This weekend’s bitter cold reminded me of a three-day storm long in the past that makes our modern Nor’easters look positively quaint. On March 11-14, 1888, the “Great White Hurricane” buried the Northeast under 50 inches of snow coupled with 85 mph winds. According to contemporary account in the New York Evening Sun, “It came in whirls, it descended in layers, it shot along in great blocks, it rose and fell and corkscrewed and zigzagged and played merry havoc with everything it could swing or batter or bang or carry away.”
Continue readingHistory
Happy New Year: A Time for Renewal and New Beginnings
The New Year has come. This time of the year serves as a period for renewal and new beginnings for law students like myself, who have survived the previous semester. New classes, professors, and classmates provide us with an opportunity to feel rejuvenated ahead of the remainder of the spring semester.
However, after 3 years of being a Massachusetts resident, I’ve found that the weather of this winter season fails to produce the same vibration of revival that is felt upon campus. It seems that spring fits the theme of the new year much better than the snow and 4pm nightfall that this dead period brings. Curious as to why the weather and seasons misalign, I took a quick look into history and found answers within the civilizations of classical antiquity, particularly the Romans.
Continue readingFrom Law Faculty Support to Law Student: Meet Nicole Bauer
There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here!
Our first five entries were with Sara Womble, from Winston Salem, NC, Elias Massion, who comes from Nashville, TN and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Samina Gagné from London and Columbia University, Alvin Synarong from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Princeton, and Ruchita Jain from Edina, Minnesota and Boston University.
Name: Nicole Bauer
Hometown: Sebewaing, Michigan
Educational Background: B.A. Political Science, Minors in History and in Human Rights, Stanford University
Reading List for Rising Lawyers
The number one question I get from incoming 1Ls is: how do I prepare for law school?
The short answer is: you shouldn’t prepare. Whether you’ve worked a long career or you’re fresh out of college like I was, use your time before law school to decompress and reset. I promise you won’t fall behind. The briefing, the outlining, the cold call, it’ll all come together eventually.
But if you’re looking for something to do or want to get the gears turning ahead of time, here’s a list of my favorite legal reads:
Continue readingDocumenting the Triumphs of Our Black BC Law Community
In 2023, only 5% of all attorneys across the United States identified as Black or African American, according to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau (not including the 3% of attorneys who identified as multi-racial). In that same year, only 2% of Black or African American identifying attorneys were women.
These statistics lay bare the stark reality that Black attorneys are underrepresented in the legal community. The same census report cites 15% of Americans who identify as Black, or Black in addition to another race(s). However, the number of Black attorneys does not align with the magnitude of contributions they have made to, and accolades they have earned within, the legal field.
Within the BC Law community lies a special history of Black excellence. Boston College Law School’s new website “Black History at BC Law” and a companion BC Law Magazine feature story documents and praises the triumphs of our Black BC Law community.
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BC Law: Impact 