The Supreme Court Experience

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / 1 Comment

Today’s guest post about Professor Kent Greenfield’s class “The Supreme Court Experience” is by 3L Elijah Rockhold. Watch a video about the class here.

When imagining the institutions of government in Washington, D.C., people might think of the grandiose Capitol building, with its intimidating Rotunda, massive chambers, and spacious steps where Presidents are inaugurated. Or they imagine the lawns on either side of the White House: the tours of the nation’s home and seat of power. Fewer people may imagine the Supreme Court, a beautiful building by its own terms, but smaller and less imposing than the other two branches of government. The building is tucked behind the Capitol, not viewable from the mall, and the public access is limited compared to other D.C. buildings. Even inside, the Courtroom in the center of the building is small: only about one hundred spectators can watch arguments in the room. 

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Get to Know the CSO: Dorothy Commons

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

A career services advisor can be an amazing resource in law school as you navigate OCI, externships, clerkship applications, and more. However, it’s important that you find the advisor who can best help you reach your personal goals! To do so, follow along with this new series to learn about each CSO advisor at Boston College Law School. Here is our interview with Dorothy Commons.

What’s the best piece of career advice you can offer students?

Believe in yourself and embrace a growth mindset. As an advisor, I often browse through LinkedIn to identify alums who are in certain practice areas or settings, and while doing so, I come across many who I worked with when they were law students. This has become a fun practice, because our alums are doing some really cool things with their careers — which should be no surprise because, like you, they are smart people who went to a great law school! I often notice that many are in very different positions from the first ones they had, and some have pivoted a few times. I know some started with what they thought was their dream job, and others began in positions they knew they would move on from. The common thread here is that they worked hard, remained curious, believed in themselves, and moved forward. 

All the stresses of law school can, at times, make some students doubt themselves, and the stress of any job search is real. But please remember that you are here for a reason. Believing in yourself, putting yourself out there again and again, and reflecting on your experiences will help you learn, grow, and find opportunities. 

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AI Art and Copyright Law

/ Eddie Godino / Leave a comment

AI has taken the world by storm, and a plethora of new legal questions have come along with it. Issues relating to AI have only just begun to make their way to the courts, so it may be a while before we have concrete answers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t consider the implications in the meantime.

AI was the central topic of Ropes & Gray’s 6th Annual International IP Summit at BC Law’s campus last month. While the functions AI can serve are almost too many to discuss, one especially interesting application of AI is to generate art. The song “Heart on My Sleeve” used AI to emulate the voices and styles of Drake and The Weeknd with eerie accuracy, and the photo that took first place the Sony World Photography Awards was later revealed to be the product of AI. 

“The Electrician,” created by Boris Eldagsen using AI, which took first place at the Sony World Photography Awards

The popularity of AI-generated art is already having an impact on copyright law. I had a chance to speak with Joseph Liu, accredited scholar and copyright professor here at BC Law, to break down some of the problems posed by AI in the copyright space. 

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Legal Listening: More Perfect

/ Sangeeta Kishore / Leave a comment

My first introduction to podcasts was in my AP Biology class years ago. The science podcast, Radiolab, was full of wonder and fed my curiosity. It felt personal, like telling a story. And I could tune in wherever I was, while I did whatever I was doing.  

Many years later, I’ve listened to podcasts about all sorts of things: fashion, foreign policy, even wellness. But now, in my first year of law school, I’ve been using podcasts as a way to explore the legal landscape beyond the dense casebooks. And there is no better full-circle moment for me than a Radiolab spin-off, More Perfect.

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A Note to Public Interest-Minded Students

/ Haley Cole / Leave a comment

Entering law school with a focus on public interest can be a daunting process, especially at a school where the majority of students end up going into Big Law. You may have started school with the conviction that public interest was your calling – but what does it mean to engage in that kind of work? 

The diversity of paths within the public interest field can provide some comfort, but it can be overwhelming to navigate law school without a clear understanding of what this work really entails. It’s challenging to stay steadfast in your public interest passions when the first year of law school emphasizes concrete doctrinal teachings and does not elaborate on the abstract idea of what it is to be a lawyer. If you’ve found yourself questioning your goals or feeling lost on how to explore the broad field of public interest work, I want to offer some advice. 

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Get to Know the CSO: Jill Hwang

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

A career services advisor can be an amazing resource in law school as you navigate OCI, externships, clerkship applications, and more. However, it’s important that you find the advisor who can best help you reach your personal goals! To do so, follow along with this new series to learn about each CSO advisor at Boston College Law School. Here is our interview with Jill Hwang.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in law school, and how did you overcome it?

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Memo Week’s Secret Memo

/ Alex Mostaghimi / Leave a comment

Memo week came and went with the grace of a Vanderbilt train crash. While all LP students are told at the beginning of the semester what they can expect, memo week still manages to derail our priorities. Nevertheless, if we heed the lessons learned from this short period, we might be able to build healthy habits to avoid future pains.

Memo week tends to bring the first symptoms of stress to the forefront, and its showing is magnificently diverse. 

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Killers of the Flower Moon

/ Christopher Tan / Leave a comment

The air is crisp. The leaves are brown. The days ever shorter. Amidst it all, the paperchase rumbles on. 

At this point in the semester, with the crucible of case readings, legal research, and memo writing taking its toll, I found myself delving into the core of why I chose a legal career. What about the law drives us law students to put up with such demands? I needed a reminder, and a recent screening of the “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the new movie by Martin Scorsese starring Leonardo DiCaprio, helped answer the question.

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Halloween is Here: The Best Law School Costumes

/ kristievhoang / Leave a comment

The Law Student Association is selling Halloween wristbands, so Spooky Season is officially upon us. If you’re scrambling for last-minute costume ideas, have no fear. These are classroom and bar crawl appropriate outfits that will set you apart from everyone else who decides to be Elle Woods or a Supreme Court Justice. 

Lexis Nexis Representative

Needs:

  1. Large Red Lexis Nexis Tumblr
  2. 1 Lexis Nexis highlighter in their pocket 
  3. 1 handful of assorted snacks 
  4. 1 Pocket Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (by Lexis, of course)

Stand outside the Law Library with a folding table for maximum costume authenticity. Since you’ll likely have most of these costume materials in your backpack, this costume can be assembled in less than five minutes on your way to class. 

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