Toby’s blog

3L Mira Edmonds describes a day in the life of a “student attorney”:

“Life is never dull when you are a student-attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. The Bureau is a student-run legal services organization that represents indigent clients from Middlesex and Suffolk Counties in the areas of housing, domestic, benefits, and wage and hour law.

“And being a ‘student-attorney’ is exactly what it sounds like: I spend half my time doing the things a normal student would do – reading cases, going to class, doing research for a professor. But the other half of my time is spent practicing law – meeting with clients, developing my theory of the case, doing legal research, drafting pleadings, negotiating with the opposing attorney, arguing motions, and if we go to trial, making opening and closing statements and everything in between! As a member of the student board of the Bureau, I have even more responsibilities to juggle, but the experience is all the more rewarding.

“Take today for example. After waking up at 7, I spent about an hour before my Employment Law class reviewing a housing client’s file to prepare myself for a phone call to a Boston Housing Authority officer. I went to class at 9, then back to the Bureau office to prepare for an intake interview scheduled for 11 am. On my way in, I ran into the Bureau President, Kim Harbin, and we talked about last-minute details of the panel we have organized on “Post-Katrina poverty law challenges,” featuring HLAB alumni.

“I did the intake interview, then I wrote a memo about the case for the intake committee, composed of 5 students and 1 clinical instructor, to help them decide whether we should take the case. I dashed into the student board meeting, where we discussed revisions to our constitution, upcoming social events, a collaboration with another service-oriented organization, and the establishment of teams to reconsider our intake standards. After the meeting and a quick lunch at my desk, I called the BHA officer but alas, after my careful preparation, she didn’t answer. I made a couple calls to clients, researched a question about reasonable accommodation defenses, put all my files away and made my way home for a couple hours of studying before I hit the hay.

“Sound intense? It is. But it is also tremendously rewarding. The learning curve is unbelievably steep, and the knowledge that I am helping someone in need with useful skills I have attained over the past couple years feels good. The experience of averting a client’s eviction, helping a client get divorced from her abusive spouse, or helping a client get disability benefits reminds me why I went to law school in the first place, and it reaffirms that I made the right choices — to go to law school, to go to HLS, and to join HLAB.”

At Harvard, we are enthusiastic supporters of public service and public interest work, particularly among our prospective students. We love to bring into the law school community people who have served in organizations like the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. We actively recruit students who have earned Truman Scholarships. We look favorably on those applicants who have served their government as legislative aides or as interns in their mayor’s office.

One organization which has consistently stood out for us as being emblematic of the best of the public service opportunities for recent college graduates is Teach For America. This past year, for example, we admitted 10 Teach For America alumni, recognizing their talent and their dedication to the public service mission of the Law School.

Because of our continued interest in and respect for Teach For America corps members and alumni, we have created a new award for Teach For America alumni, to be granted to two members of the entering class each year on the basis of their commitment to public service and a willingness to engage in public service work and recruiting projects at Harvard Law School. These two students will be designated Teach For America Scholars, and will be asked to serve as Public Service Admissions Ambassadors (a position which comes with a small stipend).

If you have questions about the program, feel free to contact the admissions office. If you’re applying this year and are a Teach For America corps member, you may want to indicate your interest in this honor with a short (1-2 paragraph) essay.

The admissions season is well under way here at Harvard once again. I started reading applications last week and I am reminded once again how many talented and interesting people choose to apply to Harvard Law School. I’m already looking forward to meeting some of these people at our admitted student events and later on in the fall. The Class of 2010 will soon start to take shape.

I’m writing this, however, to let you all know that I will begin making phone calls to many applicants. This initial interview for people who catch my eye is a chance for me to ask some questions about the things I read in applications. What did you do in this summer internship? What is this activity that has taken up so much of your time? What is your senior thesis all about?

