Looking Forward and Glancing Back: Getting to the Two-Thirds Mark

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