Today's Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports on a new website that offers practical advice to law students looking for judicial clerkships.
The site, http://www.soyouwanttobealawclerk.com/, was started this past February by Ellen Carey, a 32-year-old clerking veteran. In an interview with the Law Blog, she talks about what led her to create the website and gives some details about the clerkship application process. The website's menu has links to the Application Process (with practical tips about the best time to apply, letters of recommendation, writing samples. cover letters and resumes); the Interview; Job Hunt Strategies; On-The-Job Advice; and FAQs. There is also a fairly extensive list of Clerkship Vacancies from around the country with links to useful resources like the Clerkship Notification Blog, the US Courts Job Vacancies Page and the Federal Law Clerk Information System web page.
Brooklyn Law School offers a variety of resources and assistance to students interested in applying for post-graduate judicial clerkships. For the current version of the Clerkship Manual and other information about applying for clerkships, BLS students can consult the Judicial Clerkship page on the Career Center webpage http://www.brooklaw.edu/career/studclerkships.
Source: WSJ Law Blog, SoYouWantToBeALawClerk? A New Web Site Claims to Lead the Way by Dan Slater, March 28, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
E-Voting and the Integrity of Elections
Episode 021 – Conversation with Josh Benfey, Class of 2009.mp3
In this pod cast, we hear from Josh Benfey, Class of 2009 and a member of the BLS chapter of the American Constitution Society, one of over 160 law school chapters of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. The ACS was founded in 2001 and is one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations. Its projects address a range of issues such as: Access to Justice; Constitutional Interpretation and Change; Criminal Justice; Democracy and Voting;
Economic, Workplace and Environmental Regulation; Equality and Liberty; Religion Clauses; Separation of Powers and Federalism; and International Law and the Constitution Working Group. This week, the BLS chapter of ACS hosted a screening of “Hacking Democracy”, a non-partisan, critically-acclaimed, Emmy-nominated 2006 documentary from HBO. The film addresses electronic voting machines which, since the 2000 presidential election, count nearly 90% of US votes.
See the trailer for the film.
Designed to eliminate voting problems that occurred in the 2000 election, especially in Florida, touch screen voting machines have had a history of security flaws in states such as Florida, New Jersey and Ohio. Law suits and congressional reports have questioned the reliability of e-voting. A recent NY Times article reports on a New Jersey lawsuit challenging the results from voting machines used in the February 8, 2008 primary election. Another recent news report tells of calls to shift away from paperless systems citing the 18,000 uncounted votes in the 2006 elections in Florida's 13th district that critics attributed to error or tampering with the electronic voting machines. A House Judiciary Committee Report requested by Rep. John Conyers entitled "Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio" raised questions about electronic voting in the 2004 presidential election. The GAO issued a Report of E-Voting Challenges in April 2007 citing concerns that included “vague or incomplete voting system standards, system design flaws, poorly developed security controls, incorrect system configurations, inadequate testing, and poor overall security management." Despite these concerns and legislative efforts by Sen. Bill Nelson (FL) and Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) bill to pass the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2000 to require voter-verified permanent paper balloting, the 2008 elections will likely use electronic voting.
In this pod cast, we hear from Josh Benfey, Class of 2009 and a member of the BLS chapter of the American Constitution Society, one of over 160 law school chapters of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. The ACS was founded in 2001 and is one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations. Its projects address a range of issues such as: Access to Justice; Constitutional Interpretation and Change; Criminal Justice; Democracy and Voting;
Economic, Workplace and Environmental Regulation; Equality and Liberty; Religion Clauses; Separation of Powers and Federalism; and International Law and the Constitution Working Group. This week, the BLS chapter of ACS hosted a screening of “Hacking Democracy”, a non-partisan, critically-acclaimed, Emmy-nominated 2006 documentary from HBO. The film addresses electronic voting machines which, since the 2000 presidential election, count nearly 90% of US votes.See the trailer for the film.
