Hello GW Law!
It’s been a few weeks again, and finals are almost upon us. 2L has flown by faster than I ever expected. It’s been a great year, full of experiences and yes, a lot of work. But it is on the cusp of being over. We will soon be 3Ls. And in the immortal words of the GW Law Revue show, “the 3L is the laziest animal in the graduate student kingdom.” We’ll see if that’s actually true.
For all of you 1L’s, good luck next year! 2L is . . . well, 2L.
Along with finals I am also nearing the end of my internship with Judge Reggie Walton, on the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. The opportunity to intern for a federal judge during the school year for credit is really wonderful. GW works with you to ensure you have a good experience and can intern without having to do so on top of a full load of regular classes. Interning for a judge is particularly interesting – you get a real look at what it’s like behind the curtain, so to speak. From researching and writing draft opinions for the clerks to entering the courtroom through the judge’s door as the bailiff calls out “all rise,” it’s been quite interesting. I also had the good fortune of working for a dedicated and smart GW Law grad, Nik Sus, who is one of the clerks to Judge Walton. Nik really helped me improve my writing, and was always accessible when needed.
This semester also yielded an unexpected surprise – the Craft of Judging course that students are required to take if getting credit for a judicial internship was not half bad. I was lucky enough to have a very interesting and caring professor in Judge Craig Iscoe, of the D.C. Superior Court. Judge Iscoe kept the class light and interesting, and was well aware how we’re only there because we have to be there. His insight into judging and the role of the judge in the courtroom in a myriad settings only helped improve the class. I also had the good fortune of having a great group of fellow students in that class. It seems that 2012 will be my year of judges – Judge Iscoe as a professor this semester, along with my internship for Judge Walton, followed by a class with federal District Court Judge Richard Leon (D.D.C.) in the fall, and of course the seminar taught by Justice Clarence Thomas. Should be interesting!
As interestingly are the developments that are going on with my summer plans. After finishing exams on May 2, I will fly down to Mexico on May 4 to see my family. I’ll be joined by my good friends David Bender, Christy Milliken, and her boyfriend, Chris. You’ll recall that Christy was my moot court partner in India, and I have become good friends with both her and Chris. Work at Cleary Gottlieb begins on the 14th of May. But then things get even more interesting – I have had the good fortune to be selected to go to Cleary’s office in Rome for four weeks over the summer! I am very excited about this – beyond the work and getting to experience a foreign office, I have a number of friends in Europe, and there will be other American friends working across the pond at the same time. Work ends on August 3, and I am going to try to take advantage of next year as much as possible to travel, because once the latter part of May 2013 hits, there will be no time to do anything but study for the Bar and start working later that year (although I may be able to squeeze a Bar trip in there somewhere!).
Finally, I have become more involved with the Latino community on campus by becoming the Academic Chair for the Hispanic Law Student Association. In that position, it will be my job next year to have tip sessions of finals and the journal competition, find outlines for Latino 1L’s (and others!) who need them, and help students prepare for the 1L skills boards competitions through mooting and mentoring. I am very much looking forward to this job. Additionally I was elected to be Chair of the SBA Senate’s Finance Committee for the 2012-2013 Senate.
Best of luck outlining, reading, and writing papers if you’re in school. Good luck as well to those of you out there who are applying to law school, who are deciding where to go to law school, or who will be joining us in the fall as 1Ls! If you’re in the latter three categories, do feel free to email me with questions – sstone@law.gwu.edu.
Take care,
Sam
Time really flies. The last time I posted was in January, and oh man, it’s already April; the last week of classes. As an evening student, this means I’ve almost hit the halfway mark! I am pretty sure I could write a novel about the last three months. . . but instead I will just give you some of the highlights.
I ran for and was elected as the Executive Vice President of the Student Bar Association, the largest student organization on campus, which takes on a number of responsibilities. You can check out our activities here: www.gwsba.com. I’m excited to serve the student body and can’t wait for a year of fun and new challenges. For someone interested in getting involved, I highly recommend the SBA; it is a great way to meet new people and have a substantive leadership role. As is any other student organization! I am excited to work with our 2012-2013 Executive Board!
I also participated in an Evening Student Panel on preview day, and am excited to welcome all the new admitted students this Fall. I recently passed the torch to Max Bonici, who will be next year’s Evening Law Student Association President.
