perspectives

Spring Break: Law Student Edition

/ Maria Colella / Leave a comment

When I accepted Boston College Law School’s offer of admission in 2014, I did not know exactly what to expect from my law school experience. It was the first time since third grade that I was going to show up to school on the first day without knowing a single person.

I woke up at 5 a.m. to drive down to Newton from New Hampshire on the morning of orientation. If I had left after 6 a.m., my dad assured me, I would not make it on time. Throughout the day I got to know the campus and sat through presentations by the Dean and other faculty. They called BC the “Disney World of law schools,” but said that we would also be challenged academically. They spoke of the Jesuit ideals of the quest for knowledge and care for the whole person, the importance of contributing to society and treating your classmates well. At the time, I was hoping what they were espousing would turn out to be true.

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Meet the Affinity Group Leaders: Heather Perez (LALSA)

/ Marx P. Calderon / Leave a comment

Name: Heather PerezHaynes-IMG_5060

Year: 2L (Class of 2017)

Organization: Latin American Law Students Association (President)

Undergraduate Institution: Boston University

Experiences between college and law school:

I worked in public service in Boston as the Legislative Aide for State Representative Willie Mae Allen. Later, I served as the Chief of Staff for Boston City Councilor At-Large Felix G. Arroyo, and helped lead his campaign for Mayor.

 Favorite event that your organization plans:

LALSA hosts a “Day in the Life” for local high school students to come to BC Law and get a personal look at being a law student from the perspective of LALSA members. Part of our goals as an organization is to provide mentorship and it’s great to be able to do that both within our BC Law community and in the Greater Boston community.

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Bending Gender Perceptions in the Legal World

/ Sajid Shahriar / 4 Comments

Author’s Note: Kelsey Gasseling (KG) is a 1L at BC Law and a member of LAMBDA, the LGBTQ affinity group at BC Law. 

When I was 17 years old I went on a gender pronoun boycott. After coming out of the closet and realizing life could go on somewhat normally (no fire and brimstone, much to my Catholic school-kid surprise), I started to analyze what made me, “me.” I had the fortune of being a white teenager from the Pacific Northwest, with a supportive mother and access to a vibrant LGBTQ youth center. This gave me a relatively safe space to explore my identity outside of the conventional male/female binary. Today, I find myself confronting a new set of questions revolving around gender norms in the typically more conservative Boston legal market.

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Things I Wish I Knew Vol. 16: You can come see the school, even if you can’t come see the school

/ Charlene Ochogo / Leave a comment

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since my last post because I and the admissions committee have been hard at work on a few projects (one soon to come – stay tuned!) including this one.

We know that getting to campus for a visit may be cost-prohibitive or otherwise impossible for some of our students outside of the Northeast, and in conjunction with the Office of Admissions, we’ve made it so that you can take a tour from the comfort of your own home! Watch the replay on You Tube:

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Meet the Affinity Group Leaders: Zain Ahmad (SALSA)

/ Marx P. Calderon / Leave a comment

Name: Zain Ahmad

Year: 2L, Class of 2017zbc

Affinity Group: South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA); President

Undergraduate Institution: Rutgers University, BA Political Science, graduated cum laude

Experiences between college and law school: 

I worked as a paralegal at Covington & Burling LLP in New York City for two years.

Favorite event that your organization plans:

I’m proud of SALSA’s programming this year. My favorite events are the ones where we collaborate with other student organizations on campus to advance important conversations forward. It was a pleasure working with the Women’s Law Center (WLC) on our first film screening of “He Named Me Malala” with an open discussion following the movie. I also enjoyed working with the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) on Culture Shock: Spectrums of Privilege and the ensuing conversations the event sparked. I am looking forward to our forthcoming collaboration with the Middle Eastern Law Students Association (MELSA) on Monday April 4th where we will have a roundtable discussion on breaking stereotypes in the current political climate. My hope this semester was to partner up with many student organizations on campus and help advance important conversations forward.

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An Activist at Heart, A Journalist by Training, a Lawyer in the Making

/ Caroline Reilly / 2 Comments

As a kid I toggled back and forth between lots of answers to “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Lawyer was always on the short list. So was journalism.

I read “All the President’s Men” for an eighth grade book report, and it didn’t take long for me to make Bernstein and Woodward my personal journalism deities. To me, the idea that two reporters could take down a crooked president was (and still is) the epitome of what great journalism can do.

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Meet the Affinity Group Leaders: Moussa Hassoun (Lambda Co-Chair)

/ Marx P. Calderon / Leave a comment

This new “Meet the” series introduces you to the diverse affinity student group leaders on campus. 

Name: Moussa Hassoun

Year: 2017 (2L)IMG_6036

Organization & Position:

Lambda: Co-Chair

Undergraduate Institution:

Bentley University

Experiences between college and law school: 

I went straight through from Bentley to BC Law. In between I worked for Liberty Mutual as a Product Analyst. 

Favorite event that your organization plans: 

The Lambda Annual Retreat is a special one. Students get away from the chaos of law school and get a chance to relax and get to know one another. Relaxation is one of the most undervalued needs all students should make time for. The retreat provides that opportunity and allows LGBTQ+ students to develop a community at the law school.

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Of Our Fallen Professor, Justice Antonin Scalia

/ Sajid Shahriar / 1 Comment

A shockwave disrupted the country on the afternoon of February 13, 2016, when we learned that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had passed away unexpectedly at the age of 79. The fascinating political and legal ramifications of Justice Scalia’s sudden death are yet to unfold, but what is certain is that American law students have lost a brilliant and consequential legal instructor. Continue reading →

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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