It also gives me a chance to get to know our top applicants a little better. There’s only so much we can gauge about “personal qualities” just by reading personal statements, recommendations, and other written materials. To be honest, you can only get a little more from a phone interview—but it *is* a little more. Harvard Law School is a place where your classmates are generally nice people—congenial, collegial, and collaborative. I am looking for those qualities in our applicants.

So don’t be surprised if you get an e-mail from me in the near future (or much later in the season) letting you know that I’m going to be calling. And don’t be nervous. I’m a pretty nice guy and I won’t ask you anything you don’t know the answer to!

Chiraag Bains ’08 spent his summer at the Southern Center for Human Rights, an Atlanta-based legal nonprofit that handles death penalty defense cases and class actions to improve prison conditions. His account talked of the diversity of his experiences:

“On the civil side, I have spent much of my time on a class action to enjoin state officials from enforcing a new statute that effectively banishes sex offenders from Georgia. It prohibits all registered offenders from living, working, or loitering within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop, church, school, park, playground, swimming pool, or other place where minors congregate. Violation carries a sentence of 10-30 years imprisonment. This law affects everyone on the registry, including people who had underage sexual relations with the person to whom they are now married, and including a woman convicted of being party to a crime of statutory rape because she could not control her sexually active teenage daughter.

“We recently won a TRO from the judge on the school bus stop provision — some counties have 20,000 school bus stops, and these can change many times a year — and we appeared in court last week on a preliminary injunction hearing. More specifically, my work has included helping to write the complaint, the motion for preliminary injunction, and the accompanying brief; writing the motion and brief for class certification; answering phone calls from confused and beleaguered class members; and serving subpoenas to government officials.

“On the criminal side, I am assisting in the capital murder trial of a young black man from Alabama. The prosecution has only the weakest circumstantial evidence, including incriminating testimony from a witness who cut a deal with the D.A. on a charge he was facing. However, the co-defendant has already been convicted and sentenced to death. The D.A. is able to win such cases because he routinely fills jury boxes with white male jurors over the age of 65—demographics completely unrepresentative of the local population. Though I cannot describe my assignment in detail, I am conducting legal research and drafting a motion and accompanying brief.

“My other assignments include writing memos for a class action suit over medical care in an Alabama prison and interviewing inmates to assess a local jail’s compliance with our consent decree. I’ve also completed my first act of courtroom advocacy: I successfully argued that a man who had spent 10 years in prison should be paroled. Of course, he did the hard work, developing a record of good behavior and commitment to rehabilitation while incarcerated; I just represented him. I’m hopeful for him as he starts his life over.

“I work with an incredible group of lawyers and investigators in an informal but highly professional organization. As you can tell from this narrative, the lawyers give students the kind of substantive work that helps them make informed career decisions. Moreover, you get to be part of a team and do meaningful work that touches people’s lives every day.”

Brad Rosen dropped in on the big activities fair recently. Here was his take:

“The Dean of Students office converted the Ropes Gray and John Chipman Gray rooms into a gigantic mini-carnival, complete with cotton candy, full sized popcorn machine, caramel apples and hot pretzels. Beyond the food, 90 student organizations gathered together to show the 1Ls that there is life to HLS outside of class and beyond subciting for a journal — and if the sheer volume of organizations isn’t staggering, the breadth of experiences will be.

“Coming in as a 2L to help run one of the booths, I took a few moments to walk around before the rush of 1Ls arrived, not so much concerned with the rush of signing-up for email lists. (Which you should do — you never know when an organization you were semi-interested in will have an event that you’ll later wish you went to…)”

“One of the most striking things about the fair was the huge number of public and community service organizations present, and the crowds that formed around their tables to sign up. More than that, people were gathered around the food tables just chatting about what they had signed up for, and the sense of enthusiasm is completely at odds with the myth of book-obsessed outlining HLS students.

