Northeastern University School of Law: Martin http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/ en Copyright 2008 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:57:35 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Bar Exam Is Over! My Grandfather’s Son, which I just picked up from the local library; assembling a crib for our first child who is due at the end of September; riding my recumbent bicycle through my new environs; playing some old school video games; and catching up on podcasts that I have missed during the bar exam. On Friday, my wife and I will head out for a week on Cape Cod. I’m excited to smell the salt water for the first time this summer. While studying for the bar, I was putting in about seventy hours per week. As a result, I fell out of touch with current events. I have been catching back up, but have quite a backlog. I have not yet read anything about the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment case, the coming Olympic games, or the state of the presidential race. Starting my morning off with the New York Times is a ritual that I really missed during the bar review process. Getting back to my usual life feels terrific. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/08/the_bar_exam_is_over.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/08/the_bar_exam_is_over.html Academics Outside Law School Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:57:35 -0500 a dispatch from my summer of bar exam preparation The bar exam is approaching ever-more rapidly. This past week, I did a simulated, all-day bar exam. If it had been the actual bar exam, I would have passed, albeit not by a wide margin. In the remaining weeks before the exam, my focus is going to be on making a "final push" before the test. The past few weeks have been pretty intense, with lots of studying crammed into days that always seem to end too soon to get it all done. I'm certain that the coming weeks will be quite similar. Over the past few weeks, I have gotten quite a bit of perspective on NUSL and the ways in which it prepares its students (and sometimes, doesn't prepare its students) for the bar exam. For those readers who will be 1Ls in the fall, I would suggest that you really make sure to enjoy your time as a first year student. It's a special time, and going through a bar review course that focuses on "just the law" has made me appreciate the social justice context that NUSL gave me. I learned "the law," but also gained an appreciation for the ways in which it affects people's lives. I could not imagine being a lawyer without that aspect of my legal education. Out of all the classes I took at NUSL, my favorites were the ones that were not on bar topics. The classes that I took on bar topics were good, but I think you could learn the "just the law" from BABRI. As most soon-to-be-law students won't know what BABRI is, I guess I should give you some context. The entire bar review review enterprise is quite interesting. It is dominated by one company, BABRI, which runs a two-month bar review program. It's almost entirely conducted via video. As such, I (along with a large majority of the roughly 56,000 bar applicants in the United States) get up each morning and go to an auditorium, where I watch a four-hour DVD with about a hundred other students. It's a surreal experience that makes me yearn for my NUSL days, or, alternately, yearn for the day when I actually begin the practice of law. http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/07/a_dispatch_from_my_summer_of_b_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/07/a_dispatch_from_my_summer_of_b_1.html Academics Outside Law School Public Interest Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:34:45 -0500 taking a break from bar review here, if you have not already. Be well until next time! ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/06/taking_a_break_from_bar_review_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/06/taking_a_break_from_bar_review_1.html Outside Law School Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:37:21 -0500 moved into my new home, checking in It’s been a while since I last blogged. In the interim, quite a bit has happened! I have graduated from NUSL, moved to Connecticut, and started studying for the bar exam. Along the way, I’ve become a gardener (tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, mint), gotten myself a recumbent bicycle, started grilling in my backyard and settled into a home office. There are big differences between my current home and the small Boston apartment that I lived in during my three years at NUSL. Of course, there is a lot that I already miss about that little home. Most of all, I miss my law school friends, many of whom are remaining in the greater Boston area. Although my emphasis this summer is on studying for the bar exam, I will be checking in with a weekly blog piece as to how things are going post-graduation. Along the way, I hope to provide some insight into what it’s like to be an alumnus of NUSL. Until next time, take care! http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/06/moved_into_my_new_home_checkin_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/06/moved_into_my_new_home_checkin_1.html Outside Law School Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:08:21 -0500 Last law school class ever & getting ready for the bar exam ever. My law school years came and went pretty quickly! With classes done, I am just wrapping things up. I set my schedule up so that I would not have any finals. I do, however, have a few final papers to write. I will finish these at the beginning of the upper-level exam week. Then, I will start reviewing for the bar exam. As far as the bar goes, I am getting geared up. I have created a week-by-week schedule for myself and am getting mentally prepared for the last big push! I have canceled my subscription to the New York Times, New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and other indulgent time wasters; written (but not yet activated) my “away” email auto-response; created folders for each of the six topics of the Multistate Bar Examination; and cleared my calendar of social commitments. It’s going to be an intense (but rewarding) final push to the end of July!