Diana, 2L

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am currently writing to you from New Jersey where I am spending the Thanksgiving holiday with the family. But Thanksgiving is not the same when one is in law school. Gone are the days where I carelessly spent the Thanksgiving break doing nothing but eating, socializing and shopping. This Thanksgiving all I am thinking about is finishing up outlines for final exams. Why are outlines so important? The process of creating an outline prepares one for the final exams. The outline is also useful to have during exams to use as a reference.

As I reminisce about life before law school, I remember that this time last year I was working on my law school applications and visiting various law schools, which included Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL). Personally, visiting law schools really helped me hone in on the particular aspects that attracted me to certain law schools. This time last year after visiting NUSL's Open House, I knew what I liked best about this law school: the culture, faculty and the student body. This is the type of information you don't get from reading brochures or various law school guides. Attending the Open House affirmed my reasons for wanting to attend Northeastern University School of Law. For all prospective law school applicants interested in attending Northeastern, I highly recommend you attend NUSL's Open House scheduled for December 3, 2008. For more information here is the link:
http://www.northeastern.edu/law/admission/visit/info-sessions.html. Yours truly will be one of the panelists at the open house. So don't be shy to come up to me and introduce yourself and ask me any questions.

Posted by Diana at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Winter weather has arrived and I couldn't be less prepared for it. This week has been hectic and I am glad it is over. My mother underwent an operation and luckily she recuperated without any complications. I had a fourteen page transition memo due this week that I worked on with a group. I was fortune to have a great group and we completed the memo without a problem. In addition, I received my first interview request with a Co-Op employer for a summer internship. The Co-Op employer is a New York not-for-profit law firm that handles appeals and post-conviction proceedings on behalf of criminal defendants. Wish me luck on the interview! Last but not least final exams are only three weeks away. Sorry I don't have much to say but I promise I will next week. Got to go to work on outlines.

Posted by Diana at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I felt so inspired after watching the Emmy Award Winner documentary named "Made in L.A./Hecho en L.A." The documentary follows three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles' garment sweatshops who sue retailer Forever 21 for labor rights violations. The documentary was shown at the law school by the Northeastern National Lawyers Guild Student Chapter. The documentary personally resonated with me because my mother worked in garment sweatshops for over 18 years. Seeing how hard my parents worked to support my sister and I is what motivates me to work hard. One of the main reasons why I chose to become an attorney was to work with individuals on immigration-related issues. Watching this documentary reminded me what a privilege it will be to work as an attorney and to have the capacity to impact an individual's life through my work. To learn more about the documentary check out the website at: http://www.madeinla.com/

Northeastern University School of Law (NUSL) is trying to expand their immigration law curriculum. Currently, the law school is in the process of interviewing candidates to fill a faculty position for immigration law. NUSL offers a couple of immigration courses like Immigration Law and Refugee and Asylum Law. In addition, NUSL students can also learn about immigration law by working with various Co-Op employers who focus in immigration law. The law students are also very active and have started a group that meets on a weekly basis to discuss various immigration law issues. Personally, I am all for creating an Immigration Law Clinic. Nonetheless, the law school does offer an array of law clinics in other legal areas like: Criminal Law, Domestic Violence, Poverty Law, Public Health and Prisoner's Rights. Check out the link for more information on NUSL's clinics: http://www.slaw.neu.edu/clinics/clinics.html

Posted by Diana at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a week! It is finally confirmed Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America. I am more than elated about the outcome of the election. Throughout the semester the law school did a great job in organizing law students for volunteer opportunities with the Obama-Biden Campaign. A group of NUSL students known as Swingers for Obama headed to New Hampshire the last weekend before election day and devoted their time in providing critical campaign work for the Obama-Biden team. You can check out their blog that documents their experience at: http://swingersforobama.wordpress.com/

I finished my second legal memo, which I finally submitted on Tuesday. Now I have to make the decision of which legal memo to use as my writing sample. On another note, I only have four weeks left of classes before the start of final exams. Honestly, I am a little nervous but the law school offers a great academic support system. The Academic Success Program (ASP) works with the law students through one-to-one work, academic counseling, skills workshops, time management assistance, and with exam preparation materials. I will work with ASP these up coming weeks to prepare for the final exams. ASP is such a valuable resource and its primary goal is to prepare law students to perform to the best of their abilities. For more information check out the following link: http://www.slaw.neu.edu/asp/

Posted by Diana at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is Co-Op time. What is a Co-Op you may ask? A Co-Op refers to a work period under the Cooperative Legal Education Program. Under this program, law students complete a traditional first year of academic study and then, for the remaining two years, law students alternate every three-months between working full time as a legal intern and attending classes on a full-time basis. As a graduation requirement, law students need to complete four cooperative work quarters, which means upon graduation a Northeastern law student will have close to one year of legal work experience.

This month all 1L's had to select a Co-Op rotation preference, which means I could work during the summer and winter quarter, which is what I selected, or work during the fall and spring quarter. Personally, I picked the summer and winter rotation because I am eager to return to the work force to start acquiring some relevant legal work experience. The Co-Op program is one of the main reasons why I chose to attend Northeastern because I learn best through hands-on experience.

Last week the Co-Op department gave all the 1L's who selected the summer/winter rotation a four-page list of participating Co-Op employers from across the country who are hiring summer interns. The list is so overwhelming! So many choices in various practice areas and location. The Co-Op department also maintains separate lists for International Co-Op opportunities, summer fellowships, and opportunities to work with non-participating employers. On November 12th, I am required to submit applications to no more than twelve employers. I have narrowed down my selection to either interning for a judge or working in legal services doing immigration law or domestic violence work. Since I've been busy studying for the practice exam and working on my second legal memo, I haven't had enough time to research prospective employers. But I assure you that once I submit my second legal memo on Tuesday, I will head to the Co-Op office and start conducting my research on prospective employers. The options are limitless and I could intern anywhere around the world. Where do I start? I will keep you posted on the process.

Posted by Diana at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)