Ira, 3L

Personally, I'm an Atlanta Braves fan. Always have been. Despite my fervent disapproval of the designated hitter rule, Atlanta is in the National League and I'm not barred from from liking Boston. It helps that I don't like George Steinbrenner, the Steinbrenner family, and by extension the Yankees. Other than those exceptions, I just dig baseball in general.

But I'm SO glad it's over. And I know many other 1Ls who agree. Now we can get some work done without either 1.) pretending to do it while watching the games, or 2.) actually doing the work and wishing we were watching the games. Interestingly, this all around the time that the upper-level students tell us is the threshold of the first-year--that week or couple of weeks when nearly every 1L feels like their reaching their capacity for assignments, projects, lack of sleep, stress, coffee ingestion. A couple blokes in Civil Procedure with me see no end in sight, because now football season starts in full swing. Luckily for me I don't dig football.

Don't get the impression, though, that the first year of law school is only about work, increasing your coffee intake by 300%, and making hard choices about the trade-offs outside of studies. It's not. At Northeastern, speficically, 1Ls really are the force behind the show. With half of the upper-level students gone on co-ops every three months, it's really difficult for there to be any continuity of effort in student activities. So, a lot of onus is put on the 1Ls to keep things going. This creates an interesting working dynamic.

Yesterday I was at a meeting for Dean Spieler's Ad Hoc International Programming Committee. I'm not on the Committee officially, but, hey, it's Ad Hoc and the Chair--Professor Hope Lewis--invited me. I'm the 1L Co-Chair of the International Law Society (ILS). The purpose of the Committee, mandated by the Dean, is to examine the possibility of increasing international opportunities into the curriculum, co-operative education, and the academic setting at Northeastern. "International opportunities" is very vague, but just know the Committee is basically drafting a memorandum--to be distributed to the law school's administration and faculty at large--to propose increasing the number of international classes offered and establishing study abroad programs and partnerships with foreign institutions and universities.

Awesome. The Committee is working on it. They've got it under control. Why am I at the meeting? Shouldn't I be in the library somewhere reading Supreme Court Cases on the claim preclusion (or res judicata depending on your vintage)?

Yes, yes I should. But there is much more to do at Northeastern--especially as 1Ls--that doesn't compete with your scholastic duties as much as you would think. My major platform in ILS consists of exactly the same issues with which the Committee is involved. Northeastern has some great core international law classes, but they need to be offered every quarter for upper-level students and most of them are not. Taking a class on, say, European Union Laws could be quite central in getting a co-op internship or securing post-graduation employment. More so than not totally conflicting with the 1L lifestyle, this dynamic that co-op creates forces first-year students to be active.

No. It forces us to be proactive. We know that upper-levels and the faculty are there for guidance and support, but these opportunities to shape our education and take part in more than just our studies are out there waiting for us.

Firstly,

It was really great to meet several of you at the Fall Open House this week. As I mentioned then, in person, please feel free to comment on any of my blogs (or those of my fellow-bloggers) if you have any more questions about Northeastern, law school life, or even the Admissions process. Note that I personally have no role in how your application is received and reviewed, but I'd be glad to answer questions as someone who was a prospective student last year.

For those of you who couldn't make it to the Fall Open House, don't sweat it. It was a nice time, there was free food, you had a short chance to meet many of the professors, Admissions' staff, Dean, and several students, but 1.) it's not necessary to attend Open House to be accepted, and 2.) there will be more.

Personally, I moved from North Carolina (interesting digressing factoid: although I now live in Massachusetts, NC is traditionally called "The Old North State." You can infer how us North Carolinians view ourselves) and in no way could afford the time off from work or the airfare to come to all the events the Office of Admissions sets up for prospective students. I made a point to come to the one AFTER I was accepted, though.

And there was still free food, plenty of professors, the Dean, and Admissions' staff to meet.

Secondly, after today we 1Ls have one full week of class left. That's it. These are "The End Times"--not to be confused with the time of the same name mentioned by Nostradamus or the Aztecs. 1Ls are catching up on whatever reading they may have skipped, missed, or simply need to read again to understand, outlining, and beginning to take practice exams. There are definitely a few I need to read again, but I'm sure I'll cover them in the finishing of my outlines.

In several of our classes this semester we've studied the impact of economic theory on the law, and I can't help but have similar thoughts on the inverse amount of sleep and work that seems to test law students on what is really the most efficient use of their time.

More to come...

Currently bogged down with studying for finals (Civil Procedure on Friday, Property on Monday and Torts next Wednesday), there are not a lot of activities going on around the school--or in 1L life--to report. There are still plenty of events happening at the school (with 2Ls and 3Ls still in classes), but I'm sure they are devoid of first-years. Going to club meetings, presentations by prospective faculty, or lectures by practicing attorneys in certain fields (this week they had Military Law) all sound great. I enjoy going to those things. Overall, though, it's less and less feasible when you're trying to squeeze every spare minute out of a day.

Nonetheless, like Leon noted in his blog, we're all looking forward to the end of exams. I'm awaiting Thursday, December 20. Then, maybe, I can do some holiday shopping before I leave for North Carolina to visit my family and friends back home. I seriously considered ordering them all "Northeastern Law" T-shirts and sweaters, but I don't imagine that will go over too well with, say, my four-year old little brother.

I'm also really looking forward to next semester's classes, while remaining a fount of optimism about my law office's LSSC project. We'll see.

I'll report back after my Civil Procedure exam on Friday, as it gets out early afternoon. To all of you out there reading who are currently studying for your own finals, or meeting deadlines at work--or, I suppose, just being bogged down in your own special way--my best to you.

I'm going to review this past week in reverse. No real reason--just enjoy the ride.

We had Monday off due to a somewhat expected Snow Day. Sadly, like many 1Ls, I spent most of it working on my group's LSSC project. Truly sad, because I was hoping to go sledding down some of the larger hills near where I live. This could have posed a problem because 1) I don't own a sled, and 2) I planned to go sledding with my dog (a 140lb. Great Dane). Irregardless, that didn't happen.

As I mentioned in my last blog, the previous subcommittee in which I formed a part researched the governmental response across the United States to homelessness. Since Friday, we split up into different research subcommittees based on foreign countries to be analyzed. I am now one of three researching the state of homelessness in South Africa. We're working vigorously, planning our week out down to the hour. We must compile our information with the other four subcommittees' information on their own individual countries and have it prepared for review by next Thursday.

Note that this is only a preliminary step and an introductory look at the countries we chose to research. We have much more work to do before our presentation to our client-organization at the end of March-early April.

Last Wednesday the International Law Society (ILS) hosted an Immigration Law Conference with five panelists. The event was planned by ILS and co-sponsored by the Queer Caucus (QC), the Business Law Interest Group (BIG), the Asian and Pacific Islanders Law Students Association (APALSA), the Latin-American Law Students Association (LALSA), and the NUSL Co-Op Office. It seems to have been a big hit and had a fairly good showing. Our panelists came and spoke on the status of immigration laws and policies in America and the paths to reform. We had three lawyers, a social worker, and a policy analyst all working in different areas of immigration law.

Later this week (seriously, I intend to write a second blog this week), I want to discuss some of the more enlightening cases we're studying in our classes.

Tonight the Office of Career Services is hosting a networking event that brings NUSL students and alumni together over drinks, snacks and a shelter from the delightfully rough weather we're experiencing. Looking at the list of alumni (organized by their practice area), it looks like they've assembled approximately 100 alums. Yours truly will be in attendance.

I can't honestly tell you how such events go because, frankly, I've never been to one. Yet, I think my relative inexperience at such a venue matches well with my overall networking experience in my past professional (and personal) life, to give some advice to those soon to be attending law school.

Whether you're now deciding between schools, eagerly awaiting responses, studying for the LSAT, or just thinking about it...realize that to a great degree it is massively important who you know. To some this maxim may seem trivial, but I think it's hugely important to state and read it with clarity. So, go ahead--read the previous sentence again.

