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Making a Lawyer Part I: Steven Avery’s Attorneys Visit BC Law

/ Ryan Murphy / Leave a comment

Dean Walt

This is Part I of a two-part series about two attorneys from the Netflix series Making a Murderer, Mr. Walt Kelly ‘68 and Mr. Dean Strang, visiting Boston College Law School on  Wednesday, February 24, 2016.  Check back tomorrow for Part II.

“How many of you have seen Making a Murderer?” Mr. Walt Kelly, genuinely curious, asked the crowd of more than 300 students and faculty. When nearly every hand shot up, the room erupted with laughter. Mr. Kelly seemed to have underestimated the show’s  popularity, especially among law students.

The Netflix series Making a Murderer was released in December to rave reviews, and quickly became binge-watching fodder for students on Winter Break across the country. The show, which was filmed over a ten-year period in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, highlights the story of Mr. Steven Avery, who was exonerated after serving eighteen years in prison for sexual assault and attempted murder, only to be charged with murder just two years after his release. Mr. Avery’s main criminal defense raised questions about conflicts of interest during the murder investigation and implied foul play among the ranks of the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department.

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The Best Class I’ve Taken in Law School

/ Elizabeth Blass / 2 Comments

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Coming into law school, I had no intention of ever stepping into a court room. I thought I wanted to do education policy work for a non-profit or government agency, hanging out behind a desk, engaging with complex issues at the highest levels, and generally avoiding an adversarial setting at all costs. But then I actually came to law school and what I thought I wanted shifted dramatically — which, spoiler alert, happens a lot!

My 2L year, my dear friend and current Law Student Association Vice President Andrea Clavijo lovingly coerced me into participating in the intra-school Moot Court competition. More on that later (and you can read about it on the BC Law web site here), but the tl;dr version is that Moot Court is basically fake appellate advocacy. Instead of making an argument to a jury, Law & Order style, you and a partner argue in front of a (fake) Supreme Court, focusing on the legal issues and advocating for what the law should be.

The experience was absolutely terrifying, and I. Absolutely. Loved It. Which is what brings me to the actual topic of the post: the best class I’ve taken in law school.

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Meet the Affinity Group Leaders: Anna Hunanyan (MELSA)

/ Marx P. Calderon / Leave a comment

Name: Anna Hunanyan

Year: 2L

Affinity Group: Middle Eastern Law Students Association (MELSA); pictureCo-President

Undergraduate Institution:

UCLA, BA Business Economics, BA Comparative Literature

Experiences between college and law school:

I took a year off before starting law school. I spent half of that year working as a financial analyst and the other half as a legal assistant.

Favorite event that your organization plans:

Every semester MELSA invites a speaker to discuss a timely and relevant issue concerning the Middle East. We have had cutting edge thinkers engage the BC Law community on topics such as free speech and hate speech, the Armenian Genocide, and the development of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. We have been lucky to host speakers with diverse backgrounds and experiences coming from different parts of the world. The perspective they bring and share is thought-provoking.

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Yes, We Go to School Sponsored Social Events: Ski Trip

/ Ryan Murphy / Leave a comment

Each February, members of the BC law community leave their busy academic lives behind and venture into the mountains for a weekend away. Destination: Killington, Vermont.

They pile into condos – air mattresses and all – and spend the days on the slopes or about the town and the nights at Killington’s finest watering holes. We hoped to capture the spirit of the weekend with our second Instagram contest of the year.

We received a wide array of submissions, starting with some frame-worthy mountain shots…

Beyond Boston: Semester in Practice and #BCinDC

/ Elizabeth Blass / Leave a comment

Going to BC Law doesn’t have to mean spending three years in Boston. For those who want to use law school as an opportunity to explore other places, BC sponsors a ton of Semester in Practice programs in cities as close as New York and as far away as Amsterdam.

Watch the video below to learn about Diane Prend, ’16, who spent a Semester in Practice in Washington, D.C. as part of the #BCinDC program. You can also check out an article about her time in D.C. here.

 

And if you’re interested in learning more about the Semester in Practice programs, you can check those out here.

 

Meet the Affinity Group Leaders: Moussa Hassoun (Lambda Co-Chair)

/ Marx P. Calderon / Leave a comment

This new “Meet the” series introduces you to the diverse affinity student group leaders on campus. 

