careers

Things I Wish I Knew, Vol. 15: Mentors are basically life’s “Google Search” feature

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

“Mom, Dad, why don’t you just Google it?”

It’s a phrase I must have said a million times in my short 23 years. The basic premise there is that someone out there in the big wide world has had the same question, and there is always someone who knows more than you who has the answer.

Okay, but it’s one thing entirely to ask Google why a certain word you misspelled in a  text once has suddenly become your phones default spelling, and another entirely to ask how to navigate law school or find a job doing what you want with the salary and work-life balance you want given all of your specific life experiences.

That’s where mentorship comes in. And in a lot of ways, it’s even better than a Google search.

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Opening Act II: A Twenty-Year Reunion

/ Ryan Murphy / Leave a comment

Hello everyone! This week, I’m hosting a guest blog from Tom Burton ‘96, the new Alumni Association President. I’m thrilled that he has agreed to write about his BC Law experience for Impact.

Tom chairs Mintz Levin’s Energy Technology Practice, which he founded over 12 years ago. His global practice focuses on complex corporate finance matters including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, private equity, and securities transactions for energy and clean technology companies. He is ranked by Best Lawyers in America in the Corporate Law section, and he has been recognized by The Legal 500 United States as “rising to the fore” in energy technology for Venture Capital and Emerging Companies. In the community, Tom serves as President of the Boston College Law School Alumni Association, Chairman of the Board of Overseers and Trustee of the New England Aquarium and an Advisory Committee Member of the Flutie Spectrum Enterprises, LLC. Tom is also a member of the firm’s Policy Committee, its Board of Directors equivalent.

Twenty years. For quite a few of you reading this post, twenty years is nearly a lifetime. For me, and for my classmates from ’96, it marks the halfway point in our careers. Our upcoming twenty-year reunion in November has given me pause to reflect on that slightly sobering fact, and to think about my BC Law friends and classmates. What strikes me the most are their tremendous professional successes across the board.

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A Seed of Passion, Planted in Law School

/ Venus Chui / Leave a comment

Many of us have probably read a number of articles or heard various talks on immigration issues. However, it’s not every day that we hear from the man who oversees our nation’s immigration procedures and policies.

Two weeks ago, the director of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS), Leon Rodriguez, came to BC Law to deliver the annual Owen M. Kupferschmid Holocaust/ Human Rights Project (HHRP) lecture. Rodriguez is a BC Law alum (Class of ‘88) and was involved in the HHRP himself when he was a student. Rodriguez attributed his passion for immigration work to his experiences at BC Law. He was particularly inspired by the HHRP and by fellow classmates who were passionate about human rights. Rodriguez has since dedicated his entire career to public service, working in various capacities such as assistant district attorney and assistant attorney general before joining the USCIS. His story is a reminder that our current law school experiences and relationships play a significant role in shaping our future career paths.

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Thinking About Running for Office? BC Law Alums Tell it Like it is

/ Marx P. Calderon / 1 Comment

Is the West Wing your favorite show? Do you have a favorite debate watching drinking game? Is Leslie Knope your hero? More importantly, have you ever imagined yourself running for Office? If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes” then you were probably at the Rappaport Center’s panel discussion about running for Office. If not, I’ve got you covered.

The panel featured five notable BC Law Alums including State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg as moderator, and panelists State Senator Jamie Eldridge; Register of Probate for Plymouth County, Matt McDonough; former Boston City Councilor and 2013 City of Boston mayoral candidate John Connolly; and Newton Charter Commissioner, Bryan Barash. The panelists offered real insight into the nuts and bolts about running for office and the difficult realities that come along with being a public figure. The following are some of the topics that were discussed:

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A Mutual Respect: The Glue that Binds Us

/ Maria Colella / Leave a comment

Hello everyone! This week, I’m hosting a guest blog from Margie Palladino ’85, the outgoing Alumni Board Chair for Reunions. I’m thrilled that she’s agreed to write about her BC Law experience for Impact.

Margie was the recipient of the Boston College Law School’s Outstanding Reunion Volunteer Award for generating record attendance for her class’s 25th reunion. Margie is principal of Reunions Reinvented LLC, a business that generates momentum for professional school reunions. She is a former partner at the Boston law firm of Sherburne, Powers and Needham, now known as Holland and Knight. 

Nearly 600 people came together in November to celebrate the BC Law School reunions. It was wonderful to witness so many alumni—young and old—reconnecting with classmates and professors and rekindling memories of their law school days. There were BC Law alumni from all walks of life: the judiciary, private firms, corporations, public service, academia, and government (including a state governor, US senator, and several congressional representatives). Equally impressive was the number of alumni present who had stepped out of the legal profession temporarily or permanently to take care of their families or pursue entrepreneurial, volunteer, and other valued interests.

