Benny, 2L

I just got a question on my blog about how to actually pay for law school. Obviously, a very fair (and important) question, and one that there's no easy answer to.

First, I think it's really important to figure out if you want to go to law school. The debt burden for law school students is significant, and you don't want to take on a burden that you'll regret.

That said, if you're committed to coming to law school, there are a few things you can do to reduce the sting of the cost (although no matter what, it's going to hurt). One thing that really helps is to do your homework. Identify your top choice school, spend a lot of time on your application, including your resume and essays, so the school not only wants you to go there, but also wants to help you to go there by giving you financial assistance. Getting your application in as early as possible helps, because every school, Northeastern or otherwise, has a limited amount of financial aid dollars that it can distribute, and being first in line is never a bad thing. Northeastern has various scholarships, and you can look here for more information:

http://northeastern.edu/law/financial-aid/types/scholarships/index.html

Additionally, there are some really good public interest loan forgiveness programs that you should take a look at, and you generally should qualify for these programs if you pursue a career in the government or non-profit sectors after law school. The following link has great information on the available programs, including calculators, etc.:

http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/resources/student-debt-relief/public-service-loan-forgiveness

Finally, there is always the possibility of making some money while in law school, either through co-op (if you end up at Northeastern), or in a totally separate job. However, doing more than a few hours of work a week, especially your first year, is going to be tough. As for co-op, some pay, and some don't, and those that do pay range from a few hundred dollars per week to up to $3,000 per week (although these are hard to come by).

Hope this is helpful, and keep the questions coming!

Let's just say that it's been a weird couple of weeks here in Massachusetts. My attention for the last two weeks was glued to the Coakley/Brown race for Senate seat that had been held by Kennedy. Heading into the last few days of the race, it became clear that Coakley was in serious, serious trouble, and as I don't have to tell you, Brown ended up scoring one of the biggest political upsets in political history. A lot of the pundits chalked up Coakley's 5 point loss to people's dissatisfaction with President Obama, and the current Congress, which Brown supporters perceived as all too willing to go along with the President's various priorities (health care reform in particular).

I've had lots of conversations with friends, family, and colleagues about this race, and I'm not sure I buy the conventional wisdom as to why voters ended up going for Brown (I do, though, agree that Coakley ran a lethargic, uninspiring campaign). I think the reasons that Massachusetts went for a Brown in this race are several:

First, MA voters are dissatisfied with the state Democratic leadership. Governor Patrick approval rating is not especially high, the last three Speakers of the MA House of Representatives have been indicted on federal charges, and Beacon Hill (whether deservedly or not) is perceived as somewhat dysfunctional. As a member of Beacon Hill's small Republican contingent, I think that a vote for Brown was, at least in many instances, a vote against the state Democratic establishment. I'm not convinced that a vote for Brown was necessarily a vote against the federal Democrats' health care reform efforts because Massachusetts is the only state where we essentially have universal healthcare (and, where it's relatively popular). I just don't see healthcare reform as a dispositive issue here in MA.

Second, as I stated earlier, Coakley just didn't run a strong race. I've always liked Coakley, and think she's been a real leader on important to MA residents (for example, by being one of the most aggressive AGs in the county on the subprime mortgage crisis). But ultimately, she came across as stiff, hesitant, and distant, and voters are smart -- they want someone they can relate to, and Coakley didn't provide that.

Finally, I think that voters are generally hesitant to have one party with too much power (whether that party is actually effective in exercising that power is another issue altogether). Our political system is designed to slow down the lawmaking process, and I think that when a party has a large majority -- as the Democrats in Congress do now -- a natural electoral equilibrium often takes things back in another direction.

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Co-op is going great -- only a month left, and then I'm back in classes on March 1. Over break I'm heading to New York for a few days to visit some friends, and maybe I'll head to Wisconsin, too, to visit my brother.

It's hard to believe that a week from now we'll have both our feet firmly planted in the next decade. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't feel like we've reached the end of a decade (my theory: the last time we turned the page on a decade we also turned the page on the millennium, which, at least at the time, felt like a big deal).

So looking back on the last 10 years, what was this decade all about? The one event that I think defined this decade -- our politics, our relationship as Americans with the rest of the world, etc. -- was 9/11. I'm not sure that as a country we've truly reflected on and come to terms with the impact of 9/11, and until we do I think that it will lurk in the background, influencing (for better or worse) many of the decisions we make, both individually and as a collective.

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Last millennium there were all sorts of absurd "Best Of" lists, like Best Food of the Millennium (haggis, naturally), Best Yiddish Film Star of the Millennium (Maurice Schwartz, naturally), and Best Yogurt Drink of the Millennium (ayran, naturally).

So as we approach the end of this decade (what are we even calling this decade?), I thought I'd go ahead and provide my a truncated "Best Of" list:

Best TV Comedy of the Decade: Arrested Development (although in fairness It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, starring Danny DeVito, is giving Arrested Development a run for its money).