“One of the cliches of Harvard Law School is that there’s something here for everyone, and that particularly rang true when I ran into my friend Anne, a fellow member of the Lambda Board. When I asked her if she was manning the Lambda booth with me for the opening of the fair, she said, ‘No, I’ll be by later — I’m with the Target Shooting Club.’ Target Shooting Club? I knew we had Men and Women’s crew teams, a Ballroom Dance Society, an Audiophiles club and even a wine tasting Society — but I had no clue about the Target Shooting Club.

“HLS really *is* more Elle Woods than Scott Turow.”

This just in from 3L Lauren Weldon:

“Last week, I went to hear Carter Phillips’ “Reflections on a Supreme Court Practice.” After arguing over fifty cases in front of the Court, Mr. Phillips has witnessed a transition through three Supreme Court chief justices and watched as the dynamics of the Court have changed.

“I, however, did not attend the lecture solely to hear about the ebbs and flows of the Court. Frankly, I went because my chances of ever getting in front of the Supreme Court are just about nil (The Court hears about 75 cases a year, many argued by either the Solicitor General’s office or a small number of Supreme Court practitioners). As a result, I saw this lecture as my chance to live vicariously as a Supreme Court oralist, without any of the fears that must accompany standing at the lectern.

“Unlike the title, which suggested boring reflections, the delivery and content of the speech were quite interesting and humorous. Because of Mr. Phillips’ apparent modesty, he concentrated on the bad moments and the embarrassing mistakes (like referring to Justice Ginsburg as Justice O’Connor). Mr. Phillips also admitted the challenges of arguing the loser cases. His first argument, in fact, ended in a 9-0 loss, in which Justice Scalia began the opinion with the words, ‘We think not.’ The Washington Post headline on this opinion read: ‘Scalia Stomps Phillips.’

“After this first big loss, Mr. Phillips admitted that he was faced with a realization that the 9-0 case might have amounted to the beginning and end of his Supreme Court career. Instead, as noted above, Mr. Phillips proceeded to grow the practice, and, last year, his office held a big party celebrating his fiftieth argument. This party, the fifty cases, and the institution of the Supreme Court, however, were not the emphasis of the event. Instead, it was a series of recollections about mishaps, funny gaffs, and the day-to-day work of the Supreme Court practitioner.

“Best of all, I came away from the event with some great trivia (read ‘trivial’) facts about the type of winter hat donned by Justice Scalia (Russian, fur) and the best hypothetical question (from Justice Stevens – far too long to recount in a blog). As a result, though I may never argue in front of the Court, I still have a bit of useless knowledge.”

One of the most common questions I get while traveling to talk to groups of pre-law students is “What are the joint degree offerings at Harvard?” Perhaps as common is the question, “Should I do a joint degree?”

A great advantage of coming to Harvard Law School is Harvard University: the opportunity to take classes, attend events, or participate in activities at the many great graduate programs and schools in the community. Still, pursuing a joint degree is a much bigger commitment than just taking a few classes. There are quite a few to choose from (click here for more details), but how do you know if it’s a good idea for you to make that choice?

Maybe you should think in terms of the three Cs of joint degrees: career, community, and classroom learning. The first “c” is Career. What are the potential career paths of interest to you that could come out of that second degree? If you’re not sure, you should probably do some research. Get on the website for the Kennedy School or Graduate School of Design. What do their graduates do? Where do they go? Can you get those same jobs with just a JD? Many times you can, but not always.

Second, look at the Community. By just cross-registering for classes and participating in student groups, you may not be able to immerse yourself in the community at the other school. Maybe this is okay with you. But maybe you want to BE a Business School student as well as a Law School student. Maybe you want to be a part of that community of alumni throughout your career. If so, the joint degree makes more sense.

The third “c” is Classroom Learning. The ABA limits the number of credits a law student can take outside of law school, so cross-registration has its limits. If you are interested in quite a few classes offered at another institution, pursuing a joint degree may be the only way you can satisfy your broad interests.

