Author: mptierney

Jobs That Come From the Least Likely Place

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Last week, I landed my first law job. (There’s been a lot of private dance parties, in my room, by myself.) Naturally, I’m incredibly relieved. But my job didn’t come from an internship or even an on-campus interview. My job came from the professor whose Article 2 exam I bombed. True statement. For those still on the fence about BC, and, maybe even at this point, law school generally, read my story.

I did decently in first semester, 1L. Nothing to write home about at all. But just enough to keep me from cashing in on the insurance policy that Admissions offers for a full refund of your first year tuition, should you come to the conclusion that going to law school was actually a horrible idea. So, I hedged my bets and got fancy by taking a class called “Advanced Contracts.”

And for three years after the fact, I had regretted taking that class. Not because it wasn’t incredible: it was. And insanely difficult. That course single-handedly dialed me into what I needed to get better at to right the ship. But with so much riding on your grades, I believed I had really shot myself in the foot with the whole ‘Go Big or Go Home’ attitude. But you fight on, keep a positive attitude, and hope for the best.

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At BC Law I get to be a College Professor

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Did that title catch you? I hope it did, because it’s true. What else do we think about when we commit to graduate school except what opportunities will be open to us after such a monumental a choice? Before BC Law, I was a paralegal. I lived in Manhattan and London after college. To be honest, I thought I had peaked. Those experiences defined me, I think, and like many who would read this blog, there’s a lot riding on where you want to commit such a massive amount of capital. But at BC Law, I get to teach an undergraduate class. Right? It’s AWESOME!

A Brazilian man (an LLM, who I now count as an incredible friend) and I teach 26 bright young minds of tomorrow in a class focusing on Environmental Law and American Jurisprudence. At BC, if you focus in Environmental Law, you have the opportunity to teach a college class. You really can’t say that enough. I’ve done a lot in the law and in law school. I worked at Cravath. I’ve negotiated federal treaties with federally recognized Alaskan tribes. And because of the famous BC network, I got to work at the DOJ in my 1L year. But this, wow, this has been the best thing I’ve ever done.

The program is open to students in other Boston area law schools, but is the solely the product of BC. If we have this, imagine the other opportunities you can cultivate for yourself at this place. The sky truly is the limit.

Seachanges and Drag Queens

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With the current state of the world, Environmental Law is only going to get bigger. At BC Law, there’s no question that we’re at the tip of the spear on a number of pressing environmental legal initiatives. Our environmental law review, Environmental Affairs, is the second oldest and most subscribed such journal in the country. Our professors of environmental law are luminaries in their field. And our student run Environmental Law Society boasts a proud, longstanding tradition of meaningful social and academic engagement. This January, the Environmental Law Society made a trip down to Provincetown as part of its annual Winter Weekend excursion.

Winter Weekend is tough to capture. It’s part lecture series, part bonding adventure, and recently, part drag karaoke jam fest. Let me explain. For the last three years, the Environmental Law Society has journeyed down to P-Town, famous for that old Cape magic, not to mention the town’s established LGBT community.  Law students come to learn from great speakers, enjoy the best seafood, and croon a Journey song or two with the locally famous Dana Danzel II.

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Better Love It, and at BC, I know I do…

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When you pick a law school, one of the biggest things you have to recognize is that this is the place where you are going to spend three years of your life. For most, that’s a third of your twenties, and almost as long as college. You better love where you go to school (I know I do). The thing that has made law school for me is the faculty.

The faculty at BC Law are nothing short of incredible. Of course they are leaders in their fields. Of course they are legal pioneers. This is BC, remember? But what truly sets these doctors of law apart is just how dedicated they are to their students. It’s almost scary how much they are willing to do for us.

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