I use to fiercely resist the notion that I needed to put any weight on who I know or how they can help me in the future. That, after all, seemed to me the essence of networking. Why should I hobnob? Couldn't I get by on what I know, how well I know it and have proven this?

I don't normally dig dealing in extremes, so it suffices to say that getting by on what you know alone is unlikely. And highly improbable. If who you know (and, honestly, what they know about you) didn't matter, why would employers ask for references or written recommendations? Moreover, how many times have you asked a friend about the details of someone they know better than you?

It may be sad to some, but it's true. I don't look at it as hobnobbing, and I recommend that you don't either. For, in the end, it's not really about getting ahead or schmoozing. Networking is about making connections and getting to know.

That being said, realize now who you know and who you want to get to know. Even if you don't realize yet what field of law piques your interest. Getting to know the Town Attorney or In-House Counsel of your parent's employer or your professor will help shape that interest. Getting to know anyone, really. Everyone you meet could be a part of that network. This may seem (and may really be) overly simplistic, but it bears witness.

Before I start into the thick of this blog, I want to let all those know that the undergraduate program of Northeastern University is having a panel for all pre-law students, students that may be interested in law school, long-time graduates thinking about going to law school, etc. The focus of the panel will be on taking the LSAT, applying to law schools, personal essays, etc. It is open to anyone interested, not just NU students, and is Monday, February 25th at 5.30pm in 105 Shillman Hall. If you're not from NU and want directions, please feel free to comment on this blog and leave your email address.

The Connections networking event on Wednesday went well. The Offices of Career Services and Alumni Relations provided a list of alumni attending prior to the event, so I did my research and talked to the few people practicing in the areas that specifically interest me and those working in areas that may interest me in the future (e.g., labor and employment law).

I spent great chunks of my time at the "Government" table and at the "Criminal Defense" table. At the former, I spoke with a couple attorneys working in the Mass. Attorney General's office about what they do as Asst. Attorney Generals, how the different divisions of the AG's office work together, whether they ever bring cases into federal court, etc. I also spoke with a Naval JAG attorney who described the benefits and detriments he saw in being a military lawyer.

An anecdotal tangent: as I finished talking with the JAG attorney, a classmate of his from 2004 came up to say hello. The classmate worked at a large Boston firm. He mentioned all the rain and snow we've been having to the JAG attorney, then said, "Yeah, it's my week to shovel the patio." Both the JAG attorney and I thought his tone was joking and he was being sarcastic, but--as his behavior seemed more serious and straight about the matter--we inquired further. The classmate mentioned something about the "partners not having shovels" then changed the subject.

If he was serious (and, frankly, I still don't know), that scenario is frightening. I'm all for helping out whenever and wherever possible, and fully support the co-operative lifestyle, but I doubt that all the attorneys rotated "facilities services duties" every week. I'd be hugely unhappy if I had to take time out of researching and investigating whatever case I'd been assigned to shovel the firm's patio. Maybe the fellow was joking, or maybe they had a big group meeting and took volunteers because paying another company to do it was just getting too expensive. Maybe not. Maybe those are the things you sign yourself up for with some firms.

Anyway, the chat with the criminal defense lawyers at the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) (essentially, they're the public defenders) went well. As I worked for a public defender's office in NC, they recommended I not apply until the end of my second year--if I was interested--as certain offices give certified 3Ls cases to actually represent in court. As I expected, interning with them before I was certified would give me little more experience than I have already with a Public Defender's Office.

This weekend is a long one with President's Day on Monday, but I'll be spending most of it studying and working on the LSSC project. Given the pleasantly warm weather we have outside today, though, I think my dog and I are going to go for a run.

Honestly, law school is terrible on keeping a regular exercise regimen.

Last week was "Spring Break" for the 1Ls, and also marked the end of exams for 2Ls and 3Ls who are now on their co-ops. Like many things surrounding the study of law, the words "Spring" + "Break" are artifices. The weather was cold, snowy and often blustery, and I took few breaks in my studies and many projects until this past weekend. Now, it is true that I just moved to Boston in August. Perhaps this time of year is about as "Spring" as it gets here. If so, I am saddened and hold out hopes for what of the Summer I will see before heading to Phoenix.

This past weekend, though, I took a break from reading for classes and working on my LSSC project to attend the Robert Cover Public Interest Law Retreat. This year it was in Petersborough, New Hampshire. If asked to describe it in just one word, I would choose "life-changing." Before you argue: it is one word. Trust me, there is a hyphen in there.

The retreat brought together about twenty practitioners and professors of public interest law and approximately sixty students. We attended issue-specific workshops, heard motivational addresses, and participated in a lot of informal talks. I had great discussions with a former public defender, a county attorney, a litigator who fought on the side of government and corporate whistleblowers, and an attorney who brought cases in Washington, D.C. on behalf of prisoners, and many others. Moreover, it was fantastic to get to know students from other law schools. I met some wonderful people, and, honestly, learned a good deal about myself.

As a bonus, the whole shebang was held at an outdoor education center (read: "camp"), which was veritably picturesque with the snow and the clear nighttime skies. In between all our scheduled activities, we even had an opportunity to go cross-country skiing or snow-shoeing on the frozen lake.

Now back from this retreat, I am head-first and neck deep in finishing the LSSC project. I am swimming through treatises on the socio-economic rights possessed by children in South Africa, specifically analyzing whether they have a right to housing over and above adults. Additionally, in Constitutional Law (which I recently learned many schools do not teach until the second year) we are studying the War Powers of Congress, the President, and the role the federal courts have in managing those powers enumerated under the Constitution. We've talked a great deal in the past week about the authorizations to go to war in Iraq, the blank-check for the use of force in Vietnam, etc. It is really amazing stuff. I'll tell you more later, but, for the moment, I head back into it.

I thought I'd take a break from describing all the yadda yadda school work that not only plagues most of my waking life, but--through this blog--part of yours too, and talk about finding housing in Boston.

If you are from Boston, please feel free to read on and add comments to add to the general discourse. Or to disagree with anything I've written below.

If you're not from Boston and have finding housing in this city on your list of things to do, fear not. I too am not originally from Boston. Originally, I had to find housing from 800 miles away.

First, your best resource is craigslist.com. Whatever listing you find on craigslist, make sure to note whether the property will be rented with "fee", "half fee," or "no fee." Usually, the fee is one month's rent. So, if you find a nice one bedroom or studio for around $1050/month, you can expect to pay first, last, deposit, plus fee in the order of $4200 to move in. If you rent from a realtor, that is.

Usually, realtors charge fees of some sort. Massachusetts law prohibits owners from charging fees. For my first apartment, I was lucky enough to rent from a realtor who owned the particular building in which I was interested in living.

Next, really research the area around Boston and decide where you do and don't want to live. My classmates are spread out throughout Boston, and the farther out you live, the more in transportation costs you will have. The bus and train systems in Boston are pretty nice to have around, in my opinion, but there is nothing wrong with finding a place within walking distance either.

In that same vein, another option is to live in one of the dorms. They are very near the campus and I'm sure they're affordable. As I have a dog, that wasn't an option--but it's certainly out there.

A quick note on landlords: it's tough to know with what kind of landlord you're going to end up. Especially if you're moving in from out of town. If feasible, I would come to Boston and visit some places and find a decent or tolerable landlord. There are definitely some good and bad ones out there. I would never recommend renting an apartment sight-unseen or from a landlord unmet, but if you're moving from, say, Nebraska and you only have enough airfare to get here in August...you might want to contact one of the Student Ambassadors or current NUSL students and ask them about good properties that meet your needs. Not to endorse any one student ambassador, but Josh Dicksinson is a 3L and very knowledgeable. He is a good guy and knows a lot of about Boston.

Unless you know a NUSL 1L personally, though, I'd stick with contacting the upper levels. We're so sick with yadda yadda school work we're about to burst.

...in a short period of time.

My law office finished the bulk of our project. We're putting the finishing touches on it now and preparing it for our presentation Friday, March 28th. After that we're done. Done, done, done. Well, mostly done. I'm sure the program and powers that be will find something for us to do as we run up to exams.

