Name: Jonathan Mangel
Year: 1L (Class of 2018)
Undergraduate institution: Ramapo College of New Jersey, Class of 2015, graduated magna cum laude
Name: Ryan Dougherty
Year: 1L (Class of 2018)
Undergraduate institution: Georgetown University, Class of 2011, three-time BIG EAST All-Academic selection as a member of the Hoyas basketball team.
Experiences between college and law school: After college, I got my Master’s degree in Government at Georgetown, with a concentration in International Law and Global Security. While in grad school I was a volunteer assistant basketball coach at Georgetown. Afterwards, I worked for a consulting firm in Washington, DC, advising clients on national security issues in the defense, energy, public health, and transportation sectors.
Name: Mary Delsener
Year: 2L (Class of 2017)
Undergraduate institution: Barnard College, Class of 2012
Experiences between college and law school: I worked in New York for two years in between college and law school as a paralegal at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Boston College Law Ambassadors is a newly launched program designed to enhance the on-campus experience for every prospective student who visits BC Law. The Ambassadors are thirty students who lead campus tours, help out at Admitted Students Day, and serve as a resource for applicants and admitted students who are considering enrolling at BC Law.
In support of this role, each Ambassador will be profiled on the Impact blog over the course of the school year. If you are a prospective student and notice something about any of our Ambassadors that you’d like to discuss with him or her – whether it’s a shared alma mater, an interesting extracurricular, or an appealing summer job – do not hesitate to reach out. After all, that’s what we’re here for!
To begin this series, we start with the two students who developed and kickstarted the Ambassadors program: Andrea Clavijo and Lydia Bugli.
If you’re familiar with the West Wing — which, if you’re not, what are you doing with your life — you’ll know what I mean when I say that “the Supremes” are a big deal in the world of law school. As any law student will tell you, you spend a great deal of time during your three years reading, talking and learning about what the Justices of the Supreme Court have decided and why.
Last week, the students at BC Law got to skip the casebook and learn straight from one of the sources herself: Justice Elena Kagan, the newest judge appointed to the bench. Justice Kagan answered questions from law school Dean Vincent Rougeau, as well as from students in the audience, and spoke about a wide variety of topics, including the importance of legal writing and being a woman on the bench.
As a Supreme Court fangirl, I gotta tell you — it was pretty freaking cool. Check out BC Law magazine’s article on the Q&A here, and a few photos of the event below!
Editor’s Note: Kevin Curtin is the Boston College Law School Alumni Board President and a member of the BC Law Class of ’88. He is Senior Appellate Counsel/Grand Jury Director at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. He has tried approximately 100 jury cases and handled over 100 criminal appeals. Mr. Curtin is also an instructor in the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop and a faculty member of the national trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is also an adjunct faculty member at BC Law. All of us at Impact are pleased to be able to host his guest blog post.
Commencement is a time for remembering why you chose to become a lawyer. That idea was reflected in the remarks of this year’s Commencement speaker, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach David Simas, BC Law ‘95. Dean Vincent Rougeau talked about it. It was also mentioned by Class President Lainey Sullivan ’15 (who recently committed to join the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan ’79).
Coincidence? Maybe.
But what about this? Dean Rougeau, University President Father William P. Leahy, David Simas and Lainey Sullivan also spoke about something else: the idea of a tradition shared in common with those who have come before them. Something that makes Boston College Law School special—an essential bond that cannot be seen, but which is continuously affirmed as true.
Let’s talk about Baltimore. Most people outside of the D.C. area know Charm City from David Simon’s The Wire. The Wire is a masterfully conceptualized piece of work that truly transcended television (full disclosure: I took an entire course on it in undergrad). Simon, in an interview, once said that:
The Wire is a Greek tragedy in which the postmodern institutions are the Olympian forces. It’s the police department, or the drug economy, or the political structures, or the school administration, or the macroeconomic forces that are throwing the lightning bolts and hitting people in the ass for no decent reason. In much of television, and in a good deal of our stage drama, individuals are often portrayed as rising above institutions to achieve catharsis. In this drama, the institutions always prove larger, and those characters with hubris enough to challenge the postmodern construct of American empire are invariably mocked, marginalized, or crushed. Greek tragedy for the new millennium, so to speak.
Last week, BC Law students Shannon Johnson ’15, Alejandra Salinas ’15, Jeremy Sanders ’15, and Kelly Schwartz ’15 did something many many many lawyers never get a chance to do: they argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California. See videos below…
Kelly Schwartz & Jeremy Sanders:
Editor’s Note: Nirav Bhatt is the incoming President of the Boston College Law Students Association. Much like his predecessor, Nirav embodies the very best qualities that BC Law students have to offer. As his classmate, LSA colleague, and intramural basketball teammate, I can personally attest to the ways he pushes those around him to better both themselves and the BC community as a whole. In keeping with the Drake theme of this post’s title, he is and has been Steph Curry with the shot in all conceivable situations. Without further ado or musical references, I am very pleased to present…
If You’re Reading This You Should Commit to Boston College Law School
by Nirav Bhatt, President, Boston College Law Students Association 2015-16
Editor’s Note: One of my very favorite parts of attending BC Law is the constant interaction with classmates who push you to be better. They motivate you to set goals that would have seemed unthinkable on the first day of 1L year, and inspire you to exceed even those heightened aspirations. Although she would never admit it herself, Lainey Sullivan is the living, breathing embodiment of this type of BC student. I reached out to Lainey and asked if she had the time to write a brief welcome letter to next year’s incoming students, and what she sent back blew me away. Per usual. Without further ado, I am very pleased to present…
Why I Will Miss BC Law and Why You Shouldn’t Miss the Chance to Be an Eagle
By Lainey Sullivan, President, Boston College Law Students Association
BC Law: Impact 