This week marks the start of my very last coop. I am spending my winter at Public Health Advocacy Institute, which is a legal research center focused on public health law. Over the course of my first two days, I have researched the doctrine of implied preemption and explored an industry-driven bill called the National Uniformity for Food Act. The work is intellectually stimulating, if (at times) overwhelming. I am already settling into a routine and am enjoying coop so far. It's a welcome change of pace from the classroom. The office has a relaxed atmosphere and the people are very friendly.

I have also been working on getting ready for the National Trial Competition. The problem came out right before Thanksgiving. My teammate and I are now working on our direct examinations. After that, we will begin thinking about opening and closing arguments. I'm enjoying this preparatory work and finding the experience quite different from the moot court competition that I competed in last year. Doing an appellate competition as well as a trial competition during law school is affording me with a wonderful opportunity to explore different styles of advocacy.

In other news, people are already starting to talk about the bar exam; it seems that it was just yesterday that I was tabbing my Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. I am taking the bar exam in two states (Connecticut and New York), which should be fun! Both of these states do not have registration deadlines in the immediate future, though, so reality has not fully set in.

Posted by Martin at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that my finals are all wrapped up, I have a week off before the start of my coop. I'm really excited about my upcoming (and final) coop. One of the things that I enjoy about NUSL's coop system, in addition to the real world exposure I get to the practice of law, is that working nine to five affords me the time to do pleasure reading. Don't get me wrong, the reading for law school classes is usually interesting. That said, there is something quite special about self-directed learning.

So...I thought I would spend this blog piece sharing my coop reading list. I have “loaded it up� and have already gotten through one of the books. I hope that those of you who are taking the LSAT's might pick up one of these books as a study break. Even those of you who are not in need of a study break might enjoy one of them.

The End of America by Naomi Wolf

I just finished this book yesterday. It is about the ways in which open societies close down. Ms. Wolf places particular emphasis on Nazi Germany, but also includes Stalinist Russia and Pinochet's Chile in her analysis. She also charts America's recent pursuit of what she enumerates as the ten tactics of closing down society (invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy, create secret prisons, set up an internal surveillance system, etc.). If you're just interested in a brief overview of the book, you might consider reading this short essay, which encapsulates Ms. Wolf's arguments. I first heard of this book on After Words. In case you have not seen it yet, After Words is C-SPAN's author interview program. The most remarkable aspect of the show is that the producers try to select the author's polar opposite as the interviewer, which usually generates great discussion and debate. Ms. Wolf was interviewed by Viet Dinh, who helped write the USA PATRIOT Act while serving as an Assistant Attorney General. You can stream video of that interview here.

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright

I am already about half-way through this Pulitzer Prize-winning book. It's a historical account of Al Qaeda. I'm really enjoying it because it doesn't focus on the widely-discussed events of 9/11. Rather, it places the development of Al Qaeda in its historical context. It's a terrific read and I would recommend it to anybody. In my experience, it is impossible to go wrong with any book that has won the Pulitzer Prize.

My Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas

This is Justice Thomas' much-hyped book. Everybody seems to be talking about it. While I have not started the book yet, I did watch Justice Thomas' interview on 60 Minutes as well as his interview on C-SPAN's Q & A. Both made the book seem interesting and quite readable.

Imperial Hubris by [Michael Scheuer]

Imperial Hubris is an anonymously-authored book about American foreign policy and the Bush administration's global war on terror. It caused quite a stir when it came out and I've wanted to read this book since it was published a few years ago. At a recent book fair, I snagged a copy for $2!

I've also got some classics waiting for me, including All the President's Men, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and In Cold Blood.

I hope everybody has a terrific Thanksgiving holiday!

Posted by Martin at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I write these words, I am surrounded by drained coffee cups, high-lighted print-outs, beat-up casebooks, multi-tabbed statutory supplements (“peacocks�) and post-it notes with disjointed thoughts jotted on them. That's right...it's finals time! As such, I thought I would spend this blog piece writing a little bit about finals and the process whereby upper-level students at NUSL take them.

Some of you who have friends in law school may think it odd that I am taking finals now. You might think that I am about a month ahead of the standard law school time-line, which is true. With the quarter system that upper-level students are on, finals for students on my rotation fall in November, right before Thanksgiving.

I have a love/hate relationship with law school finals. They comprise some of the most strenuous experiences I have been through. At the same time, I have also come to respectfully regard them as real opportunities for growth, self-discovery and development. It's rare that you will be given the opportunity (indeed, the mandate) to focus so intensely on learning. Law school finals are a very intense experience, and I believe that they can change you. I know that I will never forget the feeling I had after taking my last 1L exam. It was criminal law and I vividly remember the feeling of accomplishment that filled me at its end. I had made it through first year of law school! I had not showered in the last three days so I could spend more time studying, but I had made it nonetheless.

For now, though, I had better return to my exam studying. I have two more exams until I am done: law of financial institutions on Thursday and corporations on Friday. Both are going to take more highlighting, more note-scribbling and more trying to unravel doctrine while also trying not to unravel my sanity. I will be back next week to write a little bit about the trial competition that I will be doing in the spring. Until then, be well!

Posted by Martin at 12:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I thought I would write this week's blog piece about one of the most important opportunities that NUSL has afforded me: the Domestic Violence Institute (“DVI�). DVI has two primary components: the emergency department project and the court clinic. Today, I'll write a bit about the former.

DVI's emergency department project is a program through which first year law students are placed in the Boston Medical Center emergency department. There, they interview women about their thoughts and opinions on domestic violence and provide advocacy and support where experience with domestic violence is disclosed. Students are also referred to patients that are hospitalized as a result of domestic violence.

I think this project is a terrific opportunity for first years to get real world experience and provide a much-needed service to the Boston community. During my first year, I participated as an interviewer/advocate and had an amazing experience. In fact, it was probably the most formative experience that I had as a 1L. I was pushed (in a warm and affirming way, of course) to step out of my comfort zone and speak to women about an incredibly pervasive issue that is often “swept under the rug�. This work can be challenging and I think that, as a man, I found it particularly challenging. By the end of the program, though, I emerged with a profound sense of solidarity with women who cope with daily violence in their lives. I also gained new perspectives on my own ability to connect with people, across the boundaries of gender, age, race and income. It was quite a deep experience.

After that first year as an interview/advocate, I came back last year as a team leader. This opportunity was equally powerful, but very different. My team of first year students were a diverse lot. Within that small team, I had three students with a wide swath of experiences. I really enjoyed guiding them through the process of speaking about domestic violence and advocating for those dealing with violence in their daily lives. Watching these students confront their own thoughts about domestic violence gave me fresh perspectives on the issue and I was able to connect with each of my students on a personal level.

Just like last year, I am back as a team leader. This year, my team is comprised of three first-year law students from the Boston area. So far, we have had three six-hour shifts in the emergency department. The program is just getting into the swing of things, and I am really enjoying it. This is particularly the case because I know it will be last year of participation in the program: graduation is six months away!

Posted by Martin at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)