This past Saturday was Barrister's Ball, affectionately and detractingly referred to as "Law School Prom." It was a good time, and nice to relax, drink, and dance the frustrations of LSSC and studying away. It was also great because the Ball is for more than just 1Ls; we got to see the upper-level students who haunt the building and (I believe) hide in the shadows. Seriously, we rarely see them. I believe that they don't go to class.

I am moving into a new place--hence the blog last week about housing issues in Boston. I'll be moving soon, but at least I've finally found a place for me and my 140 lb. great dane. A word of advice on this to future incoming class: this period of time, February - May of your 1L year at Northeastern, is the worst, worst, worst, WORST time you could try to move while in law school. Did I mention it sucks? Trying to balance law school, life, housing, life, law school and law school are not an easy task. I'm not sure if it's wholly possible. So, if given the choice, avoid it.

In other news: it's still snowing in Boston. True, it's light snow and quickly turns to rain. But, for someone who lived most of their lives in the South, snow in late March is a bit much. Moreover, I can't even imagine what the rain will be like in April.

That's all I got for now. I'm sure there is more, but I'm a little exhausted. Perhaps I'll get out a supplemental blog tomorrow...or early next week.

The title to this blog frames what has been an instructional week for me.

On Monday, my law office finished (perhaps for real, this time) LSSC with our oral arguments. As I may have described in an earlier entry, we were split individually into attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant for an employment discrimination case. Our oral arguments were the culmination of two months of research and legal writing, preceded slightly by motions and memoranda we had to file with the judge. I had the honor of giving my oral argument twice, as there were more attorneys for the defendant.

To note, the oral arguments were restricted to ten minutes (which is a short, short time to explain anything with the words "legal," "standard," and "discrimination" in your thesis) and, as we were addressing a "judge," we had to be prepared to be repeatedly interrupted with questions.

Both experiences for me were very instructional, as the two classmates against whom I argued took very different takes on the legal issues in question. So, I had to draft two slightly different arguments in opposition. Moreover, I learned a great deal more about speaking in front of a judge. For example, when the judge gets you slightly off your intended track and asks you a question for which you have no immediate answer...don't fumble through your words and end by saying -- "I have no clue, Your Honor."

Ultimately, I answered the question through talking it out. But, I should have said "Your Honor, I need a moment to think on that question" or some derivative thereof.

All in all, the oral arguments came out well and I enjoyed doing them.

That same afternoon I went to a panel downtown at the Boston Bar Association on International Pro Bono opportunities. It was very informative. There were several people, including the the current Chief Judge of the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, who have served on different International Criminal Tribunals (East Timor, Yugoslavia, Cambodia), election observation programs, large American firms that do pro bono work abroad, and more.

There wasn't much of an opportunity for a meet and greet, and, being a 1-L, I had to bolt to get some work done, but I got great notes on resources and places to look for internships and jobs post graduation.

Quite separately, the weather is beautiful here in Boston right now. The winter feels like its finally trailing off. Just in time for what could be an amazing weekend.

This will likely be my last blog to you amidst the classes of my first-year of law school.

Although some of you readers out there may have not read that sentence with the gravity it actually carries, I'm going to give a few moments of literary silence to let that sentence sink in...in the honor of my fellow 1Ls and all those 1Ls who have come and gone.

...end of first-year of law school....

Granted, the end of classes is merely the beginning of exams. But, law school exams are a whole different beast that must be overcome quite separately from the bridge we students had to cross to get here. The important point, I think, is that once we're preparing for and taking exams...we are in fact on the other side of the bridge. Whether or not they let us through the gate, well...that's the beast of it.

Several fellow classmates have mentioned the sheer difficulty in studying in the weather with which Boston has been blessed in the past week. Who wants to be inside and studious when Sunshine beckons us towards adventures and livelihoods that have little to do with the Uniform Commercial Code or issues of federalism and state sovereignty? Studying for exams was certainly much easier during the winter when the weather outside was much less inviting.

Well, notwithstanding Boston's current sunshine (and the Sunshine come and gone), I'm glad I didn't go to law school closer to the Equator. And, considering the lovely weather without these walls, I imagine this is why the powers that be construct law school buildings without big, expansive windows.

Contrary to those feeling torn between the weather and their studies, though, I actually find the majesty of Spring invigorating and helpful towards studying. Perhaps it's the general nature of the season to re-energize and I'm just finding it easier to channel it towards studying. Perhaps it's because baseball season is the best season (and Smoltz is now a member of the 3,000 club).

Anyway, exams will soon be over and I'll be headed to Phoenix to work for the Supreme Court there. I look forward to the chance to do appellate work and to hike some of the beautiful canyons in Arizona.

Tonight, I'm attending a meeting on "Justice for Northeastern University Janitors." (Note: if you go to that link, I wouldn't sign the petition UNLESS you're a member of the NU community AND have already not signed it.) I've been trying to go to these weekly meetings since about February, and now have finally made the time. No excuses, I just didn't have going to the meeting high on my list amidst all other law school goings-on. That doesn't mean I don't support the cause. In fact, I hope to attend the rally and march on the university president's house this Saturday.

More to come. Until next week...

I'll spare everyone the always exciting minutiae of the mental marathon that is studying for law school exams and get on to with what I have been distracting myself. Considering that very realistic picture, though, this blog will be short.

First, the end of classes was great. My last class, Constitutional Law, was wrapped up awesomely. I left it honestly feeling whole and complete. To paraphrase one of the last things Professor Adler said to us: The law tries to boil life down, make it abstract, and pretend that it--the law--operates in a perfect world. One of your best tools as a lawyer is fearlessness in the face of such abstraction. Keep an eye on the real world...a world that is not abstract or perfect.

Secondly, my first Seder dinner at the law school was great. See Wen's (second) blog--"Passover Seder" on the whole experience. I think she does a great job of describing it from the point of view of someone not Jewish at their first Seder. Also, I similarly learned that I don't dig gefilte fish.

Lastly, I spent part of this weekend at a rally in front of the $7.5 million dollar home of the President of Northeastern University. The Justice for Janitor's Coalition rallied with students, student groups, janitors, faculty, local members of state congress, the media, and the public to protest the wages and lack of healthcare under which many of the employees of our facility services must work. The rally went strong all weekend, through rain and sunshine, and collected nearly 900 letters of support from the community for the cause. And the fight continues. Go here to see a Northeastern University TV (NUTV) two-part documentary about it: Part One, and Part Two.

If you click on any of the other links provided in that paragraph you should see some great press coverage of this weekend's rally.

Best of luck to my fellow law students--at Northeastern and other law schools--

Happy Belated Independence Day to everyone. I spent my long weekend in DC, and had a great time. I saw fireworks at the Capitol, visited the relocated and newly redesigned Newseum (which has an impressive exhibit on the First Amendment), had some delicious Ethiopian food, and more.

Now back in Phoenix, it's back to business as usual. I have thirty days left in Arizona and plan on making the best of it. In a couple weeks I head to Las Vegas for a friend's wedding, and will attempt to lose very, very little money at the casino. I'm not much of a gambler, but I do dig Kenny Rogers and friendly-poker games with friends. I also have some family staying in Vegas, so I am quite lucky to get the chance to see them.

Work progresses. I just finished writing a memo on a first-degree murder appeal, where the defendant is asking the court for a new trial, and am diving headlong into the school voucher case on which I am working with another intern. The school voucher case raises several constitutional issues, both for the U.S. Constitution and the Arizona Constitution. It's a very interesting case, with both parties unhappy about the Court of Appeals opinion on the matter.