Name: Moussa Hassoun

Year: 2017 (2L)IMG_6036

Organization & Position:

Lambda: Co-Chair

Undergraduate Institution:

Bentley University

Experiences between college and law school: 

I went straight through from Bentley to BC Law. In between I worked for Liberty Mutual as a Product Analyst. 

Favorite event that your organization plans: 

The Lambda Annual Retreat is a special one. Students get away from the chaos of law school and get a chance to relax and get to know one another. Relaxation is one of the most undervalued needs all students should make time for. The retreat provides that opportunity and allows LGBTQ+ students to develop a community at the law school.

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Preparing for OCI (Part 3 of 3): Suspend All Disbelief

/ DQuattrochi / Leave a comment

Editor’s Note: I’m a recently graduated, proud alumnus of Boston College Law School, a community I love with all my heart. This is the third and final post in a series aimed at helping rising 2Ls prepare for the on-campus interview process. The topic(s) of this post, specifically, address short term OCI alternatives and long term career planning-best practices. It is my sincere hope that you will find this both helpful and comforting as you move through this process. Most importantly it’s my wish that you never forget that you’re not alone. We’re Eagles. We fly together.

My story:

“Is this a sick joke?” I stared at the screen in disbelief, laughed uncomfortably, and then excused myself from his Honor’s chambers to prevent myself from awkwardly crying in front of Alicia, the Courtroom Deputy.

Convinced I’d read it wrong, I put on a smile, tightened my tie, grabbed my jacket, and scurried down the hall to the John R. Bartels Library, my frequent third floor escape that summer when I just couldn’t even. “Mr. Quattrochi, 26(f) conference on my docket this morning, you said you’d wanted to see one. I trust I’ll see you there?” I looked up, reflexively. “Yes, Judge. Just going to grab a coffee before we start. Can I get you anything?”  With that aside, I entered the library and pulled out my cell phone.

Nope. I hadn’t read it wrong. Out of the more than fifty bids I’d submitted, I’d only been selected for one screener in Boston, and two screeners in New York. I walked out of the library, turned, went directly into the bathroom, and ugly-cried for a good ten minutes straight. Then my phone vibrated.

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BC Law Ranked at #16 by Above the Law

/ Elizabeth Blass / Leave a comment

Untitled

BC Law was ranked #16 — up 5 spots from last year — in the newest Above the Law Law School Rankings. The ATL rankings focus on how a law school contributes to positive student outcomes (read: jobs and salaries), and are the only rankings that incorporate the latest American Bar Association data about employment for the class of 2014. ATL also incorporates a “debt per job” metric which measures how much student debt is accrued by a school’s graduates for every actual legal job obtained.

To read more about the ATL Rankings, and see the full list of schools, click here!

Watch My Academic Advisor, Ray Madoff, Testify Before Congress on Repeal of Estate Tax

/ DQuattrochi / Leave a comment

Watch Ray Madoff, my academic advisor and favorite Boston College Law School professor testify in Washington, D.C. before the Congressional Ways and Means Committee on the issue of repealing the nearly century-old Estate Tax. Although Congress is seriously considering the repeal, according to Madoff it would be a mistake, with far-reaching societal costs and negative repercussions.

Professor Madoff testifies in the video below at 10:52, 25:05 and 38:56, and she absolutely “kills it.” ‪#‎IAmBCLaw‬ ‪#‎ProudToBeALegalEagle‬ ‪#‎TrustsAndEstates‬‪ #‎TaxIsSexierThanYouThink‬

http://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2015/03/no-time-to-repeal-estate-tax-fairness-dictates-it-remains-says-madoff/

Adversaries (Paradigms of Criminal Law Part 2)

/ Amelia M. Wirts, Esq. / Leave a comment
prosecution and defense 2

Judith Mizner describes her argument before the Supreme Court. She and her client won, assuring that police cannot search your smartphone without a warrant even if you are arrested.

“A person is not the worst thing they have ever done,” said Judith Mizner, the Chief of the Appeals Unit in the Federal Public Defenders Office.

Another defense attorney jumped in. “Exactly! Prosecutors don’t see past a defendant’s crime. They don’t see who they are as a human being.” Some first year students shifted uncomfortably; others enjoyed the sincerity of the lawyers sitting in front of us.

“But defense attorneys have the luxury of caring only about their clients,” a prosecutor quipped back.

“We have to think about what is right for the defendant, for the victims, and for the rest of the community. I do think about the defendant’s life and who they are when I am deciding between plea bargains and charges, but I also have to face the victims,” she said. Continue reading →