Barrister’s Ball is this Saturday, and I’m looking forward to catching up with some friends I don’t share any classes with this semester. After that, I will probably hunker down and start studying. With my paper finally submitted, I have three finals to focus on. I will be taking a week off from work to study, and I know that many other evening students often save vacation days for this time of year. With great time management skills and realistic goals though, finals are extremely manageable.
As an evening student, summer won’t mean 12 luxurious weeks off, or a full-time internship. For me, I will be working at my regular job, taking a 3-credit evening summer class, and working as a Research Assistant for one of my professor about ten hours a week. It will be (believe it or not!) a much lighter load, and I’m looking forward to sunny days outside, some good fiction, and seeing family!
So, if you are joining us in the Fall, welcome! If you are thinking about whether GW Law is right for you, I think you will find that this school truly exudes a small sense of community and the opportunities here are limitless – even for Evening Students!
While I posted yesterday about the moot court competition in India that I went to, I decided that this had to be its own (short) post.
Dean Maggs is a former clerk of Justice Clarence Thomas’ and has a continuing friendship with him. Last year, the law school offered a seminar co-taught by Dean Maggs and Justice Thomas (see http://www.gwhatchet.com/2011/09/08/supreme-court-justice-joins-faculty/), and this year it is back! Registration for the class was conducted by lottery, and incredibly, a few good friends (Portia Gant and David Bender) and I were some of the lucky sixteen students to get admitted – it means I’ll be in a class taught by a U.S. Supreme Court justice starting in August, which is exhilarating.
This is an incredible opportunity that would be difficult to find at a non-D.C. law school, and especially somewhere that did not employ as many former SCOTUS clerks as GW. Some of my favorite professors have clerked on the Court – Thomas Colby for Justice Souter and Orin Kerr for Justice Kennedy. Besides them and Dean Maggs, the new Dean of the Law School, Paul Schiff Berman, clerked for Justice Ginsburg, while his wife – now a professor at GW – clerked for both Justices Blackmun and Breyer. There are a number of others who have worked for the Nine as clerks who teach us at the Law School. We are lucky to have them.
Hello GW Law!
I have been remiss in writing to all of you over the last few weeks. They have been busy and they have been exciting, and I am finally getting a moment to begin to fill you all in. Because a lot has happened in a number of different areas of my law school life – the moot court competition in India, running for SBA president, and starting the clerkship search in earnest – I am going to split it up by topic and put up multiple posts. It also happens to go in chronological order as well.
The trip to India was fantastic. My moot court partner – 3L Christy Milliken – and I left for India on February 2. We had a direct flight from Washington to Doha, the capital of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, and then a second one from Doha to Ahmedabad (pronounced Amdavad), the major metropolis of the Indian state of Gujarat where the competition took place. By the time we arrived in India it was about 5:00 am on February 4. We spend the night in a hotel, getting a chance to explore the city a little bit with stops at the Jama Masjid, Sidi Sayyed’s Mosque, and a long stroll through the old city that included a sighting of monkeys. The powerful Sabarmati River was also a sight.
That night we flew out to Delhi, and stayed for a night in a small hotel in one of the bazaars. The next morning we arranged for a car to take us to Agra that day, from there to Jaipur the next, and then back to Delhi the day after that. The ride through the rural areas of the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajastan was fantastically interesting, and also allowed us to get some work done. Both states are in some ways quintessentially Indian (although each state is different and has its own culture and charm). Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in India with over 200 million people (2/3 the size of the United States). Agra, the sight of the Taj Mahal, is in Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan is the state that has the fairy tale cities of India with castles, forts, and the stunning Pink City of Jaipur as highlights. It also has an extensive desert, and the sight of camel-drawn carts was something.
The Taj Mahal is simply stunning. The large minarets towering over you, and the beautifully manicured gardens setting the scene as you walk up to it. As I wrote at the time:
“The region around Agra – in present day Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan – was part of Ashoka’s great empire over 2,000 years ago, in an era when Buddhism was the predominant religion in the area. According to Lonely Planet [which I should thank for much of this information], ruins from the time of the great Ashoka can be found at Varanasi and Sarnath. After the spread of Islam, which began in the 11th century, the region slowly fell to Muslim rule and was incorporated in the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. As the Mughal sun set, the Persians, and then the nawabs of Avadh, took over the region, moving the capital from Agra to Lucknow (it had previously also been at Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri). Nawab rule ended with the arrival of the British East Empire Company in 1857, leading to an uprising now known as the First War of Independence. The area was named Uttar Pradesh after Indian independence, and has been one of the most significant states in politics, with more than half of all prime ministers coming from the states, many of them from Allahabad. However, the state remains poor, largely illiterate, and often has brown- and black-outs.