Thinking about my internship ending inevitably hones my focus on classes resuming in late August. We start registering for classes next Monday, and the final information we students need to properly register was just posted this afternoon. Above all, I would really like to take Evidence, First Amendment Law, and the Seminar on Balancing Liberty and Security in the Post-9/11 America. The many other classes available that I need to take to stay within the number of credit hours necessary to graduate are up for grabs. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Otherwise, I am spending my days catching up on my reading and exercise and conditioning. I usually make some regular time to scan The New York Times and Washington Post, occasionally flit through the Arizona Republic and BBC.co.uk. Regularly, though, I'm reading Gideon's Trumpet by Anthony Lewis, The Chomsky-Foucault Debate, and trying to catch up on my Leaves of Grass.

Oh! And I was recently quite lucky and honored to be chosen as a Student Editor for the upcoming school year for the Quarterly, the International Law Students Association periodical. Currently, I'm researching and writing the increased role victims of mass atrocities and war crimes have under the international criminal justice system--specifically in proceedings at the International Criminal Court. It may sound a little esoteric, but it's interesting stuff.

More to come...

It's back to classes here at NUSL. Even the new 1Ls had their first classes today. So far, I've had Balancing Liberty and Security in post 9/11 America, Criminal Trial Practice, and First Amendment Law. Later, I have Evidence and Appellate Advocacy. It's great to be back at school and starting classes, if even I wasn't completely ready to give up my summer.

All of my classes are in a newly renovated building, Dockser, directly behind the law school proper. Though, like many of the buildings at Northeastern, the two are all connected on the ground floor. You could, if one was so inclined, spend all day inside the law school complex without ever going outside. As it was much more likely for that to happen during first year, I'm going to make a point of my second year to see the sun and feel the wind.

New extracurricular things are starting up, too, but slowly. We had the Student Activities Fair last night, where student organizations recruited first years (mostly) to be a part of their groups. As half of the upper-level students are always gone, first years at Northeastern are really the life blood of student organizations. For the moment, I'm heading up two student groups, the International Law Society and recently created Criminal Law Society, but am excited for 1Ls to come in and take leadership positions. It will free up my schedule and, I hope, take both groups in great directions as we explore those areas of the law and student interests.

For now, I'm going to return to filling out my security clearance forms for the Dep't of Justice co-op I've taken for the Winter. As extensive and intrusive as the questions are, it is somewhat fun to try to recall exactly where I've lived and what I've done for the past decade.

Classes are going well and extracurricular student activities are increasingly becoming more...well, active. As I go about my days at the law school, to and from class, to and from meetings, to and from the gym, I am starting to get back in the swing of being in law school.

Now, I realize that I am now entering my third week of resuming classes, but it is all still a twilight zone feeling like I don't belong. Or maybe I'm going to wake up one morning and it will all have been some anxious dream and I will still be on co-op. None of this is to say that I don't want to be in class or would rather be on co-op. Far from it. I enjoy classes and being uber-busy with student activities, interviewing for summer-time employment that could lead to post-grad jobs. As a classmate and dear friend said, I'm "just sick in the head that way."

Simply, I think I am adjusting to what upper level NUSL students (perhaps all law students everywhere) experience: a sort of Resumption Vertigo. We bounce around for three years between full-time classes and full-time work, with a week or two of vacation in between if we're lucky. So, when we're on co-op we're getting over the exhaustion and marathon that was exams. When we're back in classes we're getting over the feeling of being out of (and done with) school. It's all a little surreal.

I wonder if it gets easier, if you get used to the bounding back and forth, later. Do my 3L friends suffer the pain of Resumption Vertigo less? For that matter, this condition--if real--is multiplied for people at Northeastern. Unlike most law schools we don't just get the opportunity to work during two summers. No, we shift back and forth twice more. And, like many of my friends NOW on co-op, they stayed in class after Spring exams--going to school for almost twelve months straight before leaving to work. I can only imagine the disbelief they're feeling, now that exams are over and they were finally let loose.

Perhaps it's all part of the regimen in the end. Perhaps NUSL has patterned it this way so we're always kept on our toes, always thinking on our feet, as a lawyer standing in court and immediately handed a file on a client about which she knows nothing about. Or a junior associate at a firm handed a case and told to churn out a memo by the end of the day. Or, ultimately, just a better worker and a better person in a world where so much is unpredictable and shifting.

Or maybe I'm just sick in the head.

More to come...

Sometimes, it's doing a lot of work that is only tangentially related to your studies. And the fun you're trying to have in the meantime.

For much of last week, and nearly all of the weekend, I worked on two projects. First, I was editing and writing a proposal for funding and support to produce a documentary and create a web-based center. A research assistant for Professor Deborah Ramirez, I am leading up a small team of students who are compiling and collaborating research done in the U.S. and U.K. The project focuses on building partnerships between law enforcement agencies and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian communities to combat terrorism, extremism, and hate crimes. Great project, great work.

And, a main goal of getting the proposal done and beautiful was because of a meeting this week during where we intended (and did) present it. A French Investigative Judge, Philippe Coirre, was attending meetings and doing research in the Boston area, and he asked to meet specifically with Professor Ramirez about this research we have been working on.

The meeting went rather well, I thought. Judge Coirre seemed very receptive to Professor Ramirez's thoughts and vision, and the purpose behind building these law enforcement-community bridges. He asked me to email him an electronic version of the proposal so he could discuss it with the French Minister of Justice. He likes the partnership ideas and thinks it is something the French government should look into implementing.

I'm sorry? Let me, make sure I've got this right. You want to give this specific proposal, which, while a fantastic achievement of collaboration and brought together from many, many people's thoughts and hard work, I spearheaded, to what is arguably the equivalent to our Attorney General?

Incredible. I had only one response: Definitely.

Sometimes, I really love law school.

Oh, and the second thing that occupied much of my time: Revamping an article I wrote for the ILSA Quarterly--an independent international law periodical. My article on victim participation in trials at the International Criminal Court should be published a little later this fall.

Happy New Year to several of you! Happy long weekend to the rest.

First year seems like a lightyear away, sometimes. Last year, during Thanksgiving break, I was studying for my upcoming exams and attempting to slave over my outlines.

So much has happened since then.

Now, having just finished exams, I am attempting to enjoy my Thanksgiving break before I start my co-op at the Justice Department. I left Boston on Monday night, drove 12 hours down the East Coast to North Carolina, picked up my little sister from college, and then another 3 hours to my parents' places. I love driving, but, after doing that trip and being awake for 37 hours, I am happy to not be driving anymore.

The quick approaching start to my second co-op is exciting, and I look forward to it. I hope to do some great work and learn a good deal. Plus, I'll be in DC (which is a great city), and I'll be there during the inauguration and the transition. However, while many ring the bells of joy at being out of Boston for the winter, I'm going to miss it. A lot. For a lot of reasons.

One in particular.

Yet, I'll also miss Boston for a lot of the reasons that people are glad to leave. I like snow. I like winter weather. On the one hand, it's a fantastic reminder of why summer is so great. On the other, what greater impetus does one need to wrap up before a fireplace or in the warmth of your apartment with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.

In other news, since I will now be on co-op and won't be reading for classes all the time, I brought a suitcase full of books. A reading list to catch up on. "Look Homeward Angel," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and the "Chomsky-Foucault Debate" start off the adventure.

However, I will still be doing law school stuff. I am participating in moot court with a 3L, and we have to write our appellate brief by January 16th. This year, the American Constitution Society's moot court questions revolve around the First Amendment AND issues of national security law. Both are classes I just finished taking, and two subjects near and dear to my heart.

Otherwise, I'll make sure to keep you filled in on the goings on at the DOJ and in living and playing in DC. I'm not sure how much playing I'll be doing, but adventures and side-quests always seem to make themselves known at the most opportune times.

I just realized that it is January. Let me back up.

I'm quite well aware what month it is: I have to enter the date on forms almost every day. But January is the month that early decision applicants hear back from Northeastern. I still remember the day I heard, January 19th. A day that is inextricably linked to now. It is very much because of that acceptance letter (and my subsequent acceptance of said acceptance letter's offer -- oh contracts) that I sit here now at the US Department of Justice, doing a full-time internship in DC, and will be present for Obama's inauguration. If I had gone to another law school, one of my other top choices, I would have not moved to Boston and would be on the traditional law school track where I only get internships in the summer.

