CATEGORY - SCHOOL: BOSTON COLLEGE

February 1, 2010

Law Schools Mobilize for Haitians Protected by Temporary Status

In the wake of Haiti’s devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, the White House granted Temporary Protected Status to existing Haitian immigrants, allowing them to remain and work in the United States for 18 months.  Subsequently, two law schools with sizable local Haitian populations have stepped up to provide legal support for obtaining such status.

In South Florida, the University of Miami School of Law recently conducted a filing session to interview and screen applicants, and to facilitate application paperwork.

“As lawyers, none of us can administer field medicine, and we aren’t logistics experts,” said JoNel Newman, the director of the law school’s Health and Elder Law Clinic.  “But this is a way we can help.  It may not be as dramatic, but it’s equally-important - and will have a lasting impact on Haitian families.”

Farther north, Boston College Law School has been offering similar legal counsel to Haitian immigrants, as students, faculty and alumni have worked on clarifying immigration law, enhancing communication and organizing free legal clinics.

Associate Professor Daniel Kanstroom nearly echoed Newman in articulating the response by the law school community: “It’s not as traumatic as responding to the crisis on the ground, but the legal community is scrambling to figure out the best way to proceed.”

The South Florida area and Greater Boston have the largest and third largest populations of Haitian immigrants in the United States, respectively.

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# posted by admin @ 6:00 am in Law School News, School: Boston College, School: Miami

November 4, 2009

Boston College Law School Weighs Summer Courses

Responding to student concerns regarding a limited summer legal job market, Boston College (BC) Law School is considering breaking recent tradition and implementing summer study classes in 2010.

In a letter to 1L and 2L students, BC Law School’s Associate Dean, Michael Cassidy, said: “We have not, within several decades, offered summer law courses here at the law school.”  However, after hearing some student input, Cassidy indicated that the administration is weighing summer study and that “some students might find this option very attractive.”  The letter was printed in an Above the Law article.

As part of the school’s consideration, the administration created an online survey to more accurately measure student interest.

And while the BC Law course offerings are just being deliberated at this point, Cassidy did signify that the classes, taken perhaps while students work non-legal jobs, could be for credit and could help accelerate degrees.

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# posted by admin @ 12:00 pm in Law School News, School: Boston College

October 28, 2009

Admissions Tip: Off-Campus Recruiting and Information Sessions

For all those applicants who have recently opened a calendar to plot out the next few months only to realize they can’t possibly fit in campus visits on top of jobs, school, and personal statements, never fear!  It’s true that traveling to a school’s campus is an ideal way to learn about their law program, but visiting is often not a viable option for applicants who are located remotely or unsure of their level of interest in a given school.  The good news is that law schools might very well come to them.  Many law schools hit the road and embark on worldwide tours to dispense information and recruit qualified applicants.  Such events offer a great opportunity for interested students to meet with admissions staff (and sometimes with current students and/or alumni), learn about the program and ask specific questions.

Most of the top schools are already on the road and ready to wrap up in mid-November, so we recommend looking into the travel schedules for programs of interest and planning accordingly. Keeping in mind that these schedules are updated and amended throughout the fall, here are some of the top programs’ itineraries for the remaining weeks ahead:

Berkeley / Boalt:
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/199.htm

Boston College:
http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/meta-elements/pdf/recruiting_calendar_20093.pdf

Chicago:
http://www.law.uchicago.edu/events/admissions

Columbia:
http://www.law.columbia.edu/jd_Intro/visiting/ontheroad

Duke:
http://www.law.duke.edu/admis/travel/

George Washington University:
http://www.law.gwu.edu/Admissions/JD/Pages/Recruitment_Schedule.aspx

Harvard:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/jd/visit/recruiting.html

Michigan:
http://www.law.umich.edu/prospectivestudents/admissions/Pages/meetus.aspx

Minnesota:
http://www.law.umn.edu/prospective/recruiting.html

New York University:
http://www.law.nyu.edu/admissions/jdadmissions/visitingnyu/offcampusvisitsandlsacforums/index.htm

Notre Dame:
http://law.nd.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/recruitment-schedule

UCLA:
http://www.law.ucla.edu/home/index.asp?page=887

University of Pennsylvania:
http://www.law.upenn.edu/prospective/recschedule.html

University of Washington:
http://www.law.washington.edu/Admissions/Recruit.aspx

USC / Gould:
http://lawweb.usc.edu/how/jd/recruitingSchedule.cfm

Vanderbilt:
http://law.vanderbilt.edu/prospective-students/admissions/campus-visit-calendar/index.aspx

Yale:
http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/recruiting.htm

Need more law school information?  Make sure to check in with the Law Blog next week for further details.

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# posted by admin @ 8:00 am in Admissions Tip, Events, School: Berkeley / Boalt, School: Boston College, School: Chicago, School: Columbia, School: Duke, School: George Washington University, School: Harvard, School: Michigan, School: Minnesota, School: New York University, School: Notre Dame, School: UCLA, School: USC / Gould, School: University of Pennsylvania, School: University of Washington, School: Vanderbilt, School: Yale

May 27, 2009

Recent Law School Commencements

This past weekend, 3Ls, LLMs and SJDs from Yale, Boston College and Columbia University, graduated from their respective law schools in ceremonies that included a few surprises.  Chief among these was the presence of Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton `73 at YLS’s commencement on Memorial Day, who was there to receive an honorary degree from her alma mater.  In accordance with Yale’s tradition of keeping secret the names of each year’s honorary degree recipients until the day of the commencement ceremony, neither students nor media outlets were informed of the decision to honor Secretary Clinton until the day before commencement when the Yale Daily News quietly broke the news, and Clinton was welcomed with raucous cheers from the graduating students when she was introduced.  She spoke briefly during the afternoon ceremony, reminiscing about her experience at YLS and encouraging YLS graduates to enter public service.