Agra itself has less than 1.5 million people, but over 3 million tourists go there every year to visit the legendary Taj. The city is ancient – dating back to pre-Mughal times, over a millennium ago. Sultan Sikander Lodi made Agra his capital, but the city fell under Mughal rule in 1526, when Emperor Babur defeated last Lodi sultan at Panipat. It was during the reigns of Akbar, Jehangir, and Shah Jahan that the city was in its golden age, lasting from the mid-16th through mid-17th centuries. It was in that golden age that the Taj and Agra Fort were built. In 1761, the city fell to Jats, who looted it, and then lost it to the Marathas a decade and a half later. The British arrived in 1803, and shifted the administration of the region to Allahabad in the early part of the second half of the 19th century. Agra then became a major manufacturer of chemicals and other industrial products until tourism to the Taj became the main source of income for the city.
After that first sighting of the magnificent domes, we continued on from there as [our guide] explained the inlay work done on the Taj – the first verse of the Koran is written in black stone upon white marble around the gate leading from the first plaza into the gardens around the Taj Mahal. It was something else – surreal looking, despite the throngs of tourists jamming the area. When we finally passed through the gate, there it was, standing before us, the waters of the fountains reflecting the 90 meter dome, and the manicured gardens completing the picture-perfect view. We descended into the gardens, and made the 900 foot walk, the minarets towering over us as we got closer. Interestingly enough, they were built angled out, so that if they were to fall in, say, an earthquake, they would not fall on the glistening dome.
When we got closer, we put on the coverings for our shoes, and climbed the stairs towards the main entrance to the mausoleum. There is no electricity inside, so it is quite dark, but once you push your way in (literally) and your eyes adjust, the high dome hovers far over your head, and the tombs of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal laid out before you. The mausoleum is really the ending of a love story – when Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth in 1631, Shah Jahan was so saddened, that he decided to build the most beautiful building for his third wife to rest eternally in. Begun in 1632, it was not fully completed until 1653, and over 20,000 workers from across India, Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe labored on it. Within months of its completion, Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan’s son, overthrew him and imprisoned him in Agra Fort until his death in 1666, when he was laid to rest next to his wife in his heavenly mausoleum. The site was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It had major restorations in 1908 under the direction of Lord Curzon, the viceroy in India at the time, and was cleaned in 2002 using mulani mitti, a blend of soil, cereal, milk, and lime that is quite ancient.
We kept walking around the octagonal building, with carvings of Koran verses all around the inside, the pietra dura inlay work that adorned the outside also beautifying the interior. Finally, we left and went through a number of rooms to the back, which looks north over the Yamuna River, which is the holiest river to Hindus after the Ganges. The view was fantastic, with the Fort in the distance, the north-eastern minaret of the Taj built on the very edge of the river. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and it was a perfect day.”
The day after Agra we proceeded to Jaipur. As I wrote at the time:
“The car ride between Agra and Jaipur is a relatively short one, but the change in scenery is quite marked. From the camel-drawn carts that begin wobbling down the side of the roads to the majestic and enduring fusion of Hindu, Mughal, and Persian architecture developed over the centuries, Jaipur should be a must on any trip to India, no matter how short or long. We hadn’t eaten all day, but as we arrived in the city around 11:00 we had to go and start sightseeing in order to be able to see everything. We drove straight north of the city, to the famous Amber Fort. Amber Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight, but the majesty of it cannot properly be described. In its own right and way, it is at least as impressive as the Taj Mahal, although perhaps not as beautiful.
Perched at the top of a mountain, the fort is the innermost part of what our guide called ‘Amber City.’ The city is surrounded by a massive wall, extending kilometer after kilometer up and down the hills, in a scene I can only assume is reminiscent to the Great Wall of China. Within the walls there is a town, and above that town on the highest hills is Amber Fort, and above it is another fort, where the family of the maharaja still resides. From the highway, however, our driver stopped and we managed to take some stunning pictures, although they do not convey the majesty of the place.