But I accepted and I did move to Boston! And while the road has not always been flat and smooth (first year, for example, has hills that roll like white caps through your life), it has been wonderful. School, work, the nearing and looming potential and threat of finding post-graduate employment, and, overwhelmingly, life--all have been great. Basically, it is a lot like hugging a porcupine.

The DOJ is sending me to Mississippi in a couple weeks to tour a facility there and help investigate its compliance (or non-compliance) with a court-order and federal law. Not too many interns get sent on assignment by their co-op employers, and even less get sent there for a week and put up in a decent hotel with (almost) all expenses paid. Thankfully, the Special Litigation Section at the Civil Rights Division is different.

Outside of work I am hurriedly completing an article for "The ILSA Quarterly," a publication of the International Law Students Association. I am a student editor for the "Quarterly" and am putting together two Q & As with attorneys working in international law. I spent about an hour and a half on the phone on Tuesday night with a judge on the US Court of International Trade. Last week I interviewed an attorney with the United Nation's Office of Legal Affairs.

Great, great stuff.

Related to school (which doesn't seem that far off, really. I head back to Boston and am done with my internship in a little over a month or so and start classes on March 2nd), we will soon register for classes. I hope to take Federal Courts (a class, basically, about the reach of the long arm of the federal judiciary and their purview -- real or imagined -- to hear cases and tell the states what to do), the Criminal Advocacy Clinic (where we're given intense training and assigned actual cases), and Advanced Criminal Procedure: Investigation (which, it seems, examines the law and constitutionality behind investigations into crimes and how that affects a case).

Also, we got our evaluations for last quarter's classes yesterday. Overall I was extremely pleased with my evaluations. I really tried hard and dove into the finals this past quarter--admittedly, a lot more than I did my first year--and it shows. One evaluation, however, while not bad, is so convoluted I am not entirely sure how I did on the final exam. This is one stark drawback of the evaluation system, especially an evolving evaluation system: some Professors choose not to respect the standard evaluative format (or aren't being informed by the administration) and wax on for a page or so about the law (i.e., nothing that comes close to evaluating your actual performance). Thus, at the end of it all, you have an evaluation that no employer is realistically going to read. Even if it does state some positive and affirming things, those words are still hidden in a labyrinth of words.

Hope all are well. Stay warm.

More to come...

Second to last day of co-op. Excitement abounds.

I leave for Boston tomorrow after work, and all that fills my brain are the machismo images of Burt Reynolds speeding across the country in search of the American Dream. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Of course, in Cannonball Run I think he was headed West. And in Smokey and the Bandit (I & II) he was headed "eastbound and down." No matter. Traveling to meet your future and your dreams is traveling. And since I haven't yet figured out how to travel to meet my past, I suppose then that, somewhat syllogistically, all traveling within the confines of America is traveling in search of the American Dream.

It's probably best if you don't question the logic of what I just wrote and just go with it.

So, tomorrow I will be a speed demon driving north back home. To Boston. To my fiancee. To a two week break before classes restart. Me, plenty of music, Red Bull, bottled water, the occasional coffee, tortilla chips, and my 140 pound Great Dane--we'll be invoking the Bandit as we have a long way to go and little time to get there.

Traveling back from co-op can be so much fun.

I'd wear my cowboy hat if I hadn't left it in Boston with a friend.

Don't let it be said that NUSL students don't get a vacation. We do very much sign on to being in law school for three years of a non-stop, internship/classes, revolving rollercoaster joy ride. True story.

But if you time it just right, you get a week to two weeks of vacation on one end of each internship. Right now I'm enjoying my two weeks of vacation back in Boston. Plenty of rest, and it snowed some yesterday! Also, the classes I am taking this quarter are finalized, there is a complete book list more than a week before classes start (so I can order books and actually pay a reasonable price), and, while I must wait for loans to disperse so I can actually have money to do things like eat and go drinking, I am having a great time. A really great time.

I subleased my apartment to someone on the opposite rotation while I was gone (another feature particular to the NUSL co-op experience--if you go out of town), so I'm living with my fiancee until the subleasing student's exams are over. Having been gone for three months, it's great to be back and see my partner for more than a few days at a time.

Classes start Monday, March 2. I am taking only three classes (compared with five last quarter), but still a full credit course load: Federal Courts (considered the most difficult class in law school by many); Advanced Criminal Procedure - Investigations; and Criminal Advocacy Clinic. The clinic is supposedly A LOT of work, as much as two courses. But it is also supposedly great experience, we get assigned actual cases to represent (or assist in representing) in Mass. Superior Court, and it looks great on a resume. Employers love to see that you've taken a clinic, especially if you're interested in litigation.

I have also again signed on to be a Research Assistant with Prof. Ramirez, focusing my work and research on national security law issues.

It should be a great quarter.

While perhaps titularly second, first and foremost I want to mention that the Northeastern University Law Journal, of which I am a student editor, has just published its very FIRST issue: "To Gitmo or Bust: Practical Challenges in Representing Guantanamo Detainees." NUSL has been around for quite a while, but this is the very first issue of the The Northeastern University Law Journal! Volume 1, Issue 1.

Go! Read it! Critique it! We're very excited.

The first week of classes is now over, and it was quite the week. Well, academically speaking. It all started with a snow day, a New England snow storm which canceled the first day of school.

At the eleventh hour I added a fourth class to my schedule, International and Foreign Legal Research. A research class with no required textbook, it had all the potential of being a lighter skills-intensive class to balance out my clinic and two heavily substantive law-learning courses. Naturally, international and foreign laws encompass all laws outside of the United States. So, if that last sentence were a pie chart, the overwhelming majority of the pie would be international law (e.g., treaties) and foreign law (e.g., French domestic laws). Such a large piece of pie, actually, that you may have trouble discerning the slice of American jurisprudence. I remain really stoked about the class and really enjoyed the first day. However, after taking my other classes, I knew it would be too much.

The Criminal Advocacy Clinic involves a crazy (and appropriate) amount of reading and dedication--as much if not more than two whole classes. Then there is Federal Courts. As I explained before, Fed Courts is considered to be hardest class in the law school. Even by faculty.

So, I decided to wrap my schedule up with Advanced Criminal Procedure and hope the school offers the research class in the future. I am excited that the school is approving and offering more international and comparative law related courses, and I definitely want to support their existence and learn what they have to offer. Luckily, after this I have two academic quarters left.

More to come...

Thus far this week has been fairly full and busy. Ripe with things to do and little down time.

Not totally devoid of down time, though: Last night my fiancee and I finally hooked up the Wii and played a bit of Soul Caliber II--a Mortal Kombat-like fighting game. She beat me down royally.

Besides all the ever mounting reading and assignments for classes, I finalized that I will not be doing a dual degree Masters program in Sustainable International Development at Brandeis (a dual degree program Northeastern just started offering this year). There are two chief reasons why I will not be doing the program, which means I will not be earning a Master's along with my law degree, and I will not be adding a year onto my graduation, but I will write more about it in a later blog.

I also may have expanded my role at my upcoming Summer co-op with the DC Public Defender Service. While I am assigned to the expansive Trial Division and two attorneys, DC PDS recently offered an intern or select interns a chance to split their work 50/50 between one Trial Division attorney and one Appellate Division attorney. I immediately jumped at the chance. I am very interested in appellate litigation, second to trial, but fundamentally believe that appellate experience makes for a better trial attorney (and vice-versa). As of yet I await word whether I win and get to be that intern or not.

Today, as a requirement of the Criminal Advocacy Clinic, I sat in on arraignments at a state district court in Boston. I ran into a NUSL student on co-op currently working for the Public Defender's Office, and watched several individuals be read their charges, waive their rights to a jury trial, plead guilty, not-guilty. All I witnessed this morning I'd definitely seen several times before when I worked in the court system in North Carolina, but I went to experience them in Boston. Rarely the assumer, I wanted to see the arraignment procedure of Boston (and Massachusetts generally) firsthand, see some of the players in the courthouse, and generally get a sense of the flow. How is court held? Do attorneys talk over one another? Ignore their clients or witnesses? How do particular judges run their courtrooms?

