The Opportunity Cost of Early BigLaw Recruiting

It’s your first semester of law school at BC Law. It’s been just a few weeks since orientation, and you’re trying to get your footing. Torts makes sense, because slapping someone is obviously a battery. Contracts feels manageable too; you think about your apartment lease, or your brother’s offer to buy you McDonald’s, to think through offer and acceptance. Law Practice is a bit frustrating because you’re expected to learn the Bluebook on the fly. And Civ Pro? You have no idea what’s going on there—but that’s a problem for later.

Meanwhile, you’re figuring out how to be a law student. Do you take notes like you did in undergrad, buy color-coded notebooks to handwrite in class, or type a near-transcript of everything your professor says? When do you start outlining—and what even is an outline? Will you sound stupid if you go to office hours to ask about Twombly? And then there’s the club fair. Should you apply to that 1L Representative position for the Law Student Association? Or for the Business Law Society? Both would look great on your resume. But not too many commitments so soon—you still need time to read your cases, pour hours into over-detailed briefs, and prepare for class. Maybe one club application and casual involvement in the others will be enough for now.

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Is Love Possible in Law School? Lessons from St. Valentine

Recently, while traversing the aisles of my local Target, I found myself nearly drowning in a red sea of assorted teddy bears, flowers, chocolates, and fatigued sales associates. Like Moses though, I split through the waters by politely saying excuse me and performing an awkward penguin-like shuffle by. As I finally made it to the aisle that contained Draino, the purpose of my shopping trip, I thought to myself that there must be much more to Valentine’s Day than modern American consumerism. My intuition was right. 

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The Great White Hurricane: When Providence Showed Off

This weekend’s bitter cold reminded me of a three-day storm long in the past that makes our modern Nor’easters look positively quaint. On March 11-14, 1888, the “Great White Hurricane” buried the Northeast under 50 inches of snow coupled with 85 mph winds. According to contemporary account in the New York Evening Sun, “It came in whirls, it descended in layers, it shot along in great blocks, it rose and fell and corkscrewed and zigzagged and played merry havoc with everything it could swing or batter or bang or carry away.”

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A Tale of Two Newtons: Life as a Freshman and Law Student

Before I ever stepped foot onto the grounds of Boston College, I learned that I would be living on the Newton campus my freshman year.

I did not think much of it at first, but as I descended the hill to Duchesne Hall for the first time, I prepared myself for an entire year of living in the lowest place on campus, both figuratively and literally. Although I had some challenges adjusting to my new living situation, I came to love Newton campus and defend it against anybody willing to talk poorly about it. I met some of my best friends in Duchesne and on the Newton bus, and I would not trade those experiences for anything. Only on Newton campus will you see people being hurled down a hill of snow and ice in a trash can and call it “sledding.” Only on Newton campus will freshmen buy BC Law sweatshirts to try to study in the Law Library.

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A Tool for Accountability and Justice: Meet Leena Alasaad

There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here! 

Previous entries: Sara Womble (Winston Salem, NC); Elias Massion (Nashville, TN); Samina Gagné (London);Alvin Synarong (Murfreesboro, Tennessee); Ruchita Jain (Edina, Minnesota); Nicole Bauer (Michigan);Carlos Robles-Cruz (Puerto Rico); Taha Din (Naperville, IL); Timothy St. Pierre (Brunswick, Maine); Tobias Wilcken Jørgensen LLM ’25 (Denmark).


Leena Alasaad

Name: Leena Alasaad

Hometown: Dracut, Massachusetts

Educational Background: Undergraduate degree in Political Science, with a minor in Philosophy and Law, University of Massachusetts Boston

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The Proof is in the Puffery: A Thanksgiving Story about Chiffon Cake

This Thanksgiving, our contribution to the feast was a pineapple chiffon cake. Chiffon is the French word for “cloth” and the cake’s name derives from its light and airy texture. After testing over 400 different recipes, the cake’s aptly named inventor, Harry Baker, discovered the magic formula by replacing butter with vegetable oil. He called the addition of vegetable oil, “a sixth sense, something cosmic.” Mr. Baker held tightly to that secret for 20 years before selling the recipe to General Mills in 1947. Ever-the-salesman, General Mills debuted the recipe with the moniker, “The first really new cake in 100 years.”

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For the 1Ls from the 2Ls: Last Minute Exam Advice

It was not until I started my 2L year that I realized just how much I have grown since first walking into BC Law in August 2024. I feel like I lived 20 years in one, but I remember my first class––Critical Perspectives––like it happened a week ago.

In my short time as a 2L, I have been lucky enough to have two amazing mentees with whom I can grace with my law school wisdom. I also learned a lot from them about what it’s like being a 1L in 2025. Each year recruitment moves up, and more pressure is added to the exam period.

While I give all the student-experience advice I can to my 1Ls, I realize my experience is just that––mine. In law school, perhaps the greatest lesson I have learned so far is how individualized it is: students learn material differently, do readings differently, and prepare for exams differently. I asked 3 friends the same set of questions about their exam prep and for any advice to the 1Ls heading into their first exam season. They came from each of the Fall 2025 1L sections, and all performed well on their first exams. 

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