Designed to eliminate voting problems that occurred in the 2000 election, especially in Florida, touch screen voting machines have had a history of security flaws in states such as Florida, New Jersey and Ohio. Law suits and congressional reports have questioned the reliability of e-voting. A recent NY Times article reports on a New Jersey lawsuit challenging the results from voting machines used in the February 8, 2008 primary election. Another recent news report tells of calls to shift away from paperless systems citing the 18,000 uncounted votes in the 2006 elections in Florida's 13th district that critics attributed to error or tampering with the electronic voting machines. A House Judiciary Committee Report requested by Rep. John Conyers entitled "Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio" raised questions about electronic voting in the 2004 presidential election. The GAO issued a Report of E-Voting Challenges in April 2007 citing concerns that included “vague or incomplete voting system standards, system design flaws, poorly developed security controls, incorrect system configurations, inadequate testing, and poor overall security management." Despite these concerns and legislative efforts by Sen. Bill Nelson (FL) and Rep. Rush Holt (NJ) bill to pass the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2000 to require voter-verified permanent paper balloting, the 2008 elections will likely use electronic voting.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Episode 020 – Conversation with Margaret Hanson, Class of 2008
Episode 020 – Conversation with Margaret Hanson, Class of 2008.mp3
In this pod cast, we hear from Margaret Hanson, Class of 2008, and Editor-in-Chief of the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial and Commercial Law. Founded in 2005, it is the newest of the student-run journals at BLS and is devoted to business law topics, specializing in corporate, financial and commercial law subjects, including securities and bankruptcy law. Margaret talks about the benefits of working on a scholarly journal and the lessons learned as Editor-in-Chief. She also discusses plans for the upcoming year for the journal with the new Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Kirkpatrick and the new Managing Editor, Paul Schwartz.
In this pod cast, we hear from Margaret Hanson, Class of 2008, and Editor-in-Chief of the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial and Commercial Law. Founded in 2005, it is the newest of the student-run journals at BLS and is devoted to business law topics, specializing in corporate, financial and commercial law subjects, including securities and bankruptcy law. Margaret talks about the benefits of working on a scholarly journal and the lessons learned as Editor-in-Chief. She also discusses plans for the upcoming year for the journal with the new Editor-in-Chief, Andrew Kirkpatrick and the new Managing Editor, Paul Schwartz.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Iranian Gays Seek Asylum in UK to Avoid Execution in Iran
The cases of a twenty-year-old gay Iranian in London on a student visa and a forty-year old Iranian lesbian show the complex legal, political and personal issues in the law of political asylum. The stories highlight governmental policies with profound human rights implications: Iran’s barbaric policy of executing its citizens for homosexual conduct by a method of slow strangulation designed to maximize suffering; the British Home Office policy of reducing the number of successful asylum applications and increasing the rate of refugee deportation; and a flawed EU agreement designed to work out an orderly political asylum application process for refugees.
According to CNN International, Mehdi Kazemi, originally sought asylum in the UK after learning that his boyfriend had been executed in Iran after saying, under torture, that he and Kazemi had been in a gay relationship. The British Home Office, rejecting Kazemi's request, ordered him to be deported in a written statement saying that even though homosexuality is illegal in Iran, it did not believe that gays were routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality. After he was ordered deported, Kazemi fled to the Netherlands where the Council of State (the highest administrative court in the Netherlands) rejected Kazemi’s plea for asylum on the grounds that it had to comply with the Dublin Regulation and return Kazemi to Britain. Under the Dublin Regulation, adopted by the EU in 1997, an asylum seeker must lodge an application for asylum in the first EU country where he or she arrives. The Dublin Convention was designed to prevent “asylum shopping” and is an effort to harmonize asylum policies in the EU.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution this past Thursday (by a vote of 46 to 2 with 12 abstentions) urging a solution to the case, pointing out that the Iranian authorities "routinely detain, torture and execute persons, notably homosexuals" and that "Mehdi's partner has already been executed, while his father has threatened him with death". It also urged EU members “to take action to prevent similar situations in the future, while acknowledging that the Commission has announced, for 2008, amendments to the Dublin Regulation”. The resolution also cited the case of an Iranian lesbian, Pegah Emambakhsh, whose asylum application had been denied by UK authorities despite fears that she would face execution if deported to Iran. A report in the British newspaper the Independent gives the details of her case.
