January 27, 2021 will always hold a special place in my heart. It marks my last first day of school ever! (Well, that’s the plan at least.)
We again find ourselves in hybrid mode, where larger classes are online and most smaller classes are in-person, with social distancing measures in place. We also are starting much later because of the school’s decision to cancel spring break. Needless to say, we have another unconventional semester ahead.
But as we kick off this semester, I wanted to reflect on some of the small things that I took for granted in pre-pandemic times that I hope return to BC Law as soon as possible:
This Friday, May 22, BC Law 3Ls and LLM students were supposed to gather in Conte Forum and receive their degrees on stage in front of faculty, family and friends. The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into those plans, of course, as it did for many other graduates across the world. But BC Law has stepped up to offer some virtual hugs and high fives.
The Law Student Association, with support from the BC Law administration, has put together a celebration that runs all week on the Class of 2020 Facebook group page. The celebration kicked off this morning with a video from the faculty:
LSA events this week include a Facebook Watch Party screening of Legally Blonde, a virtual Trivia Night, a favorite memory photo contest and messages and live video appearances from the LSA president, members of the faculty, staff and Dean Rougeau. Grads, faculty and staff can all join the group and participate.
While they may not be able to get together in person, they can still celebrate the graduates’ accomplishments with the people who helped them along the way. For those who are able to make it back, a physical ceremony is also being planned for sometime in October.
Courtney Ruggeri is a rising 3L at BC Law. She loves to hear from readers: email her at ruggeric@bc.edu.
This is part of an ongoing series on preparing for the bar. Read others here and here.
The bar exam is coming. Us 3Ls will soon be propelled out of the lethargy that has come to characterize our final year at school by a terrifying variant of the Sunday-scaries. To help assuage any looming anxiety, we’ve gathered some details about the Massachusetts bar exam. To be clear, the following only applies to the Mass bar. After all, this is the only state where it’s acceptable to drink iced coffee when it’s below freezing outside; why would you want to be barred anywhere else.
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.
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 →
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.
