Experiential Learning

BC Law’s Mock Trial Team Wins Big at ‘Cambridge Clash’

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The inaugural ‘Cambridge Clash’ competition—created this year by Harvard Law School’s Mock Trial Society—brought eight invite-only teams from around New England and New York (Albany, BC Law, two CUNY teams, Fordham, Harvard, New York Law, and Roger Williams) to Harvard’s campus in Cambridge for a weekend tournament in November. Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of BC Law’s Defenders Clinic Steven Van Dyke, who is also one of the coaches for BC Law’s Mock Trial team, writes about what happened next.

We were somewhere in the long series of tunnels under Harvard Law School, passing row after row of multi-colored lockers, when we realized that we were no longer hungry…for food. Laden with trial boxes, bags, stray sneakers and uneaten Cava meals, three members of our mock trial team headed towards the finals of the Cambridge Clash mock trial competition. It was too late for lunch and too soon for us to admit to ourselves that our goal was becoming a reality.

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The Real Reason to Become a Prosecutor

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This guest post was written by 3L Alyssa Hatfield.

“Alyssa Hatfield on behalf of the Commonwealth.” 

As introductions go, this one might be the most terrifying. What does it mean to represent the Commonwealth? To represent an entire group of people, the defendant included? It’s a heavy weight to bear, but it’s not meant to be borne alone. 

This semester, I joined the Prosecution Clinic. As a part of the clinic, you learn a few things really fast. One: court moves really quickly. Like, really quickly. Two: how to swap stories like old-timers, because people commit some pretty odd crimes in some pretty odd ways that are ripe for class discussion. And three: to “do justice” might be the hardest and most unattainable mission to live by.

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My Externship at Wayfair Surprised Me

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This guest post was written by Tom Books, Class of 2026.

For those who do not know, externships allow students to work a part-time job off campus for class credit. Possible placements include judges, government agencies, nonprofits, and in-house departments for companies. When planning my schedule for Spring Semester 2L, I decided to apply for a few in-house counsel externships. I had already done a government internship and will be doing transactional work at a firm this summer, so I figured an in-house role would provide a new perspective to legal practice while also preparing me for corporate work at my firm. 

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Building the Case: The Thrill of Mock Trial

/ Alex Mostaghimi / Leave a comment

BC Law’s Mock Trial competition has been an exhilarating part of my law school experience. This year, 22 teams litigated the fictional case State of Lone Star v. Justice Jackson, where the defendant was suspected of felony theft and burglary in a late-night smash and grab of the boutique clothing store, Fox + Cat Vintage.

Our team had to dive deep into the case materials, examining every detail—from the eyewitness testimony to the intricacies of the fingerprint evidence on a pipe allegedly used in the crime. We practiced creating opening and closing statements, each word carefully chosen to create a smooth, coherent, and convincing story. 

While each round involved the same case materials, the endings always varied. The name of the game is admitting evidence that benefits you while trying to exclude evidence that harms you. Different teams have different case theories. One team of prosecutors may think an exhibit is crucial to proving their case, while another team may think the same exhibit is irrelevant or bad for their case.

One memorable part of the Mock Trial competition is questioning witnesses. With each cross-examination, it’s crucial to expose inconsistencies in the story or reveal new facets of a witness’s personality or reliability. For example, I questioned Angel Nguyen, the defendant’s ex-wife and main alibi witness who said the two were watching The Bachelor together at the time the burglary occurred. While you can prepare to your heart’s content, you can never fully anticipate exactly what the witness’s responses will be. Witnesses will squirm and try their hardest to avoid the traps the cross-examining attorney is laying in front of them. That’s the fun of the game.

That process was a mix of adrenaline rushes and critical thinking. It’s public speaking, trial practice, evidence, and thinking-on-your-feet all wrapped into one. Things will go fast and you have to act faster. If you don’t make a timely objection, the judge will tell you, “the horse has already left the barn.” For that reason, knowing the material and concepts well enough to invoke their substance and argue it on the spot is crucial. At the very least, you won’t be bored.

If participating as an attorney isn’t your thing, I’d strongly recommend being a mock trial witness. Not only is embodying a character fun, but there is also a skill component in helping evoke the story your side wants to tell, while making it as hard as possible for the other side to do the same.

I’d like to thank Caleb Brady, Noah DeRossi, and Christian Bilgrien for co-chairing the tournament. Without them, it simply wouldn’t be possible. They put on great presentations teaching the basics of trial advocacy and brought in fantastic judges who provided invaluable advice to our young legal minds, giving us a glimpse on what the real courtroom looks like.

Alex Mostaghimi is a second-year student at BC Law. Contact him at mostagha@bc.edu.

With 100 Things to Do, What’s One More: Why I Joined Client Counseling

/ Samantha Torre / Leave a comment

It’s October, and across Boston leaves are changing color, the sun is setting earlier, and Christmas decorations are making an – excessively – early appearance at Costco. More locally, on the Newton Campus, the word outline is being thrown around, you can’t go 30 feet without hearing someone stressed about a memo, and the realization that “Oh, the summer job hunt starts now,” has hit. 

With my packed to-do list staring me down everytime I open my daily planner, you might expect me to be hunkered down in a study room somewhere, noise canceling headphones in, ready to methodically complete all my assignments. Or, you might expect me to be darting in and out of office hours, trying to make sure I have the best understanding possible before I really sit down and begin exam prep. You might even expect me to be opening SAGE and starting my summer job search. 

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Law School in Action: Compassionate Release and Parole Clinic

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

Boston College Law School gives its students a wide range of classes to take that are taught by some of the best scholars in the field. Yet, while learning about the law in a classroom is crucial to becoming a successful attorney, nothing prepares you for day-to-day practice more than getting hands-on experience before graduating. That’s where BC Law’s clinics come in.

