perspectives

Four Notorious 2L Summer Associate Stories

/ Alex Mostaghimi / Leave a comment

Every 2L summer associate dreams of a smooth path to a six-figure salary. But not everyone makes it to the finish line. For a select few, the summer ends not with an offer letter, but with a quiet email, a closed-door meeting, or in some cases, an HR debrief no one forgets.

Inspired by the most recent crazy case of the summer “Biglaw Biter,” the following are four other infamous examples of 2L summer associates who really went off the rails. All of them, for better or worse, are unforgettable—so unbelievable, you might think I’m making them up (so I included sources for you to prove it).

I probably don’t have to tell you this, but let this be your reminder: Biglaw firms are watching—and they never forget.

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Welcome Back to Impact

/ Sangeeta Kishore / Leave a comment

This week marks the start of the 2025-2026 school year at BC Law, and things are already in full swing! After a jam-packed schedule with the LAHANAS retreat, three days of Orientation, capped off by the inaugural 1L Bar Preview, the 1Ls are now ready for casebooks and cold calls. But before getting too engrossed in Civ Pro or Torts or Contracts, let’s get involved! The Student Involvement Fair will be held this Wednesday, August 27 on Stuart Lawn and will be the who’s who of all that BC Law has to offer. Being a 1L rep—whether it be for an affinity group or professional organization—helps build leadership experience early on in law school. But if you just want to figure out when each org will be having free lunch, that’s honorable, too. 

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No Good Answers to Health Insurance Cutbacks at Congressional Town Halls

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Constituents jeer and boo Nebraska lawmaker over healthcare concerns

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

Over the past two weeks, Nebraska constituents grilled a Republican congressman on recent health insurance cutbacks during a pair of town halls. Their angry response — and the congressman’s difficulty in allaying their concerns — signal potential voter backlash as those cutbacks are rolled out.

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Coercion will Fail, but Trade will Endure

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

This guest post by BC Law Professor Frank Garcia originally appeared in the Cambridge University Press blog.

The first year of Trump’s second term has been a chaotic one for trade, as for so much else. Before inauguration, the President had already threatened tariffs against Denmark to force a “sale” of Greenland. Within days of taking office, he began threatening or imposing illegal tariffs against Colombia, China, Mexico, Canada, all steel and aluminum exporters, the EU, and now virtually all nations that trade with us. Each of these blows is a stark reminder that we live in a time when economic coercion masquerades as trade policy. 

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The Great Risk Shift 2.0

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

The rollbacks to social safety nets in H.R. 1 are just the latest effort in a 50-year campaign to shift financial risk from big institutions and monied interests onto ordinary households.

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

Today, the typical family is worse off economically than it was in the 1960s, due to a concerted campaign by businesses and governments to dump their financial risks onto breadwinners and their families. This column examines how H.R. 1 continues that campaign while undermining some of the newer social safety nets established in recent years.

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Empathy: The driving force of entrepreneurship

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

For people facing long odds, an entrepreneurial mind-set matters

This post was originally published in the Boston Business Journal. Authors & Innovators is a regular column by Larry Gennari, a transactional lawyer, BC Law adjunct professor and founder of Project Entrepreneur, and chief curator of Authors & Innovators, an annual business book and ideas festival.

About 77 million Americans have a criminal record. Experts expect that number to be 100 million by 2030. For the estimated 600,000 people returning home from incarceration annually, a criminal record creates substantial barriers to obtaining housing, employment, government benefits and continuing education, due to myriad federal and state restrictions. Getting an ID and finding a job — any job — are immediate priorities. No surprise that recidivism rates for returning citizens range from 29% to 59%, depending on the state.

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Overcoming the Comparison Trap of 1L

/ Ian Hurley / Leave a comment

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” – Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

It was the night before my first final as a 1L, and I was starting to feel overwhelmed. I knew, in a sort of intangible way, that an entire semester’s worth of work would come down to one test. And I could not help but be aware of the fact that this would prove stressful; everyone I knew who went to law school told me as much, as did most of my current peers. I suppose it’s also self-evident when you see the syllabus and read the words “your entire course grade will rest on the final examination” that you will have to perform on the day or pay the price.

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The Curious Email From Social Security

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

A July 4 email from the Social Security Administration claimed that Congress had eliminated federal income taxes on Social Security benefits, when it had not

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

During last year’s presidential race, President Trump declared: “Seniors should not pay taxes on Social Security and they won’t,” according to CBS News. This promise to end income taxes on Social Security benefits was the single most popular economic proposal of either candidate, according to an ABC News/Ipsos Poll conducted about a month before the election. In fact, voters were so enthralled with his idea that 85% of people polled approved.

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How to Cut Health Benefits and Dis a Majority of Voters in the Process

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

New Medicaid red tape and the loss of expanded Obamacare subsidies stand to hurt 93 million households

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

In 2033, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance In H.R. 1, passed on July 4, Congress saddled Medicaid participants with new red tape, while allowing expanded subsidies for Obamacare premiums to lapse at the end of this year. When those changes take effect, they will affect all Medicaid participants (71 million at last count) and 92% of Obamacare policyholders (another 22 million). Together, this is far more than half of the number of people who voted in the latest Presidential election and suggests that the Republican majority in Congress will alienate voters.

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