Author: Charlene Ochogo

Now Playing: The IPTF Podcast, Episode 4

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment
I’m delighted to guest host 2L Ryan Sullivan today, who is bringing us the first ever Intellectual Property and Technology Forum podcast. The IPTF is dedicated to providing readers with rigorous, innovative scholarship, timely reporting, and ongoing discussion from the legal community concerning technology law and intellectual property. The Forum is designed, edited and published by students at Boston College Law School. And if you missed Episodes 2 and 3, check them out here!
What does the FCC’s rollback of limitations on ISPs really mean for consumers? Is the hysteria surrounding the rollback warranted? Are we closing in on the end of Net Neutrality under the Trump administration?
Tune in to Episode 4, where our guest is Gesmer Updegrove Litigation Partner, Joe Laferrera. In additions to leading Gesmer’s Data Security and Privacy practice group, Joe is a techie through and through.

The Power of Visibility: A Conversation with Rosie Rios

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

I am delighted to host a guest post from the brilliant and fabulous Maria Benvenuto. Maria is a 2L from Massapequa, NY. At BC Law, she serves as the Vice President of the Woman’s Law Center, Co-President of the Native American Law Student Association, an Admissions Ambassador, a member of the LSA Admissions Committee, and a staff writer for the Journal of Law and Social Justice. This summer she will be working in New York City and she is interested in working in labor and employment law. Maria can be reached by email at benvenma@bc.edu. 

“When you strip away all of the labels, the conversation is just about people.”

That is the sentiment that Rosie Rios, the 43rd treasurer of the United States, embedded throughout her presentation to the BC Law community on March 22nd. Ms. Rios was the longest serving treasury official, beginning her career on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Team in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Upon resigning in 2016, Ms. Rios received the Hamilton Award, the highest honor presented in the US Department of the Treasury. She is a graduate of Harvard University, and is the first Latina to have a portrait commissioned in her honor on their campus. Most notably, Rosie Rios is known for spearheading efforts to place a picture of the first woman on US currency; the design will be revealed on August 26, 2020, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote under the 19th Amendment.

Continue reading →

Humans of BC Law: Professor Martin O’Malley

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

omalley-1050x700

“I think you’re going to see more young people running for office for the first time in these next elections than ran for the first time inspired by President Obama’s success. … In my experience on the presidential stage — a tour that was shorter than I would have hoped — it seemed that anger and fear were the animating emotions of the entire election.

Continue reading →

A March on D.C. in Support of Pluralism

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

Even though I was not able to attend the Women’s March in D.C., I’ve been able to live vicariously through the experiences of several classmates, like my friend Molly McGrath. Molly is a 2L at Boston College Law School and originally from western New York. At BC, she is involved in LAMBDA and the Environmental Affairs Law Review. Although she doesn’t know exactly where her legal career will take her, she is grateful to attend an institution like BC Law and use its resources to navigate a rapidly changing legal and political climate.

A classmate and I sat in a law library study room several days after the election. We’d originally reserved the room to cram for our Admin Law final, but  found ourselves brainstorming ways to act with more intention and become more politically involved. My friend agreed to stop buying clothes online from retailers with supply chains reaching deep into the third world. I decided to schedule more time to read about the origins of the social justice movement. We both agreed to attend the Women’s March on Washington.

Continue reading →

Why It’s Okay for You to Ask Me About My Hair

/ Charlene Ochogo / 1 Comment

No, really, this isn’t a trap. It’s okay.

I got to thinking about this the other day at my bartending job when a customer made a comment on my hair.

She was an older white woman (we’ll call her Jane) sitting with her husband. Since we had all of ten customers in the bar at the time, I’d been shooting the breeze and answering questions from Jane and her husband, when Jane smiled and said, “Your hair is so gorgeous. How do you do it?”

Let’s begin with this: I have a lot of hair. Both the hair that grows out of my scalp and the hair that is only mine thanks to capitalism and the laws of possession.

Continue reading →

Now Playing: The IPTF Podcast, Ep. 1

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

I’m pleased to guest host 2L Ryan Sullivan today, who is bringing us the first ever Intellectual Property and Technology Forum podcast. The IPTF is dedicated to providing readers with rigorous, innovative scholarship, timely reporting, and ongoing discussion from the legal community concerning technology law and intellectual property. The Forum is designed, edited and published by students at Boston College Law School.

I am pleased to announce that the first episode of the IPTF Podcast is complete! The podcast is in conjunction with the Intellectual Property and Technology Forum Journal at BC Law.

Continue reading →

These Shows May Not Have Been Written For You, But It’d Be Super Cool If You Watched Anyway

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

We’re coming up on the 60th anniversary of the television becoming a staple in American homes. And I can’t be the only one who’s noticed the spectacularly colorful fall line-up of shows this year.

Marvel’s Luke Cage (Netflix). Insecure (HBO). Atlanta (FX).

But I’m already fearful for these shows’ longevity. Because there are some who feel uncomfortable by their very existence.

Continue reading →

History in the Making

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

I’m very excited to host a guest blog from a go-getter BC Law 1L, Brianna Marshall. She is originally from central Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bucknell University in 2015 with a degree in Animal Behavior and a French minor. During her gap year, Brianna lived in New York City, working for several nonprofits dedicated to food policy and global hunger. At BC Law, Brianna is now a 1L Section Representative for the Art Law Society and a Staff Writer for the Intellectual Property and Technology Forum (IPTF) Journal. Have questions about life as a 1L? Contact Brianna at brianna.marshall@bc.edu. 

Election season is fully upon us and, as expected, BC Law is abuzz with many of the same tensions, fears, and frustrations felt throughout the country given the current political climate. Continue reading →

The Cases We Read: Pennoyer v. Neff

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

What comes to mind when you hear the words, “personal jurisdiction”?

Fear? Loathing? Confusion because you’re a 1L or prospective student who has no idea what this is?

One of the things that fascinated me most when I came to law school was the fact that here we are in the 21st century and we’re still studying cases from close to 200 years ago. Frankly, I was rather annoyed when I realized this—was I supposed to have come into law school with the word “forsooth” as part of my working lexicon?  Continue reading →