate Kramer and Melanie Nelson, multiple new fundraising initiatives, including PIP Amici Tables, PIP Challenge, Bidding@BU, and PIP Fellowship Program. The support from BU Law faculty, staff, and alumni and Boston law firms has been overwhelming. Without the law school’s backing, PIP would be groundless and my work would be meaningless. For that, I am truly grateful. When I picked BU Law, I didn’t know the extent of the school’s commitment to ensure each and every student had an avenue to pursue his or her career goals. Public interest and PIP is just one way that BU Law supports this commitment.

22nd Annual Public Interest Project Auction Gala

What’s next for PIP (and me)?

I am excited to announce the PIP will host its 22nd Annual Public Interest Project Auction Gala on Thursday, March 28, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Metcalf Ballroom of the George Sherman Union at Boston University. This Auction Gala is PIP’s largest fundraiser with over 500 local attorneys, BU Law faculty and staff members, students, and members of the Greater Boston community. With generous donations from the community, PIP is able to raise substantial funds towards its grant program at this Auction. Additionally, it’s an excellent networking and social event for our membership to meet and mingle with former PIP grant recipients, attorneys from the private and public interest sectors, and faculty members committed to supporting PIP. With outstanding event planning by Auction Chair Jenna Zellmer, assisted by Auction Co-Chairs Elle Srisirikul, Amber Charles, and Brigid Morris, this year should be our best Auction Gala yet!

Do you want to attend the PIP Auction Gala?

Of course, you do! At only $15 for students and public interest attorneys, and $20 for general admission, attendees can bid on a number of enticing packages, including signed baseballs and jerseys, mountain resort and beach getaways, local restaurant and theatre packages, and outings with favorite BU Law professors and staff members! Tickets are available at: http://buslpip.eventbrite.com.

Bring cash, checkbook, or credit card for TWO Silent Auctions and a highly-contested Live Auction. Don’t want to bid? We have Balloon Prizes for $5 and $10, a Salary-for-a-Day program, and PIP Challenge for interested donors. Additionally, we have food and drink (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) for all attendees! Enjoy the popular Legal Follies Band, back from their highly-attended tour to the Law Auditorium for the Annual Legal Follies show!

Need another reason? PIP honors FOUR outstanding alumni from the public interest, private, and academic sectors. Richard Jones (JD ’95, LLM ’05), a partner of Sullivan & Worcester; Chris Strang (JD ’05), a founding partner of Desmond, Strang & Scott, LLP; Rachel Biscardi (JD ’00), Director of Pro Bono Projects for the Women’s Bar Foundation; and Professor Frances Miller (JD ’65), Professor Law Emerita at Boston University School of Law. Each of this year’s PIP Award Recipients contributed significantly to PIP’s goals and missions in public interest and pro bono work.

Can’t attend but want to support PIP?

You can! PIP accepts all donations on its fiscal year from July 1 to June 30. We accept cash or check with more information available on our website at: www.bupip.org/donate. PIP is always looking to establish partnerships with law firms! Contact us at buslpip@gmail.com to learn more about our fellowship program and how to become more involved in our mission.

2012 21st Annual PIP Auction Gala

Moving forward (for me)

My time with PIP is coming to an end. I can’t express how sad I am to hand over PIP. Luckily, I leave behind an impressive board and membership who have grown as fearless leaders before my eyes this year. I am incredibly proud of their accomplishments as advocates for PIP’s missions and young aspiring attorneys. I know that I will continue to be involved in PIP as an alumni. I am incredibly thankful to my mentors Theresa Perkins, Adrian Guzman, and Daniel Levin for their tremendous guidance and generosity over my three years with PIP. With their  support, I am lucky to join them as alumni. I hope to explore my involvement in the non-profit world and lend my passion and talents wherever needed, especially for projects involving domestic violence, theatre, LGBTQ individuals, youth empowerment, and community and economic development. PIP has fulfilled my third year of law school with purpose and experience. I am extremely grateful to the many people who touched my life through this project, especially my Co-President Zoë Sajor. I hope everyone finds a best friend and colleague in law school who completes your sentences, laughs at your faults, toasts your accomplishments, and encourages your passions.