Best TV Drama of the Decade: this one's not even close -- The Wire.

Best Single Bite of Food I've Had This Decade: this one's also extremely close, but I'd have to say it was the Nantucket bay scallops in a fennel broth that I had a few weeks ago while my wife and I were celebrating our 3rd anniversary at Oleana here in Cambridge. Also a close one -- the pork cheek ramen that I was fortunate enough to experience in Kyoto, Japan a few years ago.

Best Director of the Decade: I'd have to go with Quentin Tarantino. The Kill Bill movies and Inglourious Basterds are just too good for him not be be considered the best filmmaker of the last 10 years.

Best Podcast of the Decade: this one, too, is not even close -- if you're a Daily Show fan, you'll love The Bugle podcast, which is co-hosted by the Daily Show's John Oliver. No matter how rough a week I'm having, I always get a kick out of this weekly podcast (although I'm sure it makes people around me on the subway uncomfortable when I start laughing uncontrollably for no apparent reason).

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Co-op is going great, but with lots of deadlines coming up, I'm not taking too much time off for the holidays. Happy New Years everyone, and I'll see you in 2010!

So it's actually been a pretty warm December (so far) here in Boston. I was walking to a lunch meeting with a prospective employer, and it was definitely nice to get out of my office, walk along the South Boston waterfront, and enjoy what is left of the fall (after all, it is technically still fall). It's supposed to get much colder by the end of the week, a fact that I'm not especially looking forward to.

This month has been super busy. In addition to really enjoying and working hard at co-op, it seems like every friend is having some sort of holiday party. Some good friends of ours are having their holiday party on Saturday, and they're doing a Yankee Swap with DVDs. I would reveal what I bought, but if any of them read this it would ruin the surprise of Yankee Swap (of course, I'm making the assumption, in all likelihood false, that they actually know I have a blog, and that they read it).

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So.....we had an election in Massachusetts last week for the Senate seat left vacant by Senator Kennedy's passing. Of the four Democratic candidates (yes, there was a Republican primary), I felt pretty good about three of them. To be honest, the three I felt good about had almost identical positions on the issues, so, as Stephen Colbert does, I went with my "gut." And lost. Oh well.

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Any other Red Sox fans feeling good about the moves they're making this off season? The free agent class of 2009 is pretty weak, both hitting and pitching. Getting Cameron in left field on the "cheap" ($16 million/2 years), and Lackey (a proven playoff pitcher) seemed like pretty astute moves, and leaves the Red Sox with the flexibility of pursuing some huge names in the 2010 class. But hey, maybe I'm just blinded by my loyalty.

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Ahhhh.....New Years. Usually not my favorite holiday, but this year I think I'm going to the Cape with a bunch of friends, and we're going to cook a nice dinner and hang out. Nice being away from the city to avoid the crowds, and/or the endless agonizing about what to do. So on that note, Happy New Year to all, and I'll try and post again before then (sorry it's been a while).

When I get stressed I tend not to eat much. My wife has commented that whenever finals hit I tend to lose a few pounds, and when I'm not in school I tend to put on a bit more weight. Well, if this vacation we're on is any indication, I'm sure to put on a few pounds before I start co-op, especially if I keep on eating rotis, which are a delightfully chewy Indian bread stuffed with all sorts of meats and veggie goodness (in this instance, potato, okra, and chicken).

I'm also taking the time to read for fun. I just wrapped up Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance. Although I wasn't aware of this when I started it, apparently it's the sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase (although it's not advertised as such).

Now that I'm done with Japanese magical realism for the time being, I'm working on tackling ">The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, but weighing in at well over 1000 pages, I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it before this break is over.

This quarter is rapidly coming to a close. In a few minutes I actually start my last class of the quarter (I have a pretty great schedule -- only have class on Monday and Wednesday, but with this Wednesday being a holiday, today is my last day of class). Luckily, I only have one in class exam, and then a couple of out of class exams/assignments.

I'm starting my co-op search from scratch for next summer, and there's a good chance that I'm going to create my own co-op. I've also identified a couple of really neat fellowships that I'm going to apply for, so I'm going to be working on those over Thanksgiving break.

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A couple of weeks ago my LSSC Law Office met with our client, which went really well. This coming week the Law Office is going to be meeting with and interviewing a "key informant," essentially, an individual that can help shed some light on the group's project. It's our last meeting as a Law Office, and, reflecting back on my experience, I've really enjoyed working with my 1Ls. It's been amazing seeing their transformation over the course of the semester, and I'm excited to see what the end up doing, both in co-op and through their careers in the law.

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Is this the time of year when people start applying to law school again? Hard to believe that I was going through this process a couple of years ago, but if folks have any questions, please ask away.

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We had our monthly movie night with some friends last week, and watched The Very Same Munchhausen, a Soviet telling of the classic Baron Münchhausen story. It was....interesting, to say the least.

