2l

On the Nature of Grief

/ Ismail (Izzy) Ercan / 2 Comments

“The most meaningful thing someone said to me after my father’s death was the following: ‘be kind to yourself. This phrase, although simple, is truly powerful. You may be angry, depressed, tired, happy, manic, etc. This is all okay. Allow yourself to feel. Do not be hard on yourself…There is no timeline for loss.’”

I received that email early the morning after I had learned that my father had passed away in the fall of my 1L year. It was from a 3L who I barely knew. And yet rereading the email today, I realize that not only was he right about the whirlwind of emotions that comes after loss, but how badly I needed to receive the message when I did. 

It is one of those things that is never talked about, and yet when I brought it up to friends, even professors who I barely knew at the law school, I always received that reassuring, comforting nod: I’ve been there too, and I know what you’re going through. 

That is why I wanted to write about my experiences coping with grief. Death is one of those things that unites us all. Losing a loved one, whether unexpected or not, hurts. And yet, until the pandemic, for many it was rarely talked about, especially for people my age who had yet to lose someone close in this early stage of life. 

During the past two years, I have experienced both forms of death: unexpected and expected. Nonetheless, it has taken me all of this time to write about my experiences. I originally wanted to write about coping with grief during the height of the pandemic—a time in which many people have been suffering. If there can be a silver lining to the past year and a half, it has been how discussions about grief have been brought to the forefront of our personal lives as we have comforted each other in our time of need. Sadly, I was not able to get myself to put pen to paper until now, ongoing proof that my grief persists. (To this point, my family still mourns on the same day every month.) In fact, because none of my losses were Covid related, I think my story shows the necessity of facilitating this discussion outside the time of a global pandemic. For those who needed this message earlier, I apologize. 

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2L: Does It Get Easier?

/ Fiona Maguire / 1 Comment

Into the fourth week of 2L, I’m still waiting for it to be “easier than 1L,” as I’ve been told more than once. At BC Law, students are back on campus full time since the Covid-19 outbreak. For many of us, balancing in-person classes, work, student leadership, and free time is a new challenge. My recommendation for anyone who hasn’t started their 2L year yet is to avoid unnecessarily overloading your schedule. I’ve outlined a few tips that apply to classes and extracurriculars that are helping to ease the stress:

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2L Year: Like 1L, But Better

/ Courtney Ruggeri / Leave a comment

If I had to pick three adjectives to describe 1L year, they would be busy, fairly stressful, and extremely exciting. I quickly learned that law school is a full-time job filled with a demanding workload and many commitments outside of the classroom. I also soon realized why my professors emphasized the importance of removing yourself from law school mode every so often to keep your stress levels down. But most importantly, I saw how exciting this new chapter of life was. Law school was my time to open new doors, build new friendships, and take the first step of a new career.

Now that I am a few weeks into 2L, it seems like I may be using the same three adjectives to describe this year, but with a whole new perspective. I no longer am transitioning from a 9 to 5 job or spending far too long on a three-page case. I know what a final exam looks like, and can estimate about how long an outline will take me to make. More importantly, I can tell you what I hope to pursue career-wise and have made great friends along the way.

Although some things may stay the same, here are a few ways in which my perspectives have changed:

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My Most Valuable BC Law Experience

/ Alex Bou-Rhodes / 1 Comment

I’m pleased to host a guest post from 3L Jared Friedberg, who spent some time last year working in BC’s Immigration Clinic.

With the semester winding down and people thinking about next year, I wanted to provide a recommendation: enroll in the immigration clinic. I spent my 2L year in the immigration clinic, and as I look back on my time at BC, it was the most impactful experience that I have had in law school.

The purpose of a clinic is to give students the opportunity to work directly with clients. In the immigration clinic, that means visits to immigration court, detention facilities, the clients’ homes, and anywhere else that the case requires you to go. Over the course of two semesters, I had five clients. While representing our clients, my classmates and I met their families, friends, and coworkers. Some of them lived a few streets from where I grew up and some lived across the world.

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Beat Your 2L Lull: Four Strategies for Success

/ Erika Craven / 1 Comment

Congratulations! You are over halfway finished with law school. You’ve made friends, are now fluent in legalese, and have thankfully avoided being crushed under your huge stack of textbooks. Still, you may also be feeling the 2L slump. The luster of 1L has worn off. Your classes are tough and substantive and post-grad life seems but a glimmer on the horizon. So, how can you push through the lull?

As a law student you are already familiar with hard work and discipline, but some of these tips might help you avoid getting stuck in a rut.

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Summer Associate, Week 1: 59 Thoughts

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

Okay, so granted, I was also a summer associate last year.

Last summer, I wrote to you about what it was like to be a 1L at a firm and how much I was able to do despite how little we feel like we learn in law school. After having the honor of being asked back to the same firm for this summer, I decided to shake it up a little bit. I was feeling inspired by BuzzFeed’s recent posts of the same nature on Season 6 of Game of Thrones, so I decided to give you all an “unfiltered” peek into what my first week as a summer associate at a firm in Western New York was like, with some Michael Scott references peppered in — because, after all, I do work in an office.

  1. Heels hurt. I can practically hear my toes monologuing about why they hate me.
  2. Okay, but the way heels click across a floor makes you sound like a boss. I feel like I’m in the beginning of that Jordan Sparks song. Like, look at me, I’m important, I know where I’m going-
  3. Uh oh. Where am I going?
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The Best Class I’ve Taken in Law School

/ Elizabeth Blass / Leave a comment

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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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It’s Raining Mens Rea! Week 1: The BC Law Softball League Returns

/ Rob Rossi / 1 Comment

Being a lawyer is my second dream job. My first was succeeding Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and Manny Ramirez in the long line of legendary Red Sox left fielders.

I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll never stand in the shadow of the Green Monster while raking in millions of dollars. But the BC Law Softball League helps me work towards my current dream job while coming as close as I possibly can to experiencing the original.

In this post, I’ll provide some background info about the way the league is organized and run. Then I’ll explain my team’s quest for redemption after a heartbreaking finish last year. Finally, I’ll include the results of this weekend’s games along with the standings, which I will try my best to update weekly until a new softball champion is crowned. Continue reading →

Why You Should Enter the Writing Competition and Join a Journal at BC Law

/ Rob Rossi / Leave a comment

Editor’s Note: Ben Kelsey is the incoming Editor-in-Chief of the Boston College International and Comparative Law Review.  Despite other commitments such as finishing 2L year and taking control of the ICLR, Ben was kind enough to author a post about the academic journals at BC Law, and the benefits that stem from the writing responsibilities assigned to their 2L members. We are very pleased to present the second in our series of letters about the rewards of working on a journal, and how interested students can get involved.

Dear 1Ls,

Allow me to be the 101st person to tell you that, despite the fact that you may be completely burned out after finishing your last final, you should enter the writing competition. You probably already know that journal participation looks great on a résumé and will help you develop skills that are important as both a law student and a lawyer. It also gives you the opportunity to get your work published. These benefits are fairly obvious. Instead of elaborating on them, I want to talk to you about what else you can get from journal participation.

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