For now, Kazemi’s asylum application is under review by the British Home Office which has announced a temporary stay on his deportation. "This is very positive. But reconsidered doesn't mean he'll get a permit, they could still deny what he is asking," Kazemi's Dutch lawyer told according to a Reuters report.
According to CNN International, Mehdi Kazemi, originally sought asylum in the UK after learning that his boyfriend had been executed in Iran after saying, under torture, that he and Kazemi had been in a gay relationship. The British Home Office, rejecting Kazemi's request, ordered him to be deported in a written statement saying that even though homosexuality is illegal in Iran, it did not believe that gays were routinely persecuted purely on the basis of their sexuality. After he was ordered deported, Kazemi fled to the Netherlands where the Council of State (the highest administrative court in the Netherlands) rejected Kazemi’s plea for asylum on the grounds that it had to comply with the Dublin Regulation and return Kazemi to Britain. Under the Dublin Regulation, adopted by the EU in 1997, an asylum seeker must lodge an application for asylum in the first EU country where he or she arrives. The Dublin Convention was designed to prevent “asylum shopping” and is an effort to harmonize asylum policies in the EU.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution this past Thursday (by a vote of 46 to 2 with 12 abstentions) urging a solution to the case, pointing out that the Iranian authorities "routinely detain, torture and execute persons, notably homosexuals" and that "Mehdi's partner has already been executed, while his father has threatened him with death". It also urged EU members “to take action to prevent similar situations in the future, while acknowledging that the Commission has announced, for 2008, amendments to the Dublin Regulation”. The resolution also cited the case of an Iranian lesbian, Pegah Emambakhsh, whose asylum application had been denied by UK authorities despite fears that she would face execution if deported to Iran. A report in the British newspaper the Independent gives the details of her case.
For now, Kazemi’s asylum application is under review by the British Home Office which has announced a temporary stay on his deportation. "This is very positive. But reconsidered doesn't mean he'll get a permit, they could still deny what he is asking," Kazemi's Dutch lawyer told according to a Reuters report.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Episode 019 - Conversation with Jared Goodman, Class of 2009
This week, the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund hosted a screening of Earthlings, a 95 minute documentary narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. The film is an in-depth examination of factory farming and mankind's dependence on animals for food, clothing, entertainment and use in experimentation. Using hidden cameras and other footage, the film chronicles the day-to-day practices of industries that rely on animals for profit – industries such as the leather and fur trades, the sports and entertainment industries and the medical and scientific professions. The film also focuses on animal abuse in pet stores, puppy mills and animal shelters. See the trailer.
In this conversation, Jared Goodman, President of the BLS Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and SALDF member Kathleen Christatos, Class of 2010, discuss the film and the work they do as the local chapter representing the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Episode 019 - Conversation with Jared Goodman, Class of 2009.mp3
Readers interested in learning more about the subject can check out books from the BLS Library collection including Peter Singer's In Defense of Animals: the Second Wave, Call # HV4711 .I6 2006.
The BLS Library has a fairly extensive collection of related material such as the seminal, philosophical 1983 treatise The Case for Animal Rights by Tom Regan, Call # HV4708 .R43 1983 and Steven M. Wise's Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals, Call # HV4708 .W57 2000.
In this conversation, Jared Goodman, President of the BLS Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and SALDF member Kathleen Christatos, Class of 2010, discuss the film and the work they do as the local chapter representing the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Episode 019 - Conversation with Jared Goodman, Class of 2009.mp3
Readers interested in learning more about the subject can check out books from the BLS Library collection including Peter Singer's In Defense of Animals: the Second Wave, Call # HV4711 .I6 2006.
The BLS Library has a fairly extensive collection of related material such as the seminal, philosophical 1983 treatise The Case for Animal Rights by Tom Regan, Call # HV4708 .R43 1983 and Steven M. Wise's Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals, Call # HV4708 .W57 2000.Thursday, March 13, 2008
W&L Law School to Teach Practice of Law
In an innovation that may well transform the future of legal education, the Washington and Lee School of Law has announced a new third-year curriculum that will replace all academic classes with practical simulations, real-client interactions and the development of law practice skills. In addition to exposing students to “actual interactions with clients,” the program will teach them to “keep track of their billing hours” according to an article by Vesna Jaksic in today’s National Law Journal. The subject matter of the simulations will include traditional topics like banking and corporate finance, securities law, environmental law and family law. The program will require students to obtain a Virginia practice certificate and take part in real life client cases during the course of a year long professionalism program.
