Author: BC Law Impact Guest Posts

The Deeper Meaning of Labor Day

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A personal reminiscence, or how I unexpectedly (re) met my grandfather at law school

By Michael B. Goldenkranz ’78

For many Americans, Labor Day means a final trip to the ocean or lake at summer’s end or a barbeque closer to home. For me, though, the September holiday brings to mind my maternal grandfather’s important role in securing rights for union members victimized by corrupt or abusive union leaders. For me (and my children), it shapes our values and spawns our volunteerism and pursuit of access to justice.

Yet I may have never known that aspect of my grandfather’s life, had it not been for an unexpected event in 1978, during my last year of law school, on the first day of labor law class, when I (re) met my own grandfather in a very different context.

As a child, I puzzled an eternity about a sign in my grandfather’s shoe box-size den. The room was like a magnet and a mystery to me—cluttered with old books, important-looking papers, and a narrow but fascinating nameplate-like sign that perched above his old metallic desk. It clearly read, “ThiMk before you speak.”

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Theft by Another Name: It’s Time To Fight Back Against Civil Forfeiture

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Third-year student Jillian Jacobson recently had an op-ed published in Newsweek Magazine. Check it out below!

3L student Jillian Jacobson

Rochester, New York, resident Cristal Starling was diligently saving money to turn her hot dog stand into a full-fledged food truck business when local police raided her home and confiscated her savings. The reason? Her then-boyfriend was suspected of dealing drugs. The agents found no evidence of her boyfriend’s alleged drug dealing, but they did find more than $8,000 of Starling’s hard-earned money—which they took and never returned to her, even after her then boyfriend was acquitted on all charges.

Like many other Americans, Starling is a victim of civil asset forfeiture, a practice that allows law enforcement agencies to seize personal property on the mere suspicion that it was involved in criminal activity. After a lengthy appeal, a federal appellate court in New York has given her a shot at getting her personal property back. In addition, the court set a more just standard for victims of civil forfeiture who attempt to regain their property. This is a big win—both for Starling and for other Americans whose property is unjustly seized every year.

Since 2000, the government has seized more than $68.8 billion from Americans through civil forfeiture. When law enforcement suspects personal property is connected to a criminal act—whether the property is cash, jewelry, a car, home, or business—the agency seizes it and a prosecutor later moves for the state to keep it permanently.

Read the rest of Jillian’s op-ed on Newsweek.com

In the Google Case, the Justice Department Continues to Help Companies, Not Consumers

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Today’s post by BC Law professor and associate dean for academic affairs Daniel Lyons originally appeared on the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) AEIdeas blog. You can view the post here.

By Daniel Lyons

For almost three decades, President Joe Biden has built an image as a champion of everyday Americans. So it’s surprising to see his antitrust policy increasingly place companies, not consumers, at the center of its agenda. This shift is on full display in next month’s United States v. Google trial, which challenges Google’s position as the default search engine for smartphones and browsers. Two pretrial motions present an interesting question: If the defendant’s conduct improves the consumer’s experience, how should this factor into the court’s analysis of whether the conduct is anticompetitive?

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Dublin Program puts the Experience in Experiential Learning

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It’s not every day that class is held in another country. Yet, for the Dublin Semester-in-Practice program, it’s not out of the cards either. For students who have participated in externships, the weekly seminar requirement is nothing out of the ordinary. Usually, students spend the class time talking about their placement, divulging what they have learned and areas they seek to improve in. In a sense, the seminar serves a very practical purpose of hearing from students, learning from their experiences, and providing advice on how to proceed. 

However, for the students participating in the Dublin program, our seminar can look a little different. On an average week we get to hear from excellent speakers on a variety of Irish, legal, and political topics. This includes lecturers from Trinity College Dublin’s law school and high-ranking government officials. Every week it’s something new and relates back to the environment we are working in. While we also talk about our externship placements and how to navigate an international workplace, we get to supplement these discussions with talks on Irish sports, constitutional referendums, and EU data protection laws. And sometimes, we get to leave the classroom and experience that week’s educational topic firsthand.

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The AI Revolution Raises Terrifying Questions about Virtual Child Pornography

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Today’s post by BC Law professor and associate dean for academic affairs Daniel Lyons originally appeared on the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) AEIdeas blog. You can view the post here.

By Daniel Lyons

It was probably inevitable that the artificial intelligence (AI) discourse would eventually turn to virtual pornography. Earlier this week, CBS News noted that increasingly sophisticated AI editing programs can exacerbate the problem of “deepfake” porn: images and videos digitally altered to appear to be someone else. This article came on the heels of a Twitter discussion Matty Yglesias prompted about whether AI-generated pornography could disrupt the adult industry by removing the need for real people to be involved.

