Law & Society

Documenting the Triumphs of Our Black BC Law Community

/ Haley Cole / Leave a comment

In 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.

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Facing Cable Cord-Cutting, Cities Fight to Tax Broadband

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This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.

Broadband has been a bright spot in America’s grim inflationary landscape. While consumer prices rose 4.9 percent last year, two recent reports show that consumer broadband prices fell, both in absolute terms and cost per gigabyte. But where many see a victory, some cities sense an opportunity. Stung by declining cable franchise fees, local governments are pushing to tax broadband. This effort faces severe regulatory headwinds, but if successful could erode consumer gains and drive broadband prices higher.

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It’s a Bad Idea, Right? F– It, It’s Fine.

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This guest post by BC Law Professor Brian Quinn first appeared in the M&A Law Prof Blog.

Hi. Back again. I’ve generally taken a hiatus from blogging, but felt it important to come back and put some things on the record, as it were. If this has not been on your radar, in the past two months or so, Delaware has been on a mad rush to make some significant amendments to its corporate law. This, after having previously signaled it wasn’t going to make any amendments this year. I’ll go into each of the proposed amendments in subsequent posts and the problems I see with the process, but in this post I want to focus on one of the potential reasons for moving so quickly to make changes to the law. 

The amendment themselves are what are being called market practice amendments. Earlier this year the Chancery Court asked itself: “What happens when the seemingly irresistible force of market practice meets the traditionally immovable object of statutory law? A court must uphold the law, so the statute prevails.” Moelis. In all three of these cases, the court effectively dealt a knuckle-wrapping to practitioners.

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New York Tests FCC’s “No Rate Regulation” Pledge

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This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.

Reclassification opponents have long warned that net neutrality could be a Trojan horse for broadband rate regulation. Partly in response to this criticism, the Federal Communications Commission’s recent Title II reclassification order expressly reiterated its commitment to the agency’s long-standing, bipartisan commitment to keeping the Internet free from price controls. But even before the order had been finalized, New York’s Affordable Broadband Act began testing the strength of that commitment—and the agency’s initial response seems to be reinforcing its critics’ concerns.

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The House TikTok Ban is an Empty Threat

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This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in TIME, and was reposted in the AEIdeas Blog.

Last month, the House of Representatives proudly voted to ban TikTok unless its corporate parent sells the app within six months. But proponents eager to strike a blow against the Chinese government might not celebrate just yet. There are three main problems with the proposed TikTok ban: it’s probably unconstitutional, it’s practically unenforceable, and, even if it worked, it wouldn’t solve the problem of China gathering sensitive data about American users.

Other than that, it’s fine.

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Have You Heard of Plaintiff-Side Law?

/ Haley Cole / Leave a comment

In 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.

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Two Takeaways on Property Law (So Far)

/ Sangeeta Kishore / Leave a comment

Here are two of my many takeaways from 1L year so far–one surprising, and one not so surprising. First, I find Property Law extremely fascinating. But perhaps I shouldn’t have been shocked. After all, property rights are essential to our everyday lives. The Fifth Amendment declares that the government cannot deprive anyone of three fundamental things—“life, liberty or property”—without due process. But then there is my second takeaway: the government has not always upheld this. Looking at the law with a critical lens, it is clear that unequal administration of the law is as old as the law itself. 

This is where the Heirs’ Property and the Racial Wealth Gap Conference comes in. Hosted by BC Law’s Initiative on Land, Housing, & Property Rights (ILHPR), this two-day conference set to begin a week from today (March 21) will tackle a pressing issue: $32 billion of heirs’ property in the United States is at risk. A wide-range of speakers, from officials at the USDA and HUD to academics and researchers, will speak about the rising racial wealth gap and how to uplift black property issues. 

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Legal Listening: How I Lawyer

/ Sangeeta Kishore / Leave a comment

I’m the first lawyer in my family. I entered law school barely knowing what litigation was, let alone all the possibilities that the legal profession holds. While trying to learn rules and briefing cases, I also had to figure out where I fit into this larger legal landscape. 

This is where How I Lawyer comes in. A podcast hosted by Georgetown Law Professor Jonah Perlin, listeners can learn from attorneys with a wealth of experience and knowledge about practically every domain of law you can think of — even ones you would’ve never imagined. For example, Paul Sarker sheds light on the glamorous (and not-so glamorous) aspects of entertainment law, drawing from his prior work as in-house counsel for Marvel and Disney. Mark Fava is an aviation lawyer, something I knew next to nothing about, who previously defended Delta in passenger litigation and all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) actions before moving to Boeing. Whether you’re passionate about criminal defense or fashion, How I Lawyer truly has something for everyone. 

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A Glimpse into the Human Side of Justice: Visiting District Court

/ Christopher Tan / Leave a comment

The sky wears a cloak of gray. Snow falls, then melts. Indoors, the instant coffee offers warm sips of solace. Heaters hum in a clunky staccato. It is winter in Boston, and the start of the spring semester. 

This week, on another familiarly cloudy day, my criminal justice class and I visited the Worcester District Court where we had the privilege to speak with a judge and observe her presiding over arraignments. The building’s drab architecture echoed the nature of its solemnity. Inside, people spoke in hushed tones, only interrupted by claps of footsteps on marble and the occasional beep of a metal detector. We sat in the back of courtroom 14. Here, the air felt thick, with a sense of gravity and respect.

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Concern for Kids Prompts Problematic Internet Regulation, Take 27

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This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.

“What about the kids?” plays an outsized role in the short history of Internet law. From the Communications Decency Act to the Child Online Protection Act, California’s violent video game law, and more, the contours of online regulation have been shaped well-meaning legislation that turned out to be unwise, unconstitutional, or both. 

Last month, the Senate Commerce Committee reported out a bill poised to become the next entry in this dubious canon. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) purports to protect minors from the very real risks posed by social media. But it does so by placing a vague duty of care on a wide range of Internet-based companies in a manner likely to chill significant amounts of online speech and do more harm than good to minors and society in general—in the unlikely event that it survives judicial review.

The crux of the act is Section 3, which requires “covered platforms” to take reasonable measures to prevent and mitigate specific harms to minors, including:

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