To the current PIP Board: Thank you for the zany year of late night meetings, innovative brainstorming, delicious Cupcake Wars, and patient persistence. To the PIP applicants and general membership: You are an incredible group of inspiring individuals with compelling stories and goals; chase your dreams with PIP’s help. To the faculty, staff, and alumni: Your generosity is unmatched this year; you are truly compassionate and represent the spirit of BU Law’s commitment to pro bono and public service work.

Finally, to prospective and admitted students: PIP is one example of BU Law’s many opportunities to diversify your law school experience. I hope, wherever you attend law school, that you also find the opportunities which give meaning to your time during law school. For me, this experience completed me. PIP forced me to stretch myself while evaluate my passions, skills, and dreams. With a purpose, I encourage you to let PIP support you through your three years of law school.

By Brian | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

“Is 1L Year Really As Bad As They Say It Is?”

March 26, 2013 at 12:01 pm

As I may have mentioned before, the administrators of this blog program occasionally give us prompts. This semester I was surprised to find the following prompt in my inbox: “Is 1l year really as bad as they say it is?”. With only a month left of my 1L year to go, I think I’ll give this question a try. My overarching answer is yes, it’s pretty bad; law school is very challenging because the work is hard and the work is endless. But that answer comes with a caveat, which is: if you want to be here, you’ll get through it just fine, especially once you can learn to trust, depend on, and appreciate your fellow students.

Here at BU the first and second semesters of law school are surprisingly different, and they each come with their own challenges. I’ll break down my thoughts about the first year accordingly.

The First Semester

One stressors of the first semester, is that it can be isolating. You enter the school, you know no one, you’re suddenly reading new and confusing materials and people are asking you hard questions in front of 70 people you’ve never met before and who you want to impress. The first thing that helped me to feel more comfortable was getting cold called for the first time and realizing that nobody was really judging my answer; they were just trying to understand the concepts themselves. I remember last semester I felt a little unsure of everyone – they were my competitors on the curve and I had no idea who they were or if they thought I was dumb or maybe just a loud mouth. Now that I’ve made some friends around the law school and learned to relax around my peers, the whole process seems a lot less intimidating. I spent most of the first semester studying alone. Even though I had Rob to visit every weekend, I ended up feeling really lonely sometimes. Once you can reach out and make a few friends, your days at the law tower will be much more pleasant.

The first semester is a little scary not only because you don’t know your peers, but also because you don’t really know what to do. In my writing class and in all my doctrinal classes last semester I felt like I was constantly faking it until I made it. I pride myself on being a good writer, so the legal writing class was an especially hard blow to my ego – it’s a whole new way to write that must be learned, and it takes practice. In my doctrinal classes, I read every class religiously, I began outlining 8 weeks before exams, and I read supplements of all kinds. Those three hour exams loomed ahead of me like big, scary monsters. But when they arrived, they were really exactly what you would expect them to be: you sit in a seat for three hours and you write an essay. It’s a lot like the essays on the LSAT, but you’re supposed to know a number of rules ahead of time to help you solve the problems presented in the topic questions.

And there’s the curve – I think for most of us the curve and the single-exam-grade were the most intimidating of all. We were all good students in high school and college. We were used to spending extra time on essays, or doing extra credit just to make sure our grades were the best they could be. Those tools aren’t available anymore, it’s true. However, try to keep in mind that in some ways the curve works in your favor – you don’t have to understand everything at least as well as an expert attorney does to get a good grade, you need to understand everything as well or better than the average first year law student does. So – trust your peers, make friends, and study with your friends. Once that first exam is over, and you’ve received your first grades, you’ll feel ready to tackle…

The Second Semester

My second semester has been different than the first in three main ways: (1) experience; (2) friends; and (3) classes.

First, with experience much of the anxiety of the unknown that I felt in the first semester is gone. I still want to do well in my classes, and I still have so much work to do that I feel stressed sometimes, but at least I have an idea of what my methods are, and what is ahead. During this second semester I feel much more able to make judgment calls about how to make small sacrifices in one class to get the work done for another class in any given week. For example, the week that I had the Follies performance and my Moot Court brief was due, I skimmed my readings or read case summaries instead of reading each case carefully. In the first semester, I would have been very scared to do that, but this semester I could look ahead and see that I’d be able to catch up over spring break and that the sacrifice would be worth the health I’d gain by sleeping enough.