Soon, in the Clinic, we'll be assigned our cases. And, I imagine, we'll back in that district court experiencing matters from the other side of the bar.

I got the job for next Fall as a Legal Research and Writing Teaching Assistant with the LSSC Program. I will work with two law offices, two Adjunct Professors, and around twenty six or twenty eight 1Ls to improve their legal writing skills. Very excited, I look forward to the program.

Last Thursday I went to a great program the Career Services Office held on applying for state and federal clerkships--prestigious and hugely experiential, one-year assignments to state or federal judges. Applying, it seems, is quite the process. Yet, actually getting a clerkship would be well worth the time and effort. When I co-oped a the Arizona Supreme Court last summer, I got to see first-hand much of what appellate clerks do, and what they learn and how influential they can be.

Yesterday, Monday, I went to hear Dr. Makane Moise Mbengue, a Senegalese Researcher at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva, speak at the law school about a case recently heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Dr. Mbengue clerked for the International Court of Justice, along with NUSL's newest professor Sonia Rolland , and also acted as counsel for the African nation of Djibouti in its ICJ claim against France (Djibouti's former colonial ruler) for not complying with a treaty. It was a great discussion about the processes of an international body, bringing claims to that body, diplomacy, international and legal politics, and clever advocacy.

This week is a continuation of a lot of reading for classes and preparation for court. My case in the criminal advocacy clinic will be heard this Friday in District Court. Wish my client justice.

I must say that while I have only had one full quarter outside of being a 1L, this quarter is the busiest I have felt since my first year. It could be Federal Courts, which many, including the professor, consider to be the hardest class in law school. Or it could be the mixture of that and the Criminal Advocacy Clinic (plus one more class) on my weekly schedule.

Right now I am also working with a group to pitch ideas to the Journal staff for next year's topic. We have to research a topic that our large committee approved, write a memo and give a brief presentation on why that topic is important enough to focus a whole journal and a symposium around it. So as not to divulge any information early, I'll let you know how it goes.

Also, in the Criminal Advocacy Clinic, we go back to trial this Thursday. One of our witnesses could not be present two weeks ago and we asked for a continuance. Interesting game of chess trial is, and, once it's over, I'll go more into why. Right now, I could potentially (however unlikely) affect future moves if I discuss in detail now. Just know that trial is a crazy, crazy time. And worth it. I recommend the clinic if you're interested.

Yesterday was perhaps the warmest day of the year so far in Boston. I believe the temps got into the mid-80s if not higher. My fiancee and I had lunch by the harbor, walked near the water, then spent the rest of our evening at the library doing work. C'est la vie when you're a grad student.

Of note, tomorrow evening I should be going to a training seminar on sentencing advocacy for lawyers representing criminal defendants in federal court. The seminar is hosted by District Court Judge Nancy Gertner, and, while I am not yet a lawyer representing federal defendants, clinic students were invited. I look forward to it!

I was selected to be next year's Managing Editor of the Northeastern University Law Journal.

This is a great opportunity, a tremendous amount of work, and a great honor. I'm stoked, and honored.

Next year will be the Journal's third operating year, but I will be a part of the second Editorial Board.

Okay, back to studying for finals!

The federal sentencing advocacy training seminar last Tuesday with Judge Nancy Gertner was fantastic. It was very educational on a topic I knew almost zip about, and it was yet another great visit to the beautiful federal district courthouse.

Everything else has been exams, exams, exams. The 1Ls are currently going through their exams, probably taking their second exam today. We upper levels are gearing for ours next week, although I'm considering doing my take home this weekend and getting it over with. It's a timed exam, for my Advanced Criminal Procedure class, and I have eight hours to complete the exam and upload it to a central database after downloading it.

Plus, and I can say this freely and fairly I now believe, my case in the Criminal Advocacy Clinic where we're representing an actual defendant in district court, is still going to trial and is now scheduled to happen the week of finals. Fun.

Back to it...

Finished exams yesterday afternoon. What a great feeling every single quarter. My last exam was Federal Courts. Whew. Done. Great class, great professor, LOADS of information. Even a four hour exam wasn't enough to write everything I learned in ten weeks.

Now, before I prepare to yet again leave Boston for DC on co-op, I have a few non-exam things to finish. I need to finish building my section of the course materials for the upcoming national security law course, which I took last quarter but is being taught again this summer. Also, I need to pack up everything I own and put it in storage. My lease runs up at the end of May and, as my fiancee and I are moving into a different place when I get back in August, I need somewhere to store my material possessions and furniture while I galavant at the DC Public Defender's Office for three months.

Today, however, is dedicated to trial preparation. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the case and defendant to which I was assigned as part of Criminal Advocacy Clinic is scheduled for trial tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, we'll be done tomorrow or possible Friday. If all goes well, we'll be done with a not-guilty verdict from the jury.

Good luck to all my compatriots in the remainder of their exams, and best to all those who have their last summer of relative freedom before starting law school.

Wow. I feel drained. Drained from writing my resume over and over again, in different formats, in different font, in different words carefully chosen to hit the reader's brain-pan in ways that evoke surety and acceptance and interest. To be totally clear, I haven't been simply writing and rewriting my resume. That was certainly a part of it; no, I have been for repeatedly listing out everything academic, professional, or alluring that I have done since 1999. On clerkship applications. On resumes for post-graduate jobs. Cover letters. In conversations and informal interviews. Emails.

Whew. The juggernaut of applying for post-grad jobs and clerkships is similar I think to staring in the mirror. Trying on different outfits you own. Standing in different poses at different angles. Staring in the mirror. Imaging how you look to the person soon to be staring back at you. Except, quite naturally, the mirror is really more of a darkly, tinted window. It reflects, but not fully. And eventually you get tired of looking.

No rest for the wicked, that is for sure.

Oh! Also, the powers that be published course evaluations yesterday. I must say, I am really pleased. The narrative evaluations were not only clear and constructive, but I earned pretty high marks. After quickly folding those into my applications (see above), I am now left to think about the courses I would like to take next quarter.

Of those being offered, here is what I want to take: International Criminal Law, International Law, Professional Responsibility, and Section 1983 Litigation. That's only 11 credit hours, so I may not be able to stop there. I may get independent study credits for another project and thus would clear the present hurdle of taking 12 hours. But I'd also like to take Immigration Law or Family Law. So, perhaps I'll sign up for one of those. My hesitancy in taking five courses, four of them substantive, is the amount of reading and work they'll provide on top of my editorial duties on the Journal and as a legal, research and writing Teaching Assistant to incoming 1Ls. So, we'll see what happens.

In other news, I finally finished the Harry Potter series this past weekend. It was wonderful and sad to finish. Now I'm ready to see the upcoming film, and, now that I am one of the recently indoctrinated, I have started to lie to the ignorant about how the story ends. Mwahaha.

Now I'm pouring my way through The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Next on my list: Kite Runner.

As I sat down to type out this blog, thinking over the past week and a half (apologies for the late entry--I was in Boston, see below), I realized that soon I will have been typing a blog for all three years of law school.

That means I've been in law school for almost three years. And I have only two academic quarters and one co-op left. Wow.

I'm sure a great number of people--if not nearly all--have had the "wow" moment I just had, but the ordinariness of its feeling does not lessen it in the slightest. I was in a much different place a year ago, not to speak of just before starting law school. Back when I had no solid idea of what LSSC means or where I would end up doing my co-ops.

Looking backwards always makes me turn around and look forward. All that empty, excited, hopeful feeling of what lay ahead. A feeling of pioneering into the unknown that is your future. I have that feeling a lot these days as I apply for post-grad jobs and for clerkships. I know I've mentioned much of this before--more or less--in previous blogs, but it cannot be overstated that this is much of what I've done and continue to do this summer. Apply, apply, apply. Focus on where I will be come August of next year. All eyes forward, all hands on deck.