But underlying this discussion is an even more frightening concern: the prospect of virtual child sexual abuse material (CSAM). (Hat tip to Kate Klonick.) It may surprise you that Congress was way ahead of the curve on this issue: A quarter-century ago, it banned so-called virtual child pornography, computer-generated imagery designed to look like CSAM. It may further surprise you that the Supreme Court struck down this law as unconstitutional. But the evolution of technology in the decades since suggests that it is time to revisit this problematic decision.

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What to Do About TikTok?

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Today’s post by BC Law professor and associate dean for academic affairs Daniel Lyons originally appeared on the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) AEIdeas blog. You can view the post here.

By Daniel Lyons

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew recently testified before Congress in a hearing ostensibly asking “How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms.” In reality, the five-hour session more closely resembled Grandpa Simpson shaking his fist at clouds than a nuanced discussion of cybersecurity. There appears to be a growing, bipartisan consensus that Congress should do something about the popular social media platform. But before deciding what should be done, legislators must discern what precisely are the unique policy challenges that TikTok presents.

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Experiencing Grief and Loss in Law School

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In support of the well-being of lawyers across the professional spectrum—from students in the classroom to attorneys in all walks of legal life—we have launched a Mental Health Impact Blog Series, in partnership with alumnus Jim Warner ’92. Comprising deeply personal essays by community members who have struggled with mental health issues, the series provides restorative insights and resources to fellow lawyers in need. Read them all here.

The Mental Health Impact Blog Series coincides with a Law School-wide initiative, which will include lectures and workshops to support and promote mental well-being. With this latest post, we are also offering a companion podcast interview with Jim Warner and Mike Cavoto (see below). To get involved in the activities or to write a guest post, contact jim.warner.uk@gmail.com.

By Michael Cavoto ’19

This is my story of experiencing personal loss in law school. I’ve kept some details purposefully short and omitted others. The point of this story is to address loss and how we deal with it (or don’t). I will speak only to my own experiences and conclusions. This story also references sensitive matters, including–but not limited to–suicide. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call, chat, or text 988 to speak to someone.

Law school dominates students’ lives: classes all day, networking events in the evenings, pretending to study in the Yellow Room in the afternoons. It demands full commitment from participants. 

The grind doesn’t stop after you graduate. Studying for the bar requires dedication and fresh graduates launch themselves fully into bar prep right after graduation. 

Professional life doesn’t give much room for breathing either. Lawyers at the big firms are expected to hit the billable requirement, which usually equates to billing somewhere around 40 hours per week of strictly billable time, without factoring in vacations or holidays. 

The common word here is “commitment.” The practice of law demands your attention. So, what happens when you can’t fully commit? What happens when reality plucks you away from coursework and legal practice? The question for me was: how could I advance in my professional life when my personal life was so unstable?

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Come to Dublin: Reasons to Consider Studying Abroad

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It is 56 degrees in February. The sun is shining over the water and the hustle and bustle of morning traffic is just kicking in. As I walk to my externship, I pass cafes buzzing from the morning rush, the smell of pastries and coffee wafting through the air. Where am I? Not Boston (56 degrees should have given that away). I am in Dublin, Ireland along with five other students taking part in Boston College’s Semester-in-Practice program. 

So, what drew me to this program? Take one round of law school exams and you will see the appeal of externships. But in all seriousness, how could I pass up the opportunity to spend a semester living and working in Europe? Maybe I’m just the product of the Covid era – itching to get in the study abroad experience that was swept out from under me. Yet, I find it more likely that I was drawn in by the opportunities this program presents. 

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‘The sport of argument:’ Nathaniel DeMelis and a Commitment to Justice

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Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

Be it the penchant for holiday arguments, or the lessons of my late grandfather, my family has consistently shaped my growth and founded my interest in the law. 

In an Italian family that frequently exercises their freedom of speech in the sport of argument, it can be difficult to get a word in edgewise—especially around the holiday dinner table. There exists only a brief window of opportunity to make your point, and make it well, before you will either be refuted or simply shouted down.

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‘Taking pride in one’s own culture:’ Daniel Li’s Path to Law School

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Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

During the first thirteen years of my life, living in Hungary, I cannot count how many times I felt embarrassed for doing something that was only natural to everyone else at school: talking to my mother. The only difference was that my classmates spoke Hungarian, while I spoke Chinese. The difference is minute, but it was significant for me. As my mother picked me up from school and asked how my day was, I chose either to stay silent or occasionally, say “hao,” which means “fine” and is a short and sweet, one-syllable word, just sufficient to answer my mother’s question and to not embarrass myself in front of my Hungarian classmates. But the source of embarrassment did not stem from being different in general—it rather stemmed from being Chinese, as my classmates made countless “harmless” jokes about eating dog meat, or engaged in “well-intentioned” stereotyping about having “almond eyes.”

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