Second, during this second semester I feel much more connected to the law school and to Boston because I’ve made many new friends at BU. Me and all the members of my study group are good friends, and we depend on each other for help sometimes. It’s a reassuring feeling to know that if I really need to miss a class because I’m sick, I have four people who will happily give me their class notes. The Follies have also been a great addition to my social life – even with the show over, it’s so great to walk around the tower and say hi to people you know. They’re also great people to go out with, and I look forward to our every meeting or all-you-can-eat sushi event. Finally, I’ve been trying to attend a few more school events this semester and it has honestly been a great addition to my experience. Save one Thursday or Friday night a month for a BU Law event and I assure you it will be worth the night not spent studying.

Third and finally, the classes in the second semester are pretty different than in the first. In writing, we are now working on persuasive writing for courts instead of objective writing for firms, which has thrown me for another loop. In our doctrinal classes, unlike last semester, there is much more overlap in our topics. While this is somewhat helpful because it adds to the big picture of how lawyers use the law to make arguments, it also poses some difficulties. The main difficulty I find this semester is keeping the types of arguments I need to use for different classes straight in my head. For example, in both Legislation and in Constitutional Law we have talked about affirmative action. In Constitutional Law, we deal with affirmative action using Equal Protection Clause arguments. In Legislation, we talk about how to interpret statutes, cases, and institutional actions that deal with affirmative action problems. This can be a little confusing, because I can’t just try to memorize one rule or argument format for the issue. Instead I have make sure I understand two ways of dealing with the same problem, and keep them separate because the exams are unrelated.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, the first year of law school is a pretty big challenge. Depending on who the “they” is from whom you’ve heard about the first year of law school, it probably is as bad as they say it is. However, “they” probably made it through the first year just fine themselves, as will you. If you’re joining BU (or any law school) this fall, and you feel like you want to read something to help you prepare. I know that I read and/or skimmed through a few books and found them at least somewhat helpful. I especially liked Getting to Maybe and The Law School Confidential. I also like 1L of a Ride, although I did think the author was a little alarmist. Don’t worry too much about the first year of law school. It’s going to be a challenge whether you worry or not, and you will get through it your own way, as all of us current 1Ls are doing right now. (Remember that your peers are one of your best resources!)

By debarton | Posted in Academics | Tagged | Comments (0)

BU Law Alumni

March 26, 2013 at 12:35 am

The BU Law alumni community is just that: a very strong and ongoing part of the BU Law community, from speaking on panels to attending and mingling with students at networking events to offering one-on-one advising for students. There’s a rock-solid alumni base throughout New England and very respectable enclaves in D.C., New York, LA, etc. But as a Philly girl and Pitt alum, as much as I’m enjoying my stint in Boston I’m pretty interested in getting back to Pennsylvania after graduation.

The PA alumni? Dauntingly few and far between it seemed at first. While my New England-minded peers had their choice of people to talk to I felt somewhat disadvantaged by how few names turned up on various Career Development Office (CDO) search engines, not to mention the complication of not being able to meet up face to face so easily. Not so! Perhaps because there are so few of them, almost everyone I’ve reached out to so far has been excited to talk to me. My suspicion is that they probably don’t get a lot of requests from students at their alma mater for informational interviews and coffee dates, so they’re more than happy to speak to me on the phone or meet me when I’m home on breaks.

The CDO can help connect you with an alum mentor or two which is terrific, but it’s also worth taking the time to do some research and find attorneys specializing in fields you’re curious about, or living in areas you’d be interested in relocating to, or otherwise interesting to you. Cold call reach outs (or rather emails, I usually prefer, less intrusive to a busy attorney’s work day than a phone call) can be intimidating at first. But most alum have fond memories of their time at BU Law and much more often excited to talk to you and have the opportunity to wax nostalgic and share their advice and experiences than annoyed at the imposition on their time!

By Sarah Simkin | Posted in In the Community | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)