As I mentioned last week, bar preparation and job search stuff is getting the best of me. I worked on the bar background application for nine hours today... yes, NINE hours! Though this seems incredible, there is one reason why it took so much time. The bar wants to know where I've worked in the past TEN years. Well, I graduated from college seven years before I came to law school. This meant that my college jobs and the other four jobs I had before coming to law school needed to be on my application. I spent most of my day tracking down the names and numbers of people who I needed to put on my application. Though it took me a long time, it was fun catching up with people I haven't spoken to in some years.

On another note, this week was a great week on the job search front. As I told you all a few weeks ago, I am applying to become a law clerk for either a state court or superior court judge after graduation. I heard from FIVE judges this week, and it's only Wednesday! One judge was particularly impressed with NUSL's evaluation system and told me that in 30 years, he hasn't seen an application that is so professional and thorough. This judge has hired a clerk already but said he would "love" to hear from me next summer after I take the bar. Another judge scheduled an interview with me in March. She doesn't have any time until then to meet me and was more than willing to be flexible with my Boston-Atlanta-Boston-Atlanta schedule. This was good news for me. The other three informed me that they either did not hire law clerks or that they have already hired someone for next fall.

So though I wasn't necessarily early in sending my materials to judges, I was still early enough to get some "bites" from my applications which is good news! Hopefully I'll have more good news to share with you next week! Take care!

Hi there everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that your holiday is filled with good food and great fellowship with your family and friends! My husband and I planned on spending this holiday with my sister in Pennsylvania, but unfortunately, my car sprung a gas leak!!! So, we are still in Atlanta and my car is fixed, but we won't head back to Boston until Friday morning. Thank goodness for the small breaks we have between coop and classes. :-)

Anyway, I will keep this entry short because I really don't have much to discuss about school. I am really looking forward to my ***last*** academic quarter. One of the things that I am most looking forward to is teaching the Constitution to 12th grade high school students. It's a part of NUSL's Marshall Brennan Scholars program. I am also taking Federal Courts, Advanced Legal Research and Criminal Trial Practice. So I will hopefully have a lot to share about these classes when I return to class next week.

So again, enjoy your holiday and I'll write again soon.

Aisha

What a busy week; it's only the first week of the quarter!

I am doing some really cool things, but the coolest has to be teaching the Constitution. I may have miswritten earlier, but I am teaching 11th graders (not 12th) the Constitution. I am co-teaching with another law student and today was our first day. It was AWESOME!!!!!

The kids are a bit rowdy and they are very eager to learn more about the law and their rights! Today we told them that their semester culminates with a moot court competition and though we didn't give them all the details, it was exciting to see their little eyes light up when we told them that they were going to "play court."

Another exciting thing I did today was give my first tour to a group of prospective students. It was really fun to think back to my own experience of choosing a law school and provide that information to students who may apply to join our community here. One of the coolest things at NUSL (in my opinion) is our access to the undergraduate facilities. We have the Marino Center across the street from the law school. It is a world-class state of the art workout facility. Over the past year, I have lost thirty pounds by going over there on a regular basis (and eating right of course). It's a shame because when I go home, the access to fitness equipment is nowhere near the ease of getting in shape here. I never thought about that perk of NUSL until I gave the tour, but it has really been a blessing to have here! The prospective students that were in my tour definitely did their homework about NUSL because they didn't have a whole lot of questions. At least, I hope that was the reason they were so quiet. It was nice to see a group of well informed people coming to learn more about the "feel" of our world.

Finally, I told you all that I was taking Federal Courts last week (I think). From what I have experienced so far, I believe that this will be my most challenging course I have taken in law school thus far. You know what, I am excited about that. So often, we stay in our comfort zones and do things that we're familiar with. I have done that myself. After the first class on Tuesday, I felt exhausted and overwhelmed, but instead of dropping the course, I have decided that my last quarter of law school should be the most challenging. As I prepare for the bar (it seems to be the only thing I talk to my husband about lately), I want to be in that mindset that things that make you sweat are things that require more time and effort (and have the biggest payout). So, my feeling, well, my hope really, is that federal courts, accomplishes this goal. I hope I'm not crazy.

Hello everyone,

I hope that if you are reading this, you are gearing up for a nice and relaxing holiday vacation. I am now back home in Atlanta where there isn't any ice or any snow. I am very thankful for the short break from that. During my first two years of law school, the winters have been very easy... I think it only snowed a total of four, maybe five times. I knew that I wouldn't be so lucky my last winter. It has already snowed three times and winter just started today! The snow is beautiful though and I am happy to be "in it" for a few months. I actually went outside in the middle of the snowstorm last week and threw snowballs at my roommate - good times!