In the end, a joint degree is a personal decision. Keep in mind that you apply to HLS and other Harvard schools separately. You can also apply after starting your 1L year. If you get into HLS and want to chat with students who are pursuing such options, I’ll be happy to put you in touch.

“We’re always seeking scholarship with impact,” says John Palfrey, the executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

“So, when we study the extent to which the Chinese state is blocking Internet access to dissidents, we hope that something will get done in that regard. That there will be more light shed on the practice. Maybe one state that might have planned to do it won’t do it, because of some of the attention we bring. Maybe there’s a law that gets passed. Maybe there’s some international human rights activity that stems from it. So we’re focusing on research where people’s lives actually change as a result, in the public interest area that we’ve identified, which is obviously Internet and intellectual property.”

‘Impact’ perfectly describes the work of the Berkman Center. In fact, the impact extends well beyond the Law School, playing a significant role in global discourse about new media, the Internet and society. Whether providing an active voice against the suppression of free speech, supporting projects like the award-winning Global Voices or Chilling Effects, or engaging students (roughly 100 at a time, who work enthusiastically on everything from intellectual property research to grassroots blogging and podcasting to coding for computer projects), the Berkman Center generates one jaw-dropping project after another and somehow makes it all work.

Four faculty members, including Palfrey, provide famously rich and compelling courses every semester, and the Center hosts a multitude of conferences on every aspect of the Internet imaginable. The Berkman Center makes Harvard Law School truly unique.

What could possibly be next?

Says Palfrey: “Lots of bigger and better things. The Berkman Center is an ambitious place.”

Another summer story from 3L Beth Tossell:

“I chose my internship for this summer, representing children incarcerated in juvenile detention centers, largely because of the experience I had during my 1L summer working with capital defendants in Louisiana. I wanted to explore ways to intervene earlier in people’s lives, when they could still have a chance of living successfully in what the men at Angola, the Louisiana state prison, call ‘the free world.’

“I went with the D.C. Public Defender Service’s Juvenile Services Program (JSP) because of PDS’s stellar reputation and because JSP seemed like the perfect way to combine the two areas I wanted to explore.

“I actually spend most of my time working out of the two offices we have within the institutions where the kids are held, one in Northeast D.C. that houses kids pre-trial, and another in suburban Maryland that houses mostly committed kids. The Maryland office is on several acres of park land, and on the way in I usually see lots of deer, groundhogs, and geese, as well as many abandoned buildings. Each of the facilities houses approximately 100 kids.

“Along with two other clerks, I’m responsible for representing the kids in disciplinary hearings if they get into trouble within the facility. The hearings are much less formal than a trial, and the most serious sanctions the kids can get is three days of isolation (which is definitely a serious sanction—I would go crazy if I were locked in one of their cells for one day, much less three). Occasionally, a kid will be accused of doing something that could lead to outside charges, like assaulting a staff member or having drugs, and in those cases we make sure the kid makes no statement that could be used against him.

“We deal with issues ranging from human rights violations (like bathroom restrictions) to trying to reach busy attorneys and social workers. We spend a ton of time just talking to the kids, giving them a safe space in our office to be kids. Sometimes it seems like we’re the first people in a long time to pay attention to them. When one kid tried to read his lawyer’s phone number off a piece of paper and had to hold it right up next to his head, we got his vision checked and got him glasses. He had never had glasses before. Our kids are the ones who’ve fallen through the cracks.

“I’ve learned a tremendous amount from this work. I had spent some time teaching before, but I was still surprised by how much I loved working with the teenagers. I’m now applying for fellowships to help teenagers in group homes get the special education services they need, which will help prevent truancy, one of the main risk factors for delinquency. Last summer, driving to prisons all over Louisiana, I wasn’t sure where my path was leading me, but now that I have a clear idea of how I want to begin my legal career, I couldn’t be more appreciative of the opportunities Harvard’s summer funding has given me to explore and to learn.”