As soon as we got out of the car, the expansive views of the countryside from the fort were upon us, the town and landscape sprawling far below. The fort itself is an architectural wonder, with traces of Hindu, Mughal, and Persian design vibrantly visible, and yet perfectly melded. As we wound our way through the building, [our guide] was well versed in the history and the architecture, and the interiors were stunning – from the reception hall in which the maharaja received foreign visitors to the winter palace that was covered entirely in Venetian mirrors, to the windows in the women’s balcony that allowed one to look down upon the crowds but not for them to look up at you, the place was enchanting. There were also a number of frescoes that have survived, in some places better than in others, which rival any you could see in Europe. But perhaps the most stunning thing about Amber Fort is its placement atop the hill, the long wall winding its way around it, and the other fort lording over it, the blue sky finishing the scene.
On the way back to Jaipur from Amber Fort, there is a large lake on the left side of the road, and in the middle of the lake is a palace. The palace literally emerges from the waters and stands a good three or four stories high. According to [our guide], there are another few stories located below water. The view is gorgeous – the rolling hills in the background, the shimmering water, and the beautiful palace setting the scene.”
Back in the city, the drive through the old city of Jaipur – called the Pink City – was fabulous. The buildings are all painted different shades of pink or coral, and the effect is incredibly interesting.
Once we arrived back in Ahmedabad, the competition started, and we had the great pleasure of meeting quite a few students from Indian universities. The food at the competition – which took place at the Gujarat National Law University (“GNLU”) – was all “veg” (or vegetarian), and was good, but by the end we were certainly craving a little meat in our diet. The new campus of GNLU is a sprawling, modern, glass and concrete structure that was quite impressive, even in its unfinished state.
The competition was good – but very different from what we expected based on experience with American moot court judges. The judges were aggressive – not just hard. They bombarded you with question after question, pushing you to the edge, wanting to make you break down intellectually and in terms of morale. Moreover, the time limits were pretty much non-existent. One of the rounds went on for almost three hours when it should not have lasted more than one. It was certainly a challenge, but we still won both of our oral rounds before factoring in the brief. Nevertheless, we did not make it on to the final, but did win second (Christy) and fourth (me) best oralists out of the 76 participants, which we could not complain about.
The remainder of the time in Ahmedabad was great – we explored the city, including the Sabarmati Ashram, which served as a base for Mahatma Gandhi for years during the early part of the 20th century. We also spent time in markets, and eating quite a bit of delicious Indian food. We strolled through the city – with the cows and bull wandering the streets untethered – for almost a day, taking the fascinating auto-rickshaws when the distances were too long.
In short, it was a fantastic trip. We returned via the same route on February 12, and I went into full on campaign mode because I had decided to run for SBA President, and the election had already begun. As you know, I lost that election, but it was a great experience, with one of the best parts of it being that I knew that regardless of who won we would have a great SBA President for 2012-2013. Mike Lupetow is not only well qualified, but is a sold individual, despite our policy differences. I look forward to working with him next year as I continue representing the class of 2013 in the Senate.
That’s all for the first installment of what my law school life has been like since early February. Stay tune for other installments that will bring the story up to the present soon!
With only a few hours of spring break remaining, it’s time to shift gears and start thinking of the week ahead. As tough as it will be to leave vacation behind, my first class should be a good one. On Monday afternoons I have Chinese Business Law, a small, discussion-based class of about 12 students. Our professor comes to us from the World Bank, where she served formerly as Senior Advisor to the Corporate Secretary and as the Bank’s Chief Counsel for the East Asia & Pacific Region. Today we’ll discuss intellectual property and technology transfer in China while using the current trademark dispute between Apple and Proview as a case study. Our professor split us into two groups to argue the merits of each party’s position, and I’m looking forward to the debate.
During the second hour of class, GW’s Associate Dean for Government Procurement Law and former White House Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy will join us for an examination of China’s procurement policies. He’s our third guest lecturer this semester.