So, back to the purpose of my blog. As I may have mentioned earlier, I am a Marshall Brennan Teaching Fellow and in this capacity, I teach the Constitution to high school students in Hyde Park. Prior to law school, I taught middle school in Phoenix through the Teach For America program and I truly enjoyed the challenge and rewards of teaching. I joined the Marshall Brennan program because I felt it would be my last opportunity (in law school, that is) to have a direct impact on children. Our mission for this quarter is to prepare the students for a moot court competition. We're teaching them the 4th and 5th Amendments and it is going very well.

Last week, we taught the students how to distinguish between a criminal and a civil case by reading the case title. Ex. Commonwealth v. Smith (criminal); Smith v. Jones (civil). Though this is a very small component of what the students need to know for the competition, one of the students whispered to herself, "Wow! I learned something cool today." I felt myself get all giddy inside the way I used to when I was teaching in Phoenix.

The moot court competition is scheduled for February 13 and the students' fact pattern is going to involve a new program in Boston where parents can give consent to the police to search their children's bedrooms for weapons. It's a very controversial program, but something we think the students are going to enjoy grappling with. I will update you once we get closer to the competition.

Until then, have a safe and happy holiday!

Hello everyone out there in cyberspace!

I hope that you had a wonderful holiday and that you were able to get some rest - I know I was! Over here at NUSL, we have seven weeks left in the quarter and there is so much to do! I am still waiting to hear about coop and I am sure that something will come out of my new approach to finding an internship. More updates on that later...

Also, I don't know if I mentioned it before in my posts, but this week, I wanted to write about an awesome opportunity that NUSL offers to its third-year students. Given this is my rotation's last academic quarter, NUSL wants to ensure that we get a jump start on preparing for the bar. Thus, every Friday, we have a three hour optional course in bar preparation. This is one of the most exciting things I am doing this quarter because the program has found a great professor to teach us bar success strategies. He has calculated how many hours we should study on a whole and on average, how much time we should study each subject on the bar.

Once you hit your third year of law school, thinking about the bar is something that is always in the back of your mind - at least, it's something that has been in the back of mine! So, taking this class has definitely put my mind at ease in more than one way! Of course, this class does not replace any commercial courses that law students might (and in my opinion, should) take, but it is definitely a HUGE help!

Talk to you all next week!

Hello everyone,

I hope that since my last posting, you have been doing well!

So I wanted to write and give you an update on my coop. I decided to go to an organization that deals with criminal defense in the context of the death penalty. I am going to the Southern Center for Human Rights to work on appeals for death penalty defendants. I know - I go from one extreme to the other, don't I? I am very excited to be going to this organization. I know it's weird to use the word exciting in the realm of the death penalty, but to me, it's going to be exciting.

I became interested in death penalty work after working on my Advanced Legal Research project this quarter. Essentially, I am working on a project that looks at how insular minorities, (and in my case, I am looking at women and gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender ("GBLT") people) intersect with the death penalty. I have found some incredible research that suggests that prosecutors use sexuality in an arguably discriminatory manner when seeking the death penalty for gay defendants, and that female defendants are often not sentenced to the death penalty because of the fact that death penalty statutes purposely limit the realm of the death penalty to crimes that men are more likely to commit. I am still in the thick of my research, but it's fascinating.

So, I am co-oped everyone and ridiculously excited about the fact!

Hello out there,

I hope that everyone is doing well!

After 1100 miles and eighteen and a half hours, I am home! It was an amazing trip - one of my best friends flew to Boston to drive with me and how thankful I am for her! It was a great time to get catch up and begin the post finals relaxation process.

I took my last final last Wednesday, tied up loose ends, and left. As my post a few weeks ago mentioned, I am sad about leaving Northeastern. It's been such a wonderful community!

But now, the post-grad work begins. I need a job! I have a clerkship interview coming up (wish me luck) and I am very excited about that. I need to get some other leads though - I can't rest my future on one job interview. So, as I find my "lawyer" job, please keep your fingers crossed for me.

On another note entirely, my all-time favorite show, The Wire, is ending. I am also very sad about this. Not a lot of people watched this HBO show, but it is an amazing tale about the city of Baltimore and the intersections between the drug dealers, the police, the politicians, the schools, and the media. Any future lawyer would become hooked! In fact, one of my classmates told me about the show during my first year and it wasn't until I was in the thick of wedding planning that I actually took a look. If you haven't watched this show, watch it! You won't be disappointed.

And with that, I'll talk to you all later this week after I've begun my coop. Take care!

Hello everyone out there,

I hope that you all are having a great week as I am. The weather in Atlanta has been awesome and I was very excited to be able to put my coat away! The unfortunateness is that it's supposed to get colder next week. Oh well, day by day it is.

So much is going on in my world right now... I'm heading to Alabama for another evidentiary hearing next week and this one promises to be very interesting. I am doing my part around here by helping all the attorneys get ready...it's nuts, but lots of fun!

