Happy Spooky Season! To those of you who celebrate, like me, Halloween is around the corner. And more importantly, the annual BC Law Halloween party falls on October 31st this year, boding a particularly festive celebration.
To get us all in the Halloween spirit, I’d like to pose some witching hour-themed questions you can ponder between class reading assignments.
Continue readingThe journey of getting a J.D. is fraught with uncertainty, but there is a particular lasting uncertainty that many public-interest law students feel as they navigate their way through school. Specifically, public-interest students can find themselves at the end of a three-year J.D. program unclear on where their next journey lies.
One may find it unfortunate that the public interest sector does not have a defined linear track like the big-law business lays out for law students. It can feel daunting to constantly search for your next summer experience each school year without the certainty that you will be offered long-term employment.
Continue reading“They” really do. Maybe it’s the adrenaline rush of 1L that shields you from the 2L crash– but crash you may, come 2L.
Heading into your 2L year, the freedom to choose your schedule is both initially exciting and slightly intimidating. But an abundance of choice in your academic calendar may lead you to oversubscribe to all the offerings of law school after a rigid 1L year hand-picked for optimal doctrinal standardization. Now, there is the expectation that you remember everything you learned during 1L because you are allegedly fluent in legalese, right?
Continue readingThis is part one of a two part study spot series. Catch part two covering on-campus options on 11/20.
Happy finals season! We are in the homestretch of the fall semester, which means BC Law students find themselves with their heads in their books and spending far more time inside. As we are all preparing for finals, I would like to offer some alternative study spots in the Newton-Boston area that are NOT the BC Law Library we are all very (too) familiar with. Happy studying, you’re almost there!
Continue readingToday, law students are primarily sculpted in classrooms, with the chances for out-of-class experience strewn throughout summer work, school clinics, and externships. But becoming a lawyer in the U.S. was originally premised on the experience of apprenticing. Direct observation, hands-on work, with a touch of baptism-by-fire-shaped lawyers. On a broader level, apprenticing was premised on mentorship. Though law students must endure the modern right of passage that is the dreaded 1L year spent in structured doctrinals, mentorship has remained a mainstay of a legal education.
“Networking” is a daunting word for most in the professional world and known all too well by those in the legal field. Law students understand early on that building a network is a crucial part of forming their careers. But mentorship is just as important as – and in fact both encompasses the nature of and is an expansion of – networking. As a remnant of early legal education, having mentors from the moment you start law school until your last day of retirement at that fancy law firm you started is vital to success in the legal field. Having a network is important, but having people in your corner to guide the ship that is your career journey is what makes your network rich.
Continue readingIn 2023, only 5% of all attorneys across the United States identified as Black or African American, according to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau (not including the 3% of attorneys who identified as multi-racial). In that same year, only 2% of Black or African American identifying attorneys were women.
These statistics lay bare the stark reality that Black attorneys are underrepresented in the legal community. The same census report cites 15% of Americans who identify as Black, or Black in addition to another race(s). However, the number of Black attorneys does not align with the magnitude of contributions they have made to, and accolades they have earned within, the legal field.
Within the BC Law community lies a special history of Black excellence. Boston College Law School’s new website “Black History at BC Law” and a companion BC Law Magazine feature story documents and praises the triumphs of our Black BC Law community.
Continue readingIn navigating career options, many law students find themselves torn between pursuing Biglaw or public interest. Within the public interest sector, it can seem as though you are constrained to only government or non-profit work. Though both settings can offer fulfilling opportunities for impactful work, public interest law is a broad field encompassing various avenues beyond government and non-profit contexts.
One such avenue is plaintiff-side law. To shed more light on this area of practice I sought insights from attorneys Christine Webber, Partner and co-chair of the Employment & Civil Rights practice group at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC in Washington, D.C., and Lauren Barnes, Partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro in Boston, MA. Both Christine and Lauren have successful careers at their respective plaintiff-side firms and offered valuable perspectives on this field.
Continue readingHappy Valentine’s Day, and importantly, Happy Black History Month!
Since 1976, U.S. presidents have recognized February as Black History Month. February’s historical designation makes it a time to celebrate African American and Black people’s voices, cultures, adversities, and triumphs.
Though Black people in the United States have a resilient history of fighting the forces of racial injustice prior to the Civil Rights Movement, the American Civil Rights Movement is formally acknowledged as a period in the 1950’s and 60’s. This period was marked by historical moments such as the Brown v. Board of Education case decision, Rosa Park’s school bus arrest, and the March on Washington – to name a few. The Civil Rights Movement prompted the passing of two pivotal pieces of legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Black musicians continued contributing to their art. In honor of Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, enjoy this playlist of love songs by Black artists from the Civil Rights Movement era.
Happy Black History Month, happy Valentine’s Day, and happy listening!
Haley Cole is a first-year student at BC Law. Contact her at colehc@bc.edu.
Happy Holidays! With finals finishing up, it’s time for students to relax and refresh. What better way to do this than watching holiday movies – but with a law school twist? Here are some Holiday movies as first-year law school courses.
Hallmark Movies: Civil Procedure
Yes, Hallmark movies – as in the WHOLE collection of those predictable movies we know and love. Hallmark Christmas movie plots seem to follow a certain formula, or PROCEDURE *wink wink* (I mean look at that photo!). Similarly to Civil Procedure, there are specific rules that govern Hallmark Christmas movies, making them very predictable.
Each Hallmark Christmas movie puts its own spin on a classic Christmas plot. In Civil Procedure you learn the procedural rules governing our civil system, but you also learn how ingenuity allows lawyers to approach each civil case differently and apply their own tactical spin.
Entering law school with a focus on public interest can be a daunting process, especially at a school where the majority of students end up going into Big Law. You may have started school with the conviction that public interest was your calling – but what does it mean to engage in that kind of work?
The diversity of paths within the public interest field can provide some comfort, but it can be overwhelming to navigate law school without a clear understanding of what this work really entails. It’s challenging to stay steadfast in your public interest passions when the first year of law school emphasizes concrete doctrinal teachings and does not elaborate on the abstract idea of what it is to be a lawyer. If you’ve found yourself questioning your goals or feeling lost on how to explore the broad field of public interest work, I want to offer some advice.
Continue reading
BC Law: Impact 