For me, this class exemplifies one of the lesser-known benefits of attending law school in DC. When I was choosing where to go to school, I was already living in DC and considering going to a school back home. I opted to attend GW as an evening student primarily because I wanted to stay plugged into the political world. I work in energy policy, and I saw the GW evening program as a chance to earn my JD without losing track of legislative and regulatory developments.
What I failed to appreciate fully, however, was the vast number of opportunities that exists simply by virtue of attending law school in such close proximity to federal agencies and the courts. Last semester, I attended Justice Scalia’s keynote address to the George Washington Law Review Symposium, and it wasn’t uncommon to spot Justice Thomas in the hallway before he stepped into a classroom to co-teach a constitutional law seminar. Although the ability to learn from current and former practitioners was not a factor I weighed heavily in making my law school decision, hearing about their real-life experiences during class is easily one of the most enjoyable and most rewarding aspects of my law school experience.
Teresa Stanek Rea, Dep. Under Secretary Of Commerce: Intellectual Property
While preparing for the Intellectual Property (IP) Networking Fair, an event featuring representatives from over 20 firms, I recalled attending the annual United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) IP Attachés Roundtable held last semester at the Chamber of Commerce. The Roundtable was a series of informational panels by international PTO Officers. As I am interested in international law (and have been told numerous times that there is no such thing), I was delighted to find people working to reconcile differences in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade-dress standards across the globe.
Furthermore, many of the panelists worked for the United States government and shared space with Foreign Service Officers in State Department embassies and consulates. In a way, the attachés’ act in a similar function to the Foreign Service Officers in that both are an extension of US diplomacy, which takes on many forms including meeting with the legislature and administration of their host countries and teaching their IP counterparts about the global norms and standards of IP. The attachés’ each knew a great deal about their individual section of the world and they are the front lines of crafting policies customized for their unique jurisdictions.
Another student from GW ventured to the conference that morning and I also had the opportunity to meet two alumni. One worked in a firm dealing with copyright and trademark issues and the other was a recent graduate clerking for a Judge in Virginia. Overall, it was an excellent conference and the ability to learn about a two topics I am passionate about made for a wonderful GW Law experience!
As always, if you have any specific questions please post a comment or email me at pwaters@law.gwu.edu.
-Paul
Eyes glued to our laptops, we frantically scan news articles, read affidavits, track down property deeds as well as articles of incorporation, and request mutual legal assistance to investigate Swiss bank accounts. We strain to unravel the mystery before us. Suddenly, the silence ends. A group member erupts in jubilation: “GOT IT!” She’s just found a key lead in an affidavit, or perhaps a new shell company on a bank check.
Currently, I’m in the third week of a simulated exercise at GW Law’s international money laundering class. Half the time we spend learning the law; the other half, we track money in groups using intuition, our legal knowledge, and best practices and methods. In the end, we will each write a report that pieces the evidence together to see if, in fact, we have been following activity that is truly illegal.
Nothing against the Socratic method, but rather than casebooks (and hornbooks, and blackletter outlines…), we read foreign and domestic statutes, international conventions, and case studies of famous money laundering schemes from around the world. The course is taught by two accomplished practitioners: a former FDIC Deputy General Counsel and the current Head of Training for the Basel Institute on Governance, International Centre for Asset Recovery. For me, it’s perfect.
I majored in international affairs at GW’s Elliott School and studied at Sciences Po Paris. I currently work in that field, and in the evenings, I study at GW Law.
Having finished courses like torts and contracts, I wanted to look at international affairs through a legal lens– that’s really why I decided to go to law school. In addition to international money laundering, I’m taking corporations, international business transactions, as well as an upcoming survey of modern Islamic transactional law taught by a specialist who flies in from Dubai.
For those with similar educational and professional backgrounds, or even similar interests, I hope my entries will highlight the exciting possibilities of a legal education at GW Law built on an international affairs foundation.
These last two weeks have been a whirlwind of events! I participated in an Alumni “Coffee with Experience” networking event last week, which was extremely useful because I was able to explore career paths with some very recent alum. It was first thing in the morning so it allowed me to get some networking in before heading in to the office. As a management consultant, I’m lucky to have a flexible schedule to allow me some ability to participate in events during the school day, but work has been especially demanding lately with a number of RFPs that we have had to draft and send out on tight deadlines. Meeting with alumni was a great experience. As a result, I’ve already been able to set up a meeting to shadow an attorney in court later next month.