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Why You Should Consider Corporate Restructuring/Bankruptcy Law

/ Patrick Venter / 1 Comment

BC Law offers many opportunities for students interested in working at large law firms, typically placing approximately 30% of the class in firms of 100 attorneys or more. For students who want to work at large firms (many do not), there is a common question that students hear from fellow students, attorney-friends, and most importantly, law firm interviewers: “Are you interested in corporate or litigation work?”

For some people, this is an easy question to answer. If you got As on all your Legal Research, Reasoning & Writing papers and enjoyed memorizing the Erie Doctrine and all its puzzling derivations, perhaps litigation is for you. If you enjoy dropping buzzwords you don’t actually know anything about like “mergers and acquisitions”, “leveraged buyouts”, and “private equity” you are probably interested in corporate work–and I recommend you take your talents to Brahmin, Storyville, or other local venues with sometimes-impressionable audiences.

For those individuals who want to work for a large firm but don’t feel that they fit neatly into a litigation or corporate box, perhaps your fit is in Restructuring (which includes Bankruptcy, in addition to out-of-court restructuring).

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On Campus: Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at BC Law

/ Elizabeth Blass / Leave a comment

If you’re familiar with the West Wing — which, if you’re not, what are you doing with your life — you’ll know what I mean when I say that “the Supremes” are a big deal in the world of law school. As any law student will tell you, you spend a great deal of time during your three years reading, talking and learning about what the Justices of the Supreme Court have decided and why.

Last week, the students at BC Law got to skip the casebook and learn straight from one of the sources herself: Justice Elena Kagan, the newest judge appointed to the bench. Justice Kagan answered questions from law school Dean Vincent Rougeau, as well as from students in the audience, and spoke about a wide variety of topics, including the importance of legal writing and being a woman on the bench.

As a Supreme Court fangirl, I gotta tell you — it was pretty freaking cool. Check out BC Law magazine’s article on the Q&A here, and a few photos of the event below!

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Making an Impact: the Power of Pro Bono

/ Rob Rossi / 1 Comment

Editor’s Note: Earl Adams, Jr. is of Counsel with DLA Piper in Washington, DC and Baltimore. Prior to this position, Earl was Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. He has also served in several different positions of leadership within the BC Law Alumni Association, including his current position as Vice President of the Alumni Board. All of us at Impact are pleased to be able to host his guest blog post.

earl_adamsBefore joining my current law firm, I had the honor of serving for five years in Maryland state government as chief of staff to the Lt. Governor, and one of the things I enjoyed most about my job was the knowledge that my efforts benefited more than a precious few. This feeling gave me a true sense of work satisfaction. Among the many things that I learned and got out of my BC Law experience was an appreciation of the maxim, “to whom much is given, much will be required.” So, when I decided to leave public service and return to private practice, I was, to say the least, concerned that I might not find the same contentment in my new job. Said more precisely, I was concerned that my work on behalf of individual clients would not be as rewarding. As a result, when I arrived at my firm, I actively sought out opportunities to find socially impactful pro bono work. One particular engagement caught my attention because of the potential to changes the lives of the people involved.

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Things I Wish I Knew, Vol. 12: Networking 101 – They can totally tell you just came for the food

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

(Let me preface this post by mentioning that I like food. A lot.)

So I figured I would post this now because, believe it or not, some of you have your first networking events looming on the immediate horizon. (Hint hint: orientation.) And I know many of you are probably a little nervous about diving in headfirst into the networking pool, so allow me to provide you some water wings:

The food is a trap.

Well, not entirely. You see, whenever you go to a networking event, you’ll see delightful, delicious, and most importantly, free  food laid out all ready to be eaten.

The spread at a BC Law Admitted Students reception

The spread at a BC Law Admitted Students reception

We college students are adept at eating anything that doesn’t run away from us, so the temptation is almost unwieldily at times. But you must resist! I don’t know why these employers torture us with food we can’t possibly eat in a polite way, but I know that you too will be faced with your culinary kryptonite (for me, it was spare ribs), and have to just say no. Continue reading →

Things I Wish I Knew, Vol. 11: Networking 101 – So what do I call them, exactly?

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

Dear incoming 1Ls,

It’s been a while since my last segment of TIWIK, and that’s primarily because I wanted to find a topic that would be most useful to you in the next month or so while you’re getting ready for orientation and school to start. (15 days! Whoo!) So I got to thinking and I remembered that my first year almost exactly a year ago, the first month was filled with what I soon came to regard as a four-letter word: networking.

If you’re anything like me, networking will be a totally foreign concept to you, and you really will feel out of your league for a little while. What is supposed to come from this?, you’ll ask yourself. What is the purpose of this except to make me feel awkward and have to stand in heels for two straight hours?

Fear not, friends. Because for the next few weeks, I will be doing a series on the do’s and don’ts of networking that will make you feel at least marginally better about putting yourself out there.

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