Benny, 2L

Before I get into discussing co-op, I received a question from a reader about Legal Skills in Social Context (LSSC), which is a cornerstone of the 1L experience here at NUSL. I'll stick to talking about the "social justice" component of LSSC, and will not be covering the research and writing component. If you are interested in hearing more about the research and writing component, please let me know.

The issues that we discuss in the social justice component include race, gender, and class differences. In our first semester, our focus has been on how individual lawyers, and legal institutions more broadly, address (or don't address) and account for (or don't account for) differences in these areas. The dynamic in every law office (translation: LSSC section) differs significantly. For some law offices, these conversations can often become quite difficult and contentious. In others, the challenges are not as significant. It really depends on the group dynamic. The purpose of the social justice component of LSSC (aside from the inherent value of having these discussions) is to prepare each law office for its second semester project, where we will represent an organizational client in an actual legal project. Thanks for the question, and feel free to post a comment if you are looking for more information. I would also encourage you to check out the link, above.

Now to co-op. One of the primary reasons that students decide on Northeastern is the co-op system, which gives each student the opportunity to have 4 3-month long internships throughout their law school career (for more on co-ops, you can look here). Co-ops starts after the first year, and students are either on the summer/winter co-op rotation, or the spring/fall rotation. I've elected to be on the former, which means that every June-August and December-February until I graduate I'll be out in the field working for a different organization, firm, or agency, doing actual legal work. Co-op gives law school students to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real world legal settings.

Because I am going on co-op in the summer (when students from virtually every other law school are also interning), I need to start applying soon, with my first deadline next week. I am leaning towards doing my first co-op in a government setting, where I hope to continue to build on my legal research and writing skills. For me, I am looking at the first co-op or two as a chance to build my general legal skills, as opposed to gaining expertise/experience in a specific area of the law. NUSL works with close to 900 co-op employers, and you can find a representative list here. Students have access to a comprehensive database, and students also often develop their own co-ops, meaning that instead of applying through NUSL's co-op office, they apply directly through the organization or firm.

Co-ops do vary significantly in how much they pay. Oftentimes co-ops with legal services organizations or small non-profits come without pay, while co-ops with large, big city firms can be several thousand dollars per week. For those co-ops that pay little or nothing, there are a variety of supplemental funding sources.

Back to work -- memo, reading, and more reading. See you all next week.

I'm writing live from....the library. It feels like only yesterday when I first arrived at NUSL, met my classmates, bought my books, and stepped into our beautiful new classrooms at Dockser Hall. Now, with less than a month until the end of the semester, it feels like all of the 1Ls are slowly but surely starting to ramp up for finals. Except for LSSC, all of our class evaluations (remember, no grades at NUSL) are essentially determined via a final examination.

Right now, it feels like half my law office it at the library, reading for classes next week, writing memos, outlining for finals, and generally running around trying to get as much done as we can. As stressful as it is (because law school is stressful, no matter what people tell you), it's amazing to feel your mind slowly morphing into that of a lawyer. Not that we're there yet -- not by a long shot -- but it's definitely a neat feeling.

I would love to write more, but I have a memo to edit, and more more more to read. I'll be back next week, hopefully with a bit more time to write.

I don't know about everyone else, but I love Thanksgiving. Of course the food is great, and it usually comes at that hectic time of year where you are feeling a bit burnt-out from school or work, and it gives you the chance to slow down and relax for a few days with friends and family. Well, not when you're a 1L.

The semester is rapidly coming to a close. Our last day of classes is Friday, December 5, meaning that next week is our last full week of classes. After that, 1Ls have a full week for reading week, before having our exams, which are spread out over a week. So what does this mean for Thanksgiving break, besides turkey, stuffing, and canned cranberry sauce? 3 words: outlining, outlining, and outlining. The typical way of studying for law school exams is to outline the course from start to finish (and in many classes, you can bring the outline into your exam), and then taking practice exams. As 2Ls and 3Ls keep on reminding us, it's not the outline itself that matters, as much as the process of making the outline. So yeah, that's what I'll be doing from 5 p.m. today, right through Sunday night (besides cooking the turkey, which will give me an excuse to take a break to check on the bird).

If you're reading my blog right now, you'll probably notice that the law school has launched a beautiful new website. It's much nicer than our old one, and I would encourage all of you to take a look at it when you have a chance.

I hope everyone has a great holiday.