As a state with one of the longest and most storied histories in our country, Massachusetts is no stranger to quirky and arcane laws. These laws may derive from Puritan norms of the 17th century or may come from more recent irrational worries. While I found myself extremely disappointed that some of these are more urban legends than past or present reality, I will be running through a few of my favorites regardless of their origin.
Continue readingYour (Unofficial) Guide to St. Paddy’s Day Weekend in Boston
Yes, it’s Saint Paddy’s — not Patty’s.
I’ve somehow managed to write about something law-related in every article I’ve contributed to this blog so far. Today, however, I’m choosing joy. Coming off of spring break and realizing that morale is still… let’s call it… fragile in Crim Law, I think it’s time we talk about something more exciting than case briefs and writing competition materials.
Continue readingIs Law School the Ultimate Endurance Test?
I recently received a call from a recruiter with the Marines assessing my interest and eligibility for their law student program. After candidly informing the recruiter that I have never done a single pull-up in my entire life (this was in response to a question; I would not have offered this information unprompted), he asked me how fast I could run three miles. The answer is that I would never voluntarily put myself in a situation that requires running three consecutive miles.
Continue readingSix Important Things I’ve Learned About Law School: A Note to Future Students
As a third-year law student in their last semester of school, I find myself reflecting on the last 2.5 years at BC Law. As my fellow 3Ls can probably relate to, law school flies by so quickly—its imminent end feels jarring, and it’s hard to comprehend you have the skill set to both take the bar and to don the title of attorney.
Remarkably, since I started law school, so much of what I learned about the legal world and myself came from experiences outside of the classroom. I didn’t expect this to be my reality when I was sitting in my law school orientation back in August 2023. Now that I can see the “light at the end of tunnel,” I find it fitting to share with you future law students a few of the myriad of my lessons learned and beliefs instilled in me throughout law school.
Continue readingOpening Doors with Alumni: Meet Joshua Williams
There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here!
Previous entries: Sara Womble (Winston Salem, NC); Elias Massion (Nashville, TN); Samina Gagné (London);Alvin Synarong (Murfreesboro, Tennessee); Ruchita Jain (Edina, Minnesota); Nicole Bauer (Michigan);Carlos Robles-Cruz (Puerto Rico); Taha Din (Naperville, IL); Timothy St. Pierre (Brunswick, Maine); Tobias Wilcken Jørgensen LLM ’25 (Denmark); Leena Assad (Dracut, MA).
Name: Joshua Williams
Hometown: Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in marketing from Saint Leo University in 2020; master’s degree in management from Harvard University in 2022
From Hurricane to Holiday: The Surprising Origin of Spring Break
Long before anyone was booking flights to Cancún, the building blocks of spring break were quietly assembling in American college culture. Since the 19th century, well-to-do students have escaped their academic duties by fleeing to states with the nearest coastline. The advent of the car, higher education opportunities for women, and widespread availability of alcohol all fused together into the nationwide phenomenon of the co-ed road trip. With all of these factors settled, the only question left was where to meet up.
Continue readingAssigning Law School Classes a Taylor Swift Song
As we approach Spring Break, I am definitely coming out of the school mood, and this article is no different. I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan, so I thought it would be fun to give law school classes their Taylor song. Of course I thought of multiple songs for each class, but I landed on the ones I thought made the most sense.
Continue readingA Procrastinator’s Guide to Spring Break Ideas
So…It’s February. You’ve lifted your head from the fugue state of OCI/getting adjusted to your classes/digging your car out of a snow pile/writing your law review note, and set hopeful eyes on spring break as an opportunity for rest and recuperation when you realize—you never made any spring break plans.
Or, you’ve looked at your bank account, thought “yikes!” and decided to have a bit of a stay-cation, but have no plans on how to actually go about doing that. Fair! Reasonable! I have been there!
In the interest of transparency, I personally will be fleeing the great city of Boston at the first available opportunity (shoutout to the Amtrak!), however, I’ve compiled three fun (low cost) things to do with the tons of free time you will have on your hands come spring break. (That is, once you’ve caught up on your reading, done the write-on, decided how early you want to outline, remembered to go grocery shopping, etc. etc.).
Continue readingThe Opportunity Cost of Early BigLaw Recruiting
It’s your first semester of law school at BC Law. It’s been just a few weeks since orientation, and you’re trying to get your footing. Torts makes sense, because slapping someone is obviously a battery. Contracts feels manageable too; you think about your apartment lease, or your brother’s offer to buy you McDonald’s, to think through offer and acceptance. Law Practice is a bit frustrating because you’re expected to learn the Bluebook on the fly. And Civ Pro? You have no idea what’s going on there—but that’s a problem for later.
Meanwhile, you’re figuring out how to be a law student. Do you take notes like you did in undergrad, buy color-coded notebooks to handwrite in class, or type a near-transcript of everything your professor says? When do you start outlining—and what even is an outline? Will you sound stupid if you go to office hours to ask about Twombly? And then there’s the club fair. Should you apply to that 1L Representative position for the Law Student Association? Or for the Business Law Society? Both would look great on your resume. But not too many commitments so soon—you still need time to read your cases, pour hours into over-detailed briefs, and prepare for class. Maybe one club application and casual involvement in the others will be enough for now.
Continue readingWhen 1L Fall Finals Don’t Go As Planned
There’s a version of your first 1L finals season that exists in your head: You wake up early. You review your attack outlines one last time. You calmly sip coffee. You walk into the exam room steady, composed, and frighteningly well-prepared. And then there’s real life.
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