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/05/last_law_school_class_ever_get_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/05/last_law_school_class_ever_get_1.html Academics Outside Law School Thu, 08 May 2008 22:32:15 -0500 advice to future students without a car here. The gist of the site is that you enter an address and it then returns a "walkability" score, which give you a sense of how realistic car-free (and, by extension, carefree) living is. The scale runs from zero to one hundred. My current address, I'm proud to say, gets a ninety-seven! This score translates into "Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car." For students coming into Boston, especially with no or limited access to a car, I would recommend using Walk Score (and also considering the commute time to and from NUSL) to evaluate housing. ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/advice_to_future_students_with.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/advice_to_future_students_with.html Outside Law School Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:40:35 -0500 Activities for 1L's here. As a first-year student, I also ran for inaugural president of NUSL's chapter of the American Constitution Society ("ACS"). ACS is national organization committed to progressive principles of law and policy. One of the great things about getting involved in a national organization like ACS is that participation facilitates tremendous network-building and quickly integrates a first-year law student into the broader legal community. For instance, I attended the past two national conferences in Washington, which were great opportunities to meet other law students and attorneys from all over the country. Moreover, ACS provided me with unique opportunities like serving as editor-at-large of ACSBlog. Finally, it gave me opportunities to distinguish myself through its moot court competition in constitutional law. As a 1L, I also got involved with the work of the Innocence Project. I was first exposed to the Innocence Project through the LSSC program. After attending the national conference and meeting people in the innocence movement, I decided as (as a second year) to volunteer to screen a lengthy criminal case for the review board of the New England Innocence Project. Although reviewing this case and drafting a proposal took lots of work over several months, I found it tremendously rewarding and would recommend it to anybody, although not to first-year students. When thinking about what activities to devote time to during a busy 1L year, I would recommend that perspective students consider three things. First, it is often a good idea to consider activities that complement your career interests. For instance, as a somebody who is interested in appellate litigation, I got involved in ACS because I knew it hosted a moot court competition and ran a highly-regarded constitutional law blog. Second, there is tremendous value in activities that connect you to the broader legal community. When I would go on interviews, it was terrific to be able to talk about the activities I was pursuing and have the interviewer understand exactly what I was talking about. Organizations like ACS and the Innocence Project are hardly obscure; they have general recognition throughout the legal community. Other prominent examples that come to mind are the Federalist Society and the ACLU. Most people in the legal community know what these organizations are and what they stand for. Third, it is always a good idea to try to find activities that are emotionally rewarding. 1L can be a stressful time and it is important to have some sense that you are not just spending all of your time reading casebooks. The Domestic Violence Institute gave me that feeling. Getting into the emergency department and seeing how the legal response to domestic violence directly impacted human lives right here in Boston proved a nice reality check for me. Well, that is all I have for this week. See you next week.]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/activities_for_1ls_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/activities_for_1ls_1.html Outside Law School Public Interest Student Life Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:06:47 -0500 lighter courseload = time for all sorts of other stuff Saul Williams with two law school friends. Although I am a big fan of Saul Williams, the show was not as good as I had expected. It was still nice to get out and do something unrelated to the law, though. Saul Williams did two spoken word pieces, which were incredible. His music, though, was not to my tastes. On Thursday, my wife and I are having date night. It's also a fact-finding mission: we are going to try a restaurant before we make the dinner reservations to follow my graduation ceremony. Then on Friday, one of my favorite NUSL professors, Lois Kanter, is hosting a dinner party for my wife and me, in honor of the fact that we're expecting our first child. On Saturday night, I am getting together with some law school friends for game night. I am going to dominate over all of them! On Sunday, I am meeting law school friends for a brunch and then working my final shift ever at the Domestic Violence Institute at Boston Medical Center. With all this social activity, my final semester stands in stark contrast to my first year, which was almost entirely devoted to studying. It's a really nice to wrap up my time at NUSL. Next week, I will be back with my thoughts on worthwhile extracurricular activities during law school. Until then, take care!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/lighter_courseload_time_for_al_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/lighter_courseload_time_for_al_1.html Academics Outside Law School Public Interest Student Life Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:00:01 -0500 Open House This Saturday, I will be attending the open house reception. If any of you blog readers are there, you should say hello to me. I would love to shake your hand and candidly answer any questions that you have about NUSL. I am very opinionated about my time at NUSL, which is rapidly drawing to a close. I am already in my fifth week of the spring academic quarter, which means it will end in just a month a half. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in just six more weeks, I will be done with my final academic quarter and law school. In fact, today I got an email from my future employer asking what practice group I would like to placed in. Graduation is starting to feel real, and I am getting excited! One of my vivid law school memories was the first week of first year, when Dean Spieler talked to my class about law school comprising roughly one thousand days. Over the past one thousand days, I have really enjoyed being part of the NUSL community. Many of my law school friends have been asking about my post-graduation plans. While I am excited to return home to Connecticut and practice law there, it also saddens me to move away from Boston, where so many of my law school friends will be staying. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the NUSL community. So . . . if you are the reception, make sure you give me an opportunity to meet you and tell you what makes NUSL special! http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/this_saturday_i_will_be_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/04/this_saturday_i_will_be_1.html Student Life Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:45:01 -0500 a day in the life a very disturbing photo morph cover. Before I knew it, it was time to hit the road. My first class of the day - legal interviewing and counseling - was about to start. I really like this class; I have been conducting interviews ever since I got involved in the domestic violence institute as a 1L and now have a great opportunity to think about what I have learned in the past two and a half years. I am enjoying the retrospective that this class provides and am discovering changes that I can make to make my interviews better. After legal interviewing and counseling, I had to rush over to NUSL's clinic offices, which are currently located a few minutes from the law school building. Once there, I met the professor who runs the domestic violence clinic for lunch. We had lunch together with her teaching fellow. We spent our time talking about the Dorchester Court project, which I involved in this quarter. I had a great time talking with this professor. She is one of my favorite NUSL personalities and is my most valued mentor. It was great to talk things through with her, but I had to literally run out of the building; jurisprudence was beginning in seven minutes. Shortly after jurisprudence, I was in civil trial practice. During today's class, we covered direct and cross examinations. I was assigned to conduct a direct examination, which I thought went pretty smoothly. Although I hit a few snags, I think I have come a long way from where I was just a few months ago. One of the things that has really helped me get more comfortable in a courtroom setting is the National Trial Competition. Truth be told, I wish I were only a 2L so that I can do it again! I will have an opportunity for some more experimenting with courtroom advocacy in a "safe" setting this weekend, when I participate in a a trial advocacy workshop. When I got home, my wife and I had some dinner and finished watching The Staircase, which is a six-hour documentary about North Carolina v. Peterson, which was a high-profile murder case that took place in the fall of 2003. For all you prospective students with a Netflix account, I would highly recommend putting it on your queue. The documentary was riveting and allows its audience a real inside perspective into the criminal defense team. If you're interested in the case, you can check out the CourtTV website here, but be aware that it contains major spoilers. I thought The Staircase was phenomenal and I am going to recommend it to all my friends. Now I have to do my reading for tomorrow. I had better get going! ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/a_day_in_the_life.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/a_day_in_the_life.html Academics Diversity Outside Law School Public Interest Student Life Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:09:21 -0500 my busy week and an answered blog comment District of Columbia v. Heller case with friends. I have been also occupied with school work and extracurricular activities. I have started teaching high school students about the constitution, though the Marshall-Brennan program. I also received a comment on this blog! I thought I would share my response as the answer might interest others. The question was:
What exactly are your duties as a team leader for the NUSL Domestic Violence Institute? Does the school grant you some type of scholarship when you participate as a team leader?
In terms of my duties as team leader, I oversee the efforts of a team of two first-year students, who work a six-hour shift every other week. During each shift, we go into the emergency department of Boston Medical Center ("BMC"). BMC is a large non-profit hospital and serves a diverse community of patients. During our shifts we interview women in the emergency department about their thoughts and opinions on domestic violence. When I conducted such interviews as a first-year law student, I found it tremendously instructive. I learned a lot about building rapport with all sorts of people. When our interviewees disclose experience with domestic violence, we offer our services as advocates. In addition, the nursing staff frequently refer to us patients who are hospitalized as a result of domestic violence. Accordingly, the program has two components: interviewing and advocacy. In terms of the remuneration that I receive for serving as a team leader, I receive no compensation. In fact, I think this is one of my favorites aspects of the program. The program has a large number of students participating in it, particularly first-year law students (who are usually strapped for spare time). The fact that the program enjoys an enthusiastic level of participation, despite the lack of academic credit, tuition assistance, or other compensation really speaks to the social justice values that many students bring to NUSL. In fair disclosure, though, I should also add that although the program is run by NUSL, students from other Boston schools participate. For instance, both of my team members go to different schools in Boston. If you want more information about the Domestic Violence Institute, you can go here.]