The pioneering program, aimed at providing more of a hands-on experience for future lawyers, may have some disadvantages that practice oriented professionals may overlook. Law schools by their nature are academic institutions that are devoted to scholarship. Arguably, the law school experience is already too short a time to learn a significant amount of substantive law. Devoting the third year to practice rather than substance might shortchange students in the study of law. After all, many of them will be spending the rest of their lives in the practice of law.
A medical school model for the third year of law school has its attraction from the point of view of the practitioner. Revising law school curricula to integrate more clinical education into traditional scholarship may be a better way to take into account the practical aspects of law without sacrificing the academic mission of law school. In any event, the challenge of a modern practical legal scholarship is a daunting one.
The pioneering program, aimed at providing more of a hands-on experience for future lawyers, may have some disadvantages that practice oriented professionals may overlook. Law schools by their nature are academic institutions that are devoted to scholarship. Arguably, the law school experience is already too short a time to learn a significant amount of substantive law. Devoting the third year to practice rather than substance might shortchange students in the study of law. After all, many of them will be spending the rest of their lives in the practice of law.
A medical school model for the third year of law school has its attraction from the point of view of the practitioner. Revising law school curricula to integrate more clinical education into traditional scholarship may be a better way to take into account the practical aspects of law without sacrificing the academic mission of law school. In any event, the challenge of a modern practical legal scholarship is a daunting one.
Law Student Mental Health Initiative
This month, the American Bar Association Law Student Division has launched a mental health initiative to help law students battling depression, anxiety and substance abuse. The culmination of the project is National Mental Health Day on March 27. According to the organization’s web site, it will provide participating law schools with a mental health toolkit for student bar organizations and law deans to make available to students. Included in the toolkit is The Hidden Sources of Law School Stress a pamphlet written by Lawrence Krieger, a clinical professor at Florida State University College of Law.
One objective of the initiative is to help de-stigmatize problems with depression and anxiety among students. Often students avoid seeking help because they are concerned that they may have to disclose their problems in order to sit for the bar exam in their jurisdiction. On February 11, 2008 the ABA House of Delegates adopted as ABA policy a new Model Rule on Conditional Admission to Practice Law for bar applicants who have substance abuse or mental health conditions. Many jurisdictions may deem applicants unfit to practice for those reasons. The model rule, which is only advisory, would allow admission authorities to monitor such individuals for a period of time to insure that recovery is successful. It also provides for confidentiality so that those using its provisions will feel free to seek treatment without suffering stigma or denial of admission.
Locally, the New York City Bar Lawyer Assistance Program (NYC LAP) has a free, confidential service, available to attorneys, judges, law students and their family members, in New York City, who are struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, depression, anxiety, stress, as well as other addictions and mental health issues.
Source: National Law Journal, Leigh Jones, ABA Law Student Group Tackles Depression, March 12, 2008
One objective of the initiative is to help de-stigmatize problems with depression and anxiety among students. Often students avoid seeking help because they are concerned that they may have to disclose their problems in order to sit for the bar exam in their jurisdiction. On February 11, 2008 the ABA House of Delegates adopted as ABA policy a new Model Rule on Conditional Admission to Practice Law for bar applicants who have substance abuse or mental health conditions. Many jurisdictions may deem applicants unfit to practice for those reasons. The model rule, which is only advisory, would allow admission authorities to monitor such individuals for a period of time to insure that recovery is successful. It also provides for confidentiality so that those using its provisions will feel free to seek treatment without suffering stigma or denial of admission.
Locally, the New York City Bar Lawyer Assistance Program (NYC LAP) has a free, confidential service, available to attorneys, judges, law students and their family members, in New York City, who are struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, depression, anxiety, stress, as well as other addictions and mental health issues.
Source: National Law Journal, Leigh Jones, ABA Law Student Group Tackles Depression, March 12, 2008
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