That being said, I did travel to Boston this past weekend and spent the majority of my time focusing on the here and now. Thursday I did meet with a professor or two in my efforts towards gaining a clerkship, and, quite separately, did do some work for the Admissions Office which doubled as advertising myself to potential employers with an internet signal, and did write a cover letter here and there, but the rest of my time (and there was a lot) was spent with my fiancee. We just got a new apartment, with a great balcony overlooking the forest, and we just relaxed our time away. It was wonderful; this morning, before catching a plane back to DC, we had breakfast on the balcony and saw two deer at a far off watering hole.

I have eighteen days left in DC. In that time I have two projects that must be completed asap, clerkship applications to ready for submission, and a couple of job applications to see through. For example, on July 27 I began my interviews (1st of 3) with the Public Defender Service in DC. Conveniently, that's the same day I register for classes. I'll let you know how they go.

More to come...

I recently finished the first draft of a memo that examined the propriety of defense attorneys and prosecutors talking with dismissed jurors, after the verdict has been entered, about the case they just judged. Good times.

Many states, Massachusetts included, severely limits any contact between trial attorneys and jurors, in regards to the case they just tried. DC, as in so many other ways, is different.

Now, I'm attempting to work like mad (attempting being the important qualifier) on an appellate brief. I put down the draft brief for a week or so while I did some trial-related work, but want to turn it out by early next week so I can get some feedback and possibly make a revision or two before the co-op ends.

This weekend I will probably be working on the brief, but have two other important tasks: prepare for a mock opening and cross-examination I'll deliver in my Trial Practice Group (mandatory for interns at PDS, see my earlier blog), and for my first round hiring interview. Public Defender hiring interviews are notoriously intense (even combative), and PDS's hiring process includes three interviews. Luckily, the first round is more of a general "tell us about yourself" interview. Nonetheless, I need to go over my application, my materials--in short, rehearse--because PDS's interviews start Monday.

Wish me the best.

Screeching tires indeed. In a little less than five hours I will be Boston-bound. In an interesting repeat of my last DC co-op and trip home, I will very much be attemping to recreate scenes from "Smokey and the Bandit." Hopefully, though, there will be very little Smokey in pursuit.

Yesterday, I gave an oral argument of my brief in front of a panel of Appellate Division attorneys. The argument was...okay...but the experience was great. My brief and its own arguments are still very much in flux, so my oral argument got penned down with legal theories and questions that will probably have but an ancillary place in my final draft. Again, it was great experience. The more the better. The attorneys were fairly unrelentless in asking me questions, as if I was arguing in front of a Court of Appeals, and truly held my feet over the fire.

Aside from co-op, the Editorial Boards of the Journal recently had a switching of the reigns meeting (a necessary process as one rotation is leaving and one coming in), and my days since have been peppered with administrative work for the Journal. As Managing Editor, my chief function is supervision and management of the staff. So, I have been planning recruitment, retention of last year's staff, etc. If I wasn't sure before that it's going to be a busy quarter, I am now.

Now if only I had any clue as to what classes I will be taking, so I could plan meetings around that schedule, plan office hours, buy books BEFORE classes begin...etc.

...but it's terribly difficult to ever completely escape law school.

The Office of Academic & Student Affairs published the lottery list for classes with limited enrollment. I got into every class for which I registered but one. So, it looks like my courselist for the fall is: Professional Responsibility, Section 1983 Litigation, International Criminal Law, and Trusts & Estates.

I'm psyched. We've already received our first day assignments for Section 1983 Lit., and I have a great deal to read and prepare for my first week as a TA in the Research & Writing class.

Plus, the work on the Journal is ever-sharpening and piling on. It's going to be a busy quarter as we work toward publication.

At the beach, while getting sunburned and going for sweltering, wonderful and exhausting runs, I've been spending the remainder reading and grilling. I finished "An Unbearable Lightness of Being," by Milan Kundera, and am near the end of "Slipping into Darkness," a crime/mystery novel, by Peter Blauner. Having plowed through the Harry Potter Series while on co-op, this quarter may mark my most well-read since before law school.

Back from Maine, six days until classes start.

I have all my books and most first-day assignments and will (with a little sadness and a bit of countering excitement) soon start reading for next week. I am also a TA for the Legal Research and Writing component of first-years' LSSC course, and have to read all that they read. Good times. Let the onslaught juggernaut of the quarter officially begin.

Around making my way through The Kite Runner, which I've nearly completed, and which is powerful and fantastic, I am still sending out resumes and cover letters for post-grad jobs and for clerkships. As of last night around 2am, I sent out the last and final of my clerkship applications.

I wish there was confetti to celebrate: I now have applications in for federal and state clerkships. And now I must play the waiting game. Good thing I'll be busy.

As far as post-grad jobs go, I am applying to them like a fiend. Jobs I would all love, but essentially contingency plans in the event I don't get a clerkship. I even have one interview already, scheduled for mid-September. Hopefully, I will soon have others lined up. I am eager to write about all of them specifically--jobs and clerkships--and specific trials and tribulations and bumps I encountered while applying, but I am over-eager to not damn myself. I will write about it all once there are decisions one way or the other. What I can say at this juncture--start early. Some advised that I started way too early, researching in the spring and early summer, contacting my recommenders in the spring and having them pump out drafts by mid-summer. I disagree. When you are applying to clerkships, and then start applying for jobs simultaneously, and, then at NUSL, start applying for Winter co-op the moment you're back into classes, the earlier you can feasibly start the better.

Alright, I'm off to the gym. Or to The Kite Runner, we'll see which grabs me first. Last night I wanted to read the book, couldn't wait to sit down and grab it, then I got sidetracked with putting a final gloss on a writing sample, eating pizza and watching the original "Ghostbusters." What a fantastic, fantastic film. I think it might be the first movie I ever remember watching.

More to come...

What a first week. The first in a while that feels like two.

Let's hope it's not a trend.

All my classes are great. I am particularly interested in International Criminal Justice and Section 1983 Litigation. There is so much to learn in every class I'm taking, but those two in particular strike a reverberating chord. Section 1983 Litigation, for the un-indoctrinated, refers to the federal law (42 U.S.C s 1983) that allows a person to sue officials (generally, the police or local government entities) for violating their civil rights while acting "under the color of law." The latter means, in short, that the official violated the rights while acting as an official agent (even if s/he wasn't authorized to do so). A common (and inflammatory) example is police brutality and the excessive use of force (e.g., Rodney King). The class is taught by a NUSL alumnus, the widely renowned civil rights attorney Howard Freidman.

I have also met with the 1Ls who I will assist this year as they learn legal research and writing. I blew through much of the first instruction at top speed, as I was given limited time with them. So, I look forward to working more with them. Legal research and writing are vastly, hugely, Grand Canyon-like important in the law. They are, of course, not everything, but they go a great deal into the ability to communicate effectively within the legal industry and make accurate, successful arguments. Thus, employers are bent on finding law students who can research and write really well.

Nothing new on the clerkship job front. Just more turning in of applications. Just more waiting.

We also had the first meeting of the Law Journal yesterday, and, as the Managing Editor, I spent a great deal of time talking to the interested 2Ls and 3Ls about the commitment the Journal requires. And it does. We are still hoping to publish the next issue (our second issue!) before the year is out, and have a great deal of work on the articles to make them publication worthy. Also, we are simultaneously planning next Spring's Symposium (and thus, next year's issue), which will be on Second Amendment Issues after the 2008 Supreme Court decision in Heller. That opinion determined that the right to bear arms is an individual right, and not one (as understood and argued by many) merely pertaining to membership in a militia. I'll talk more about that as we develop the topic.

More to come.

This is an all-business blog today; classes, the Journal, TA'ing, and life goes on unabated. Unrelenting.

C'est la vie.

Yesterday we upper-level students submitted our applications for Winter co-ops. I applied to a good number, and hopefully will start hearing about interviews next week. This co-op, whatever it ends up being, will be my last co-op and I hope to make it an educational and memorable experience.