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/my_busy_week_and_an_answered_b.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/my_busy_week_and_an_answered_b.html Academics Public Interest Student Life Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:22:52 -0500 apartment-hunting and party conversation Seattle schools case, a recent Supreme Court decision, which held that school districts cannot use race in assigning students to particular schools. Scott had not heard of this case, so I enjoyed sharing it with him and telling him about how the Supreme Court has recently approached racial diversity in K-12 classrooms. As my wife and I drove home from that party, I was thinking about how pervasive the law is in American life. No matter what topic is discussed at a dinner party, the law is usually somehow implicated. It's interesting to be entering a profession with such expansive reach. I cannot wait to be a *real* lawyer! ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/apartmenthunting_and_party_con_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/apartmenthunting_and_party_con_1.html Academics Diversity Outside Law School Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:09:23 -0500 things to do before leaving Boston This week has been terrific. I am back in classes, which feels great. I am very happy with my selection of courses. For my last quarter, I have foresworn doctrinal courses in favor of ones that are more practical and/or more fun. I am taking legal interviewing and counseling, jurisprudence, teaching the constitution, advanced legal research, and civil trial practice. I think this quarter is going to be my best one ever. On a bittersweet note, it will be my last quarter of law school ever! It's hard to believe that my time at NUSL has flown by so quickly. In a few short months, I will be a law school graduate and student of the bar exam. Until then, my focus will be on savoring these remaining weeks of living in Boston. Over break, I prioritized this top ten list of things I want to do before moving from Boston: 1. Take a drive to the Norman Rockwell Museum in the Berkshires. 2. At the Norman Rockwell Museum, buy a print for my soon-to-be office. 3. Have one last pizza at Pizzeria Regina. 4. Go for Thai food at Brown Sugar with my wife. 5. Visit the spring flowers in the Back Bay Fens. 6. Walk down to the North End on a lazy Sunday. 7. Give my dad one last tour of Boston. 8. Spend an afternoon reading in the Copley Library courtyard. 9. Tour the MFA. 10. Go to a Celtics game. Boston is a terrific city and it makes me a bit sad to think that I will be leaving it soon. My light class schedule, though, will hopefully afford me a little extra time to bask in its culture. http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/things_to_do_before_leaving_bo.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/03/things_to_do_before_leaving_bo.html Academics Outside Law School Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:08:00 -0500 Going to the Cape With the down time before the start of classes quickly dwindling down, I am heading into my last weekend of complete freedom from school work. I am going to spend it with law school friends. From Thursday through Sunday, we'll be in a rented house on Cape Cod. Over the course of my time here at NUSL, I've really met some terrific friends. I'm really looking forward to having fun with several of them this weekend. For our dinners together, we're having a cooking competition that we're calling the Iron Anteater contest. My wife and I just finished shopping for some of our secret ingredients! We're very excited and bullish on our odds of winning! Because I still have to finish packing and have to go see the dentist (ouch!) before heading out, I will end this blog piece here. I'll be back next week with a report on how the first few days of my last quarter went. Till then, take care! http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/02/going_to_the_cape_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/02/going_to_the_cape_1.html Academics Outside Law School Student Life Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:15:35 -0500 Looking Ahead to the Bar Exam While I have some time off between coop and my final academic quarter, I have started preparing my bar application files. The amount of paperwork is prodigious; I am glad that I have started on it now. Certified driving records, every address I have maintained for thirty days or more over the past ten years, every employer I have ever had, transcripts from college, naturalization records, personal references. . . it's enough to make my head spin. I am about done with most of the heavy lifting and hope to have my application completely ready to go by the beginning of April. I have also started thinking about how I will prepare for the bar exam. I have signed up for two commercial bar review courses. In addition, NUSL offers its own bar review course over the course the final quarter. It meets on Friday, when there are no scheduled upper-level courses. Because I will be in court every Friday for the domestic violence clinic, though, I will be unable to make use of this resource. Accordingly, I recently went onto eBay and picked up a 29-set compact disc review of the bar exam subject matters. Fun, fun, fun! My wife and I have also begun planning for our move to a new city and are looking at apartments this weekend. Big changes are around the corner! http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/02/looking_ahead_to_the_bar_exam.html http://blogs.targetx.com/neuslaw/Martin/2008/02/looking_ahead_to_the_bar_exam.html Outside Law School Student Life Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:55:54 -0500