I am also getting prepared for my the parole hearing in Montgomery on May 7...that should also be very interesting! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

On the school front, I am almost done with a first draft of my graduation speech and I am starting to get a little nervous about it. It's not often that a law student gets to speak in the presence of a Supreme Court Justice. In the real world when a lawyer prepares to argue in front of the High Court, there are weeks and weeks of mock oral arguments in front of colleagues to get you ready for your presentation and any question the Justices may ask of you. I am so glad that I am not preparing to be receiving any questions, but I am starting to get nervous nevertheless.

Finally, I still do not have a job post-graduation and graduation is one month from yesterday. I'm not too worried since most law school graduates don't have jobs before graduation, but it is still a point of contention. So, keep me in your minds.

I hope this email doesn't sound too depressing because that's now how I feel - I think that this sense of feeling anxious and a tad bit overwhelmed is normal for a third-year law student who has less than four weeks left.

So with that, I hope that those of you who have been accepted into NUSL will send me your questions about coming here that way I can write about things that will truly be helpful and insightful to you.

Take care!

Hello cyberspace,

I hope that everyone who reads my blog is doing well!

There are so many things I need to update you on and I apologize that I am so late with this posting, but my computer has been on the fritz. It's finally fixed and I am extremely thankful for that. Though my hard drive wasn't affected, please let this be your reminder to BACK UP YOUR FILES! I was so anxious waiting to hear whether I'd lost everything or not...I didn't lose a thing and am feeling extremely lucky!

Okay, so the first update that I need to tell you about is our second evidentiary hearing in Birmingham, Alabama. This hearing was much shorter than the first one that I attended, but it was much more interesting. I hate that I cannot get into any detail (as I've said all quarter), but I can't.

What I will say is this: if you are an attorney working in a culture that's different from yours, the importance of understanding that culture is extremely important; it can mean the difference between winning and losing or gaining support and losing support. NUSL does a great job of imparting this principle to first year students through the Legal Skills in a Social Context program. Because we all have different experiences and biases based on our upbringing and background, working through how these characteristics may play out in your "lawyering" approach can truly mean a world of difference in terms of how effective a lawyer you'll be.

My second update is that I conducted my parole hearing last Wednesday in Montgomery, Alabama. This experience was by far my most exciting one on this coop. My clients' presentation was very straightforward and I was feeling very confident about my ability to effectively represent her until I received some unfortunate news a week before the hearing. While I cannot go into the details of this, let's just say that my client had a stellar record and she received a citation that tarnished her record.

When I walked into the hearing, I was slightly intimidated because of the layout of the room. The board sits high up (kind of like three judges would in a courtroom) and I had to walk to the podium in the middle of the room with a microphone. Before I started speaking, the board just asked me if I was aware of my clients' infraction. Instead of responding right away, I asked them if I may introduce myself before getting to the merits of her situation. They allowed me to do that and after my introduction, I told them what I knew of the situation, how we prepared to handle it, and how my client recognized the seriousness of her actions. While the board decided not to grant my client parole, they did say they would revisit the possibility of parole in six months.

This is a huge feat for a few reasons! First, the board told me that they planned on allowing my client to finish out her year and a half sentence without parole at all! From what my coop employer told me, the board tends to have their minds made up prior to hearing from a representative; the fact that my presentation changed their minds was truly a first. Secondly, the board generally will revisit a clients' parole eligibility within another year or a year and a half. The fact that they are revisiting my clients' case in six months is another first according to my coop employer. So, overall, I am extremely excited for the result and am very happy for my client!!!!

Finally, the day after my parole hearing, my supervisors and I travelled back to Alabama's death row to meet with some of our clients. We spent six hours "on the yard" visiting with them. Let me just say that I think the movie "Dead Man Walking" does a great job of providing viewers with the "feel" of a death row - it is slightly depressing because the feel of the place is just so bleak. I will also add though that I really enjoyed seeing some of the clients whose claims I'd worked on and it was nice to finally put faces with names.

On Friday, I ended my coop and now I am in the thick of applying for post-graduate jobs and getting prepared for graduation (only 9 days until the big day)! Wish the class of 2008 luck as we prepare to end our three-year law school tenure. I'll chat with you all next week.

Hello cyberworld...I hope that you all are doing well this summer.

I have six days left before I take the bar exam. I cannot believe how time has flown by this summer. I am completely exhausted, a little heavier (studying on end will pack on pounds even if you're eating right) and very excited to get this part of my life over and done with.

Studying for the bar has been a very emotional experience for me. On the one hand, I have this great legal education which prepared me nicely for the exam. On the other, my brain can only retain so much information. I keep telling myself that thousands have come before me and have done well and they were successful and that is what keeps my spirits moving. Anyway, back to studying...

I hope that you all are doing well and if you're about to enter your first year at NUSL, get plenty of rest...the first few weeks are a bit tiring. Take care...