students

America, for a minute

/ DQuattrochi / Leave a comment

Think it sounds a bit ridiculous? That’s because you’re not an Eagle (yet). Being a member of the BC Law community has been an amazing adventure with tremendous opportunities for growth, kinship, and self-discovery. As difficult as it was to leave that community and come to London, I imagined it would be even more difficult to not return for two of my favorite, spring BC Law events: Admitted Students Day; and, of course, LAW PROM!

For anyone other than a 1L (they’re a bit bitter about how much energy you pre-Ls have, and that you smile when talking about studying law) Admitted Students Day is absolutely awesome. For me, personally, Admitted Students Day is about bringing everything full circle, and giving back to a community that has time and again given so much to its students.

While I was back on campus this past weekend I was able to welcome many of you, sit in on a live Civil Procedure class with Prof. Spiegel, field some of your questions during a delicious lunch, give a tour of the law school, AND serve on a career services panel.

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Five Things to Do Before Law School That are Actually Worth Your Time

/ Luciabc / Leave a comment

1. Relax

First of all, if you have some free time, enjoy it! While my time at BC Law has been a lot of fun, it is also been a lot of work and I often feel like I’m going from one thing to the next without much of a break. So if you have some down time before law school be sure to hang out with your friends from college and high school, and go on that family vacation your mom keeps bugging you about. Try the new restaurants you’ve been wanting to try, grab drinks with your friends, and do some reading for pleasure before you’re consumed by casebooks!

2. Build your network

The one thing I hear over and over again from the career center here is the importance of networking and making contacts for getting a job. If you have family members, family friends, or acquaintances who are judges or attorneys reach out to them! A short email saying “Hi [name], I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to get in touch because I just got accepted to Boston College Law School! I know you’re very busy but I’ve heard a little bit about your career in [x legal field] and if you have the time I would love to grab coffee or chat on the phone about the work you’ve done and your thoughts on working in [x legal field].” At the very least you’ll get some advice on law school and practicing, and who knows, you may end up finding a connection for a summer job.

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Ski Trip: A Snowy Retreat

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment

This weekend was the annual BC Law Ski Trip organized by the Law Student Association.  It’s a fun break from Boston and gives students a great chance to relax and unwind in the mountains of Vermont.  As a 3L, this was my third and final Ski Trip, and I definitely enjoyed it:

One of the highlights of the weekend was going to a local bar to enjoy some live music:

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[Mock] Trials & [Real] Tribulations

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment
The Mock Trial Team @ Regionals

The Mock Trial Team @ Regionals (not pictured: Jen Henricks, who was sick)

This past weekend BC Law hosted the Regional Mock Trial Competition in downtown Boston — specifically at the Suffolk Superior Court and at Suffolk Law School.  The competition lasted from Thursday – Sunday, and featured trials everyday.  BC Law took two teams, and I was on one of them.  The experience was nothing short of grueling and fantastic — it’s amazing to stand up in a courtroom like a trial attorney and match wits with law students from other schools.  At the same time, it’s incredibly nerve-racking to go against people who typically have extensive experience with mock trial (high school, college, etc.), and to really focus on all the dynamic changes that go on during a trial.

A Model of the Trial

A model of what the trial is about! (Yes, it happened in a trailer park)

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It’s All About Perspective

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment

So…I’m not a Patriots fan.  Sorry!  That being said, I really really enjoyed Rob’s recent post about persistence and motivation.  I think it’s great advice and generally reminds us all that we need things in our lives to help us maintain perspective and keep us grounded.  It’s easy to lose yourself in studying and legal textbooks, but being well-rounded is about more than trying to get an A at the end of the semester.  I’d like to highlight some advice from the BC Law Impact group about perspective:

[The Spring Break Service Trip] was my first opportunity to do legal work since entering law school, and it was so rewarding to be able to help people! – Lucia

I realized that the ‘racial justice’ that was an ‘area of interest’ for me was a matter of life or death, of resisting daily disrespect, for other people. Real people, standing in front of me.  – Amelia

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Life at BC Law: At Home in Cleveland Circle

/ Luciabc / Leave a comment

When I was looking at law schools a few years ago one of the thing I wondered about the most was what day to day life would be like at the different schools I was was considering. I couldn’t be happier that I ended up at BC, and after two and a half years here Boston is really starting to feel like home. Part of what makes the BC experience so enjoyable is the community here and  the opportunity to explore Boston with classmates. I’ll be writing about student life in general, including a variety of favorite activities in and around Boston. To start out with here is a little run down of favorite BC Law spots in Cleveland Circle.

Cleveland Circle is where a majority of BC Law students end up living, and it is perfectly situated between school and jobs downtown. I love living here because I feel like all of my friends are only a five minute walk away, which comes in handy when you need to catch a ride to school!

The Reservoir

The reservoir is one of my favorite parts about living in Cleveland Circle. In between Cleveland Circle itself and BC’s main campus is an old reservoir that the city turned into a park. The mile and a half loop is perfect for jogging in good weather and the views of the main campus and downtown Boston can’t be beat. When I need some exercise or just a little relaxation time the reservoir is my favorite place to go.

IMG_0401

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Things I Wish I Knew Vol. 1: Where and what is Boston?

/ Charlene Ochogo / 1 Comment

Since you’re interested in coming to BC (and rightfully so), you probably have a vague understanding of where Boston is — although if you’re coming from the south like I was, that understanding is limited to “up there somewhere.” But chances are, unless you’re from the area or have lived here, you don’t actually know what actually constitutes Boston and then what’s “Boston.”

See, you want to come to Boston College, the happiest law school on earth, but what you don’t realize is that BC Law isn’t in Boston; it’s in a town outside of Boston called Newton, so I guess technically we should be called Newton College, or Kind of Boston College.

Why does this matter? To native northeasterners, it probably doesn’t. But a large portion of our school is from out of state (and out of the country): California, Korea, Kansas, and my homestate, Florida. And traveling to Boston (and what I like to call the “Boston imposters”) to figure this out is expensive and time-consuming. Fear not: I’ve boiled it down to a couple of salient points.

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Semester Resolutions

/ Rob Rossi / 1 Comment

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long

after the excitement of the moment has passed.” – Cavett Robert

The sentiment expressed above has been a guiding force in my life ever since I googled it a few minutes ago. In all honestly, New Year’s resolutions have never been my thing. Typically I’ll make a few, spring semester will start, and yeah, that’s about the end of it.

This year, however, I am obligated resolve to be different. And not just because I made a promise to be an author for this blog. Or because as a result all my resolutions will be online for my friends to make fun of me with whenever they’re bored in the library.

No, I am writing down (typing out, whatever) realistic goals so that they will turn me into a more productive law student this semester. And if this is actually working come May, maybe we’ll extend it for all of 2015. Anything can happen.

Now, without further ado and presented in reverse order of importance to increase dramatic effect…

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“Food” Fuel For Finals

/ rwmakawa / 1 Comment

Note: watch this space for more from the contributors of BC Law: Impact in the coming weeks!  Here is a preview of some of the commentary we’ll have here:

Coffee and candy. Two things I absolutely must have during finals. Luckily the Law Library supplies us with an endless supply of candy (and Whoppers, which really isn’t candy) at the front desk, and the cafeteria gives us free coffee.

Nobody wants Whoppers.
Rare full candy bowl siting!

The trick is not finishing either of these two things before you leave the library or dining hall (it’s really impossible, though).  Sometimes you just have to be a little clever…

All I wanted was a Venti.

All I wanted was a Venti.

 

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