I am also going through clerkship interviews right now. Very exciting, a little nerve-wracking (especially with the turnaround time), and, honestly, fun. I'll let you know how things went, once all is said and done.

Other than above, helping manage and edit the Journal, and assisting 1Ls with their legal research and writing, I attend class. And class, ironically, is starting to seem more and more like what I do in between everything else. One of my classes, Trusts & Estates, is very interesting. Beyond reminding me that I once took property law, T&E covers the laws governing what happens to a person's property and assets after they die. The subject matter and facts of the cases we read are both morbid, fascinating, and occasionally sad. All and all, I'm glad I took it: Beyond preparing me for the bar, it's nice to study law outside my general interests of criminal justice and civil rights.

More to come...

I am still working on finding a post-graduation job, but I've finally lined up my Winter co-op. I interviewed at several places, and, ultimately, it was a tough decision, but I chose to go with the Roxbury Defenders. The Roxbury Defenders are a divisional office of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (i.e., Massachusetts' public defender system), representing indigent criminal defendants for crimes allegedly committed in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. I will get to work on cases in both Roxbury District Court and Suffolk Superior Court (both trial level courts), help attorneys with their own cases and trials, and even argue some bail hearings when the Commonwealth (aka District Attorney) are asking the judge to set a bail/bond that will keep the client in jail until his/her next court date.

As stated above, the job search goes on. A rejection has rolled in here and there, but such is the nature of the beast (and the economy). This year's graduates are competing with a larger pool of last year's graduates (and I'm talking about the national job market!), as well as a smaller pool of the year prior. I still have applications out in the ether, and will likely have some interviews before Halloween. I feel that my prospects are good, and I'll continue to put myself out there and apply for jobs. Having a paycheck (especially working in an area of law that intrigues me) would be clutch. Thankfully, NUSL's Office of Career Development is hugely helpful in reaching out to employers and contacting students about career opportunities.

The school's Law Journal is currently working towards its second publication, which will have articles about the subprime mortgage crisis and related litigation, and planning for its third Symposium and publication. The latter issue will be about the regulation of firearms, both by the federal government and state government, and will touch some of the many, many subtopics that fall under discussion of gun regulation. We are currently contacting potential speakers for the Symposium and authors for the publication (those two groups not being mutually exclusive), and laying down some of the logistical groundwork for holding a Symposium at the law school (e.g., reserving the budget, rooms, caterers).

More to come...

So, the Sox lost it.

I'll go ahead and say it and get it out of the way: They deserved to lose. October being October, and all things being equal, the way they were playing in the post-season I'm fairly positive they wouldn't have made it to the trophy.

Oh well, there's always next year. Sad weekend for Boston and much of New England, though, to see the Sox, Pats, and Bruins all go down in a three day hat trick.

Let's all just collectively hope the Steinbrenner family doesn't get another ring.

Things are status quo in law school. Reading, researching, writing, editing, working on the Journal, applying for post-graduate positions. Interestingly, there is a general fog of starting the quarter lifting around the law school. I can tell that everyone is starting to realize (or, at the least, allow themselves to be aware) that we only have a month before exams. To butcher a quote from a friend of mine: there are two kinds of people in the world--those who feel ready for exams, and liars.

Currently, while ignoring the threat of exams, I am working on a teaching outline for my 1L research and writing class. Tonight I am going to lead the first-years through some helpful research tools and tactics. Also, researching on my own, I am working on a memo for my Section 1983 course. Section 1983 refers to the federal civil rights statute that allows individuals to sue the government and government officials for tramping over their rights. My topic is on the confluence of the First Amendment and retaliatory arrests (e.g., after speeding through a school zone, for which he was not stopped or cited, a bloke flips a cop the bird. The cop then stops him and arrests him for speeding. Constitutional? We'll find out!).

It's 6:39am and I had a strong urge to start this blog with "Captain's Log, October 28, 2009. 6:39am. Somewhere--somewhere lost in the galaxy."

Odd as I've never been much more than a passing Star Trek fan.

As I may have stated in previous blogs, this quarter of my third year feels a lot like being a 1L all over again. That, in turn, feels a lot like constantly trying to keep yourself from drowning under the weight of it all. Early on in this quarter, I became all too tempted to assume being this busy and feeling this oppressed by time and agenda was an Ira-centric issue. However, as weeks pass and we draw near to the close of the term, I'm starting to hear from classmate after classmate that they too have been staggering under the weight of it all.

There are a few lessons to be had here, I'm convinced:

(1) Don't bite off more than you can chew. Being involved in student activities and extracurriculars is great, and IMPORTANT, but don't let your eyes get bigger than your stomach. It seems it's a pretty common mistake to assume you can do it all. That's when classes start to feel the pinch. There is a balance to be had, and it's different for everyone. So, find yours but don't forget about classes. They are primarily why you're here at law school, and why you're future self is paying them ungodly amounts of money.

(2) No person is an island. Realize that a lot of the time, when you feel alone in your burdens, you have good company. Many of your classmates are also feeling a little taken down by the wolves that hell week during 1L when you question why you even came to law school, or when you're having nagging, persistent 3L/senioritis musings about why are you still in law school.

You might respond..."but Ira, those are all pretty cliche and common-sense lessons." And you'd be correct and get the gold star. However, as you'll learn, much of law school is an unwitting war to disturb common sense out of your day to day thinking for a while. Not all of school has it out for your practical side, of course, and you'll probably be far better off at experiential-focused NUSL. Just know, for a while, when you're trying to delve deep into the conceptual thought pattern of whether a fictitious, objective, and quite unrealistic "reasonable person would feel harmed by such behavior," common sense may take a vacation and not tell you it's leaving.

You may also be quite calculating and notice that I said there were a few lessons to be learned. I guess that lesson is to stop reading so much into things. Some things--sometimes--need to just be taken at face value.

In less ranting news, I have two interviews this week for post-grad opportunities. Wish me luck! And good luck to all my fellow interviewers. At this point, I'm rooting for any and all of us to get a job lined up before we take the bar. I also attended an MPRE review session this past weekend, which is helping prepare me for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam. Nearly every state (except California, I think) requires that you have a certain high score on the MPRE before you can even sit to take the bar and become a licensed attorney. After all, they want to make sure that you're ethical. Or...at the least, that you can answer sixty multiple choice questions as if you are.

More on that later. Good luck to all of you out there as you start finalizing early admission applications.

Another 6am post. Despite the hour, I kind of expected some confetti to fall from my ceiling once I started my 100th blog. Alas.

I also hoped that I would I use my 100th blog to announce my post-graduate job. Alas, there is yet to be a job to announce. Interviews, applications, and general rejection continue.

So, instead, I am going to use this blog, at least in greater part, to congratulate all my friends and colleagues who graduated this past May and who passed their respective bars around the country. I'm told that NUSL collectively accomplished a 97.5% bar passage among first-time test takers.

But I won't stop there, I also want to give a shout out to to those who didn't pass. I am not celebrating the fact that they didn't pass, and I am not trying to sugarcoat a sour situation. Rather, I want to recognize that they put a whole hell of a lot of work in, went to school for three years, studied, then spent about two months studying vigorously, and took the bar. All that work should not go unnoticed. And it shouldn't be said it was for naught.

Finally, in the world of Ira, beyond still interviewing for jobs, I finished taking the MPRE last week and am prepping for exams next week. I may have mentioned it before: the MPRE is the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam, and nearly every state requires you earn a certain score before you can even apply to take the bar. The subject matter is no overtly complicated, but the sixty multiple choice test questions are tricky. It's tough to get a bead on how I did.

Let's hope it's easier to gauge how I do on exams. I have one in-class, Professional Responsibility, which will be similar to the MPRE but in essay format, and two take-home exams. International Criminal Justice is a twenty-four hour timed exam due no later than Monday afternoon. The other, Trusts & Estates, simply has a due date of next Friday at noon.

After that I still have a few projects to put bows and ribbons on before I head off into the sunset of co-op, but I'm already starting to amass my reading list for the Winter.

More to come...