Law students in their second and third years of study can apply for coveted spots in any of the school’s fifteen clinics. No matter what someone’s legal interest is, there’s a clinic for them! To help students better understand the opportunities available to them, the BC Law Impact Blog is highlighting each of these clinics this semester. Here is our interview with the director of the Compassionate Release and Parole Clinic, Frank Herrmann.

Tell us about your clinic!

Prisoners who have become eligible for parole after serving at least fifteen years in prison on life sentences (“lifers”) often appear before the Massachusetts Parole Board without representation. Students help prepare these individuals for their parole release hearings, and even represent them at the hearings. Representation includes learning about a client’s life before the underlying crime; the facts of the underlying crime; the client’s institutional history; any of the client’s physical, medical, or mental health conditions; and the client’s risk to re-offend. Ordinarily, students learn about all of the above during visits with their clients in prison, though contact with clients is also sometimes conducted via Zoom and telephone due to COVID-19. Additionally, students prepare memoranda in support of parole, including re-entry plans that they draft with the help of social work students.

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Human Rights Field Trip: From BC to DC

/ Alex Mostaghimi / 1 Comment

“We of this Western Hemisphere, by movements such as that symbolized by this building, have taken great strides toward securing permanent peace among ourselves.” These were the words of Teddy Roosevelt dedicated to the Pan-American Union Building built in 1910. Only a few blocks from the White House, it now stands as the headquarters for the Organization of American States and was the setting for the BC Law Human Rights Elective and International Human Rights Practicum field trip in 2024.

The Pan American Union, a sort-of United Nations exclusively for the Americas, would transform into the Organization of American States in 1948. All 34 independent nations of the Americas hold membership within the organization and while it does not loom large in the American political imagination, it holds greater significance to Latin and Central American and Caribbean nations.

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Law School in Action: Massachusetts Attorney General Civil Litigation Program

/ Tess Halpern / 1 Comment

Boston College Law School gives its students a wide range of classes to take that are taught by some of the best scholars in the field. Yet, while learning about the law in a classroom is crucial to becoming a successful attorney, nothing prepares you for day-to-day practice more than getting hands-on experience before graduating. That’s where BC Law’s clinics come in.

Law students in their second and third years of study can apply for coveted spots in any of the school’s fifteen clinics. No matter what someone’s legal interest is, there’s a clinic for them! To help students better understand the opportunities available to them, the BC Law Impact Blog is highlighting each of these clinics this semester. Here is our interview with a co-director of the Massachusetts Attorney General Civil Litigation Program, Tom Barnico.

Tell us about your clinic!

The Massachusetts Attorney General Civil Litigation Program provides a full-year clinical experience in civil litigation in the Government Bureau of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (AGO). Students in the Program get to work directly with Bureau assistant attorneys general in the representation of state agencies and officials in state and federal courts. This is also the only clinic offered at BC Law where students get to conduct civil litigation in a public law office.

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Law School in Action: Boston College Innocence Program

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

Boston College Law School gives its students a wide range of classes to take that are taught by some of the best scholars in the field. Yet, while learning about the law in a classroom is crucial to becoming a successful attorney, nothing prepares you for day-to-day practice more than getting hands-on experience before graduating. That’s where BC Law’s clinics come in.

Law students in their second and third years of study can apply for coveted spots in any of the school’s fifteen clinics. No matter what someone’s legal interest is, there’s a clinic for them! To help students better understand the opportunities available to them, the BC Law Impact Blog is highlighting each of these clinics this semester. Here is our interview with the director of the Boston College Innocence Program, Sharon Beckman.

Tell us about your clinic!

Students in the Boston College Innocence Program work as a team to free clients wrongfully convicted and imprisoned in Massachusetts. They meet with clients, interview witnesses, investigate crime scenes, work with forensic experts and co-counsel, research and write motions and memoranda of law, and assist in court hearings. They also collaborate with community partners and all three branches of state government on systemic reforms aimed at remedying and preventing wrongful convictions.

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Law School in Action: Housing Justice Clinic

/ Tess Halpern / Leave a comment

Boston College Law School gives its students a wide range of classes to take that are taught by some of the best scholars in the field. Yet, while learning about the law in a classroom is crucial to becoming a successful attorney, nothing prepares you for day-to-day practice more than getting hands-on experience before graduating. That’s where BC Law’s clinics come in.

Law students in their second and third years of study can apply for coveted spots in any of the school’s fifteen clinics. No matter what someone’s legal interest is, there’s a clinic for them! To help students better understand the opportunities available to them, the BC Law Impact Blog is highlighting each of these clinics this semester. Here is our interview with the director of the Housing Justice Clinic, Alan Minuskin.

Tell us about your clinic!

The Civil Litigation Clinic: Housing Justice (Housing Justice Clinic) advises and represents tenants who can’t afford lawyers in several types of housing cases. Our primary focus is eviction defense, as we use our knowledge of the law and the courts to prevent tenants from being evicted when they have viable defenses and counterclaims to litigate. The clinic also represents clients contesting unlawful rejections or terminations from public housing, and sometimes brings affirmative lawsuits against landlords for inappropriate conduct and/or substandard living conditions. These are front-line litigation matters that move quickly from client interview to fact investigation, case assessment, client counseling, and resolution by negotiation (if possible) or adjudication at trial or via dispositive motion. Students in the clinic are certified to practice law in Massachusetts under close, supportive supervision, and they perform all lawyering activities needed for each case. Even though the focus of this clinic is on housing matters, the litigation skills and ethics considerations integral to our practice apply to all civil litigation matters!

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