It's hard to believe, but I'm starting to think and apply for co-ops for next summer. Right now I'm considering going down one of two roads -- either working for a state or municipal agency, or for a small law firm that works in an area that I'm interested in, such as municipal law. The first co-op application deadline is in a couple of weeks, so I really need to strategize about what I want to do for my last two open co-ops.

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On the LSSC front, I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks left with my Law Office. Tomorrow morning they're actually meeting with our client, who is flying in from the west coast to meet with them. It should be a great opportunity for them to engage on a deeper level with the project.

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In Professional Responsibility today we talked about the ethics of attorney's advertisements, and we watched a couple of videos of ads from different states. Unfortunately there are a small but visible minority of lawyers out there who, in my opinion, give the legal profession a bad name, and this one in particular caught my attention (although I have to admit that it's entertaining in its own right).

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And yes, the World Series is starting tonight. Although I'm bummed that my Red Sox won't be there, I can't say that I'm surprised that they didn't make it this far. Although they scored a decent amount of runs this year, I never felt that this year's team had the lineup go all the way. So I guess I'm rooting for the Phillies. . .

It's kind of funny to be writing this blog entry right now, because as I look out my window we are getting the season's first snow (while the wedding I went to in New Mexico, which I'm writing about below, was in the middle of the desert). I was not expecting it to snow this early, and usually when it does snow this early in the year, it's only for a few minutes. But so far, it's been about an hour (although it's too warm to accumulate right now).

Last weekend my wife and I went to New Mexico for a wedding. The bride and groom are old friends of mine who I worked with almost 10 years ago at a camp in Maine called Seeds of Peace, which is a non-profit coexistence camp. There were a lot of people there that I hadn't seen in years, and it was a lot of fun catching up. The wedding was about an hour outside of Santa Fe, and as you can tell from the picture below, it was quite a dramatic landscape (although I'm afraid the picture doesn't do it justice).

Besides catching up with old friends and family, the other great thing about New Mexico was the food. Virtually every dish came with a choice of either red or green chili sauce, but because I was feeling kind of indecisive, I decided to get a mix of both.

School is going well, and I'm amazed at how fast the quarter is going by. My Law Office is starting to work on its social justice project over the coming weeks, and we're going to be meeting with our client a week from this Thursday. The LSSC curriculum has changed quite a bit from years past, and I'm hopeful that shifting the project earlier in the semester will allow students to create an even better work product for their clients.

My last couple of weeks have been consumed by preparing all sorts of project documents for my Law Office (for those of you unfamiliar with NUSL lingo, "Law Offices" are the small sections -- 12-14 students each -- that 1Ls are split up into for their social justice project). It's been really interesting doing preliminary research on the issue that we're working on for our client, but it's also been taking up a huge share of my time.

And like that....Fall is here. This wasn't much of a summer weather wise, but as I look out my window right now it's very clear that summer is over. The leaves are changing, it's cooled down quite a bit (especially at night), the NHL season has started up again (go Bruins!), and the Red Sox are about to start the playoffs (go Sox!)

Oh!....before I forget. I got a question on my blog from a prospective student who was wondering about schedules. In an earlier blog posting I mentioned that I had a 3 week break after my 1L year, but the student didn't see this long a break on any officials NUSL calendars. I took this break right after my second semester was over this past spring. Although the break may have looked shorter on the calendar, students sometimes have flexibility in putting together their schedules. So in my instance, I took a longer break at the beginning of the summer, as my employer was happy to have my start June 1, but I also ended later than some of my friends that were on co-op. I had some friends that started their co-op as soon as exams were done, so they had a lot more time off at the end of the summer. As long as you get the requisite number of weeks in, then you're generally fine. Hope this clarifies things.

Well, the rumors that my 2L year was somehow going to be easier and less busy have yet to materialize. The common wisdom on the life cycle of a law student is that things ease up quite a bit after the 1L year. Although this year hasn't been as hard yet in the "my-brain-is-hurting-I-don't-think-that-I-can-do-this-much-longer" kind of way, I am still managing to have surprisingly little time to do things like watch the Patriots game tonight. Between classes, interviewing, LFing, TAing, and working at the library, I'm finding that my weeks are packed quite tight.

This weekend my wife and I were in Philadelphia for a wedding. Unfortunately my flight out of Logan was delayed 5 hours, and I almost missed the rehearsal dinner. Still, the wedding was a lot of fun, and I even managed to see some college friends that I haven't seen in a couple of years. I was also very impressed with Philadelphia as a city. It has the historical feel of Boston, but it also feels much bigger.

My brother and his family get in town this week for a couple of days, and as always, I'm excited to see my nieces (I'm sorry -- am I always talking about my nieces? If it bores you, I apologize, but they're lots of fun to spend time with). I'm realizing that I talk a lot with my brother and my wife about law school, but that neither have them have ever been to a law school class. Maybe it would be fun to invite them to one of my classes.

I'd love to write more, but I need to get back to writing these memos.