At Boston College Law School on Friday, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Ben Bernanke delivered the commencement address, choosing to talk about unpredictability in life and the necessity of maintaining an optimistic outlook throughout the good times and the bad.  He reassured his audience that their legal education makes them highly employable in several popular job sectors, including at the Federal Reserve, and they have much to look forward to once the U.S. economy emerges from the recession.  Former California Governor Joseph “Gray” Davis spoke at Columbia Law School’s 148th graduation ceremony on Thursday May 21.

Graduating NYU School of Law students attended commencement exercises at Yankee Stadium on May 13, where they graduated alongside all other graduate students at NYU.  A more intimate law school convocation and reception followed on May 15.  Also on May 15, commencement was held at William & Mary and USC Gould law schools.  Robert E. Scott, who is currently the Alfred McCormack Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, delivered the commencement speech at W&M, a fitting choice given his long history with the school.  Mr. Scott was editor-in-chief of the William & Mary Law Review while a student there in the late 1960s, and briefly taught at the law school before taking a tenure-track position at the University of Virginia Law School in 1974.  Gould’s commencement exercises included speeches by Dean Robert K. Rasmussen, who encouraged students to live up to the school’s core values of public service and a lifelong passion for learning, and third-year Class President Paula Mayeda, who celebrated the perseverance demonstrated by her classmates during their three years of law school.  The commencement address was given by California Attorney General and former Governor of California, Edmund “Jerry” Brown, Jr., who called on the graduating students to use the critical thinking skills gained through their legal education to remake a broken society.

In the coming weeks, Harvard Law School, the University of Chicago Law School and many others will hold their commencement exercises and bid adieu to the class of 2009.

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# posted by admin @ 12:18 pm in School: Boston College, School: Chicago, School: Columbia, School: Harvard, School: New York University, School: USC / Gould, School: Yale

May 8, 2009

Application Periods at Leading Law Schools

Below is a list of the early decision deadlines (when applicable) and application review periods for the leading law schools:

Berkeley / Boalt
Application Period: October 1 - February 2

Boston College
Application Period: Mid-September - March 1

Boston University
Application Period: September through March 1

Chicago
Application Period: September 1 - February 1

Columbia
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period September 1er 15 - February 15

Cornell
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: September 1 – February 15.

Duke
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: September 1 - February 15

Emory
Application Period: September - March 1.

Fordham
Early Decision Deadline: October 15
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

Harvard
Application Period: September 15 - February 1

Illinois
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September 1 – March 15.

Iowa
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

George Washington
Early Decision Deadline: December 15
Application Period: October 1 – March 31

Georgetown
Application Period: September 25 – February 2

Michigan
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September 1 - February 15.

Minnesota
Early Decision Deadline: December 31
Application Period: September - April 1

New York University
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September - February 1

Northwestern
Early Decision Deadline: December 1
Application Period: October 1 - February 15

Notre Dame
Early Decision Deadline: November 10
Application Period: September 1 – March 15

Stanford
Application Period: September 1 - February 1

UCLA
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September - February 1

University of Pennsylvania
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: October 1 - February 15

USC / Gould
Application Period: September 1 - February 1

U Texas-Austin
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: September - February 1

U Virginia
Early Decision Deadline: December 1
Application Period: August - March 1

University of Washington
Application Period: October – January 15

Vanderbilt
Application Period: October 1 - March 15.

Washington and Lee
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

Washington University in St. Louis
Application Period: September 1 - April 15 (recommended deadline is March 1)

William and Mary
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

Yale
Application Period: September 1 - February 15

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# posted by admin @ 4:11 pm in Deadlines, School: Berkeley / Boalt, School: Boston College, School: Boston University, School: Chicago, School: Columbia, School: Cornell, School: Duke, School: Emory, School: Fordham, School: George Washington University, School: Georgetown, School: Harvard, School: Illinois, School: Iowa, School: Michigan, School: Minnesota, School: New York University, School: Northwestern, School: Notre Dame, School: Stanford, School: UCLA, School: USC / Gould, School: University of Pennsylvania, School: University of Texas-Austin, School: University of Virginia, School: University of Washington, School: Vanderbilt, School: Washington University in St. Louis, School: Washington and Lee, School: William and Mary, School: Yale

Boston College Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The Boston College Personal Statement is as follows:

Personal statement: Please provide us with a personal statement that reflects on your capacity for legal study and your desire to enter the legal profession. In crafting your essay, you may choose to address one of the following topics, to the extend you believe it reflects on your characters and fitness to study the law: a) a major life experience that has colored your world view; b) significant course work undertaken in college which reflects on your ability to succeed as a law student; c) unique personal characteristics or traits that you will bring to the BC Law community.

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# posted by admin @ 11:36 am in Personal Statements, School: Boston College