On Tuesday afternoon, I participated in a legislative debate on jury process reform in my Advanced Evidence Seminar. Now that my presentation is complete, I have to begin research on my paper – analyzing Justice Sotomayor’s decision in the Michigan v. Bryant case and the scope of the Confrontation Clause. On Tuesday evening, members of the Evening Law Student Association met to discuss our plans for activities in the Spring, as well as current evening student interests, such as academic course planning. Wednesday morning during Criminal Procedure, we discussed the recent SCOTUS decision in US v. Jones with our professor, Ward-3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh. The timing of the decision was perfect, as we just wrapped up our discussion of what constitutes a “search” or “seizure” under the 4th Amendment. As ELSA President and SBA Evening Student Senator-at-Large, I participated in the 1LE Spring Orientation program on Thursday night. There are a lot of activities here at the law school, and almost everyone can find a way to get involved, despite the busy schedule of being an evening student.
Despite my busy schedule during the week, I still find a way to make time for fun activities with friends. A recent baking adventure with a neighbor proved that my Petit Fours are quite delicious, and I’ll be attending a White House Tour with a law school friend this Saturday. A large group of friends from law school have plans in a few weeks to get together, since now as 2LEs we are no longer in the same classes every evening. The friends you meet your first semester of law school are definitely one of the most rewarding experiences of law school.
GW has scores of interesting clubs and societies oriented toward all fields, from groups dedicated to comedy and performing arts to clubs for business and election law. I am a member of the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA), the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), and GW Law Gulf Recovery Network (GRN). The first two groups organize around the traditional model of having most meetings, events, and outings in DC throughout the semester; however, GRN is truly a unique club that puts on a wonderful service trip to New Orleans over winter break. You will find that the entire university is dedicated to service and there are numerous opportunities to contribute through both the law school and other GW resources.
During the trip, half of the group volunteered building houses and the other half participated in legal internships at organizations around the city. I worked with a new organization called the Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana. Find out more about them here: http://jaclouisiana.org/. As part of a team of GW Law students, we worked on their burgeoning new expungement initiative. An expungement effectively removes the criminal record of someone charged with a crime. In Louisiana, even charges become part of the public record and it is important for employment and other reasons that the charges are removed if a person is not found to be guilty. In Louisiana, there are several barriers to having a record expunged including the cost, sometimes over $500 per charge, the process, often long and overly bureaucratic, and the ultimate decision, shrouded by byzantine practices.
Having just returned from my first trip to the Big Easy, I can easily say that New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the world. It is more vibrant than cities double and triple its size and the culture permeates through restaurant and storefront. This year GRN found accommodation only a few blocks down Royal Street from the Louisiana Supreme Court in the French Quarter.
GRN finances the trip through fundraisers and allocations from the GW Law Student Bar Association (GW Student Association). Participants pay for their own travel expenses, but are usually refunded in part if there are additional funds available. Additionally the program is supported by the GW Public Interest Program, Dean Johnson, and Dean Morrison. Before the year started, I participated in the Public Interest introduction to GW Law and this was the perfect bookend to that experience.
As always, if you have any specific questions please post a comment or email me at pwaters@law.gwu.edu.
-Paul
Happy New Year Everyone! The semester is off and once again we find ourselves inside the four walls of GW Law. The demands of last semester were definitely a challenge for many (myself included) but we persevered. I even received some awesome fruits for my labor. My partner and I are advancing to the semi-finals of the ABA’s Forum on Communications Law First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition! We are receiving an expense-paid trip to the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, FL to compete and attend the conference. I truly enjoy appellate advocacy; the trip to Orlando is pretty nice, too.
In general, I anticipate that the spring semester will be particularly rewarding. Obviously, its completion places me past the halfway point of law school. But beyond that I’m looking forward to the culmination of hard work, such as the final submission of my journal note and the final rounds of the moot court competition. I also look forward to my courses and learning more in the areas of Employment Law and Litigation.
Again, one of the key benefits of attending law school in Washington is access to the federal government sector. The most exciting aspect of this semester will be my outside placement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. I will be learning more about employment discrimination laws and the role of the EEOC in the enforcement of these very important statutory protections.
For 1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls, this semester will represent a milestone. But first we all have to make it through our first week back. 
