I was sitting in the front row in class. In front of me, a powerpoint slide that, much like my brain, was blank.
I chanced upon a glance at the time on my computer and realized, to my horror, I had been trapped in my current cold-call for approximately thirty minutes. I looked back at my professor. Considering we were barely through the facts section, I had no hope that I would be reaching the end of this crucible, I’m sorry, case, soon.
“Achievement is hollow if it only benefits you; true success is measured by how you help others.”
This reminder often came when my younger brother and I grew too focused on outdoing each other, yet it took years for me to truly understand my mother’s words. Growing up only a year apart, my youth was defined by achievements through competition, when every challenge felt like an opportunity to prove my worth. That mindset carried into my education, where every debate tournament, Chinese poetry contest, and final exam was met with an unrelenting desire to succeed. My achievements reinforced the value of hard work, preparation, and the payoff from delayed gratification, but it was my pursuit of a career in law that helped me come to fully appreciate my mother’s words. This epiphany revealed how a legal career will allow me to use my competitive drive in service to others to achieve true success.
Continue readingCard games have transcended the divides of class and culture for centuries. In my family, this timeless hobby serves as an essential experience at any large gathering. Different games have been taught and passed on from generation to generation. I started my journey with my grandma trouncing me in Pinochle, and I plan to carry on this tradition with my own grandchildren.
Continue readingBefore this summer, most of my experience with the law had been in the classroom. I had spent my first year of law school reading cases, writing memos, and learning how to analyze legal issues, but I had never really had the chance to apply those skills to “real life.”
Continue readingWelcome to the greatest place on earth. It’s probably smaller, colder, and meaner than wherever you came from. Still, you couldn’t have picked a better city to spend law school, or perhaps a lifetime.
Boston is many things; welcoming is not one of them. Our winters are cold, our people, even colder, and our insular culture can send you packing before you even hear someone say “wicked”.
Luckily for you, the prima facie case for being accepted as a “Bostonian” is as follows:
Continue readingBefore starting as a summer associate, I was so anxious thinking about whether I would know anything that would have to do with my job. Considering I had only learned what transactional work was during 1L spring semester, all I knew was that I was (mostly) free from the Bluebook.
Continue readingI applied to work in legal research at a time when all eyes were on the police.
My hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, had become a national case study for the consequences of overpolicing, and I realized how little I knew about the legal systems meant to prevent such harm. My first research project, which I began during a separate internship in healthcare data science, focused on understanding the interactions between law enforcement, victims of violence, and healthcare workers in emergency spaces. While research allowed me to formalize my conceptual understanding of certain gaps in our legal system, I grew increasingly interested in litigation as a means to work directly with the affected stakeholders and establish precedents that might shape those systems moving forward. This led me to my postgraduate job in economic consulting, where I was able to apply my academic background in a setting where I could observe what attorneys actually do in litigation and arbitration disputes.
Continue readingOn Sunday, August 30, BC Law’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA), in collaboration with the Black Alumni Network (BAN), kicked off the academic year with our annual Welcome Back BBQ.
Continue readingI’ve written a lot about making sure to take care of yourself. But some may not know how to do that, or may forget in the moments when it’s needed most.
When it feels like everything is on the line and your head and heart are pounding, it is easy to forget what a glass of water, a warm drink, a walk, or a hug from a friend can do. And even if none of those things fixes it, they may give you just enough relief to breathe, think clearly, and formulate a game plan.
So, without further ado, here are my go-tos for when life feels like a merry-go-round going full throttle (and also on fire).
Continue reading17 minutes. That is how long the prosecution claimed it took our client, an engineering student visiting the U.S. from a war-torn country, to attempt a homicide and flee. When I mapped the cell-tower pings, calculated the distances, and cross-referenced the surveillance timestamps, their argument collapsed. Physics, it turned out, would be our best defense.
Continue reading
