HLS in Focus

I recently asked 2L Nate Hamilton to track a typical day.  Here’s his thoughts: 

Friday 7:30am

Up early to do my reading for First Amendment Law.  Finish reading around 9; cook some eggs for breakfast and kiss my wife goodbye as she leaves for work.  We live in Holden Green, Harvard-affiliated apartments about a ten minute walk away from campus.  Shower, get dressed, then grab my laptop on the way out the door (the Professor doesn’t let us use them in class, but I need it for later).

10:00am

First Amendment Law begins, taught by Noah Feldman.  He’s one of the best Socratic method instructors I’ve seen – strikes the right balance between class discussion and lecture.  Today we’re discussing whether the First Amendment allows religious groups to be exempt from laws infringing on their core beliefs, and if so, how far that right extends.  I raise my hand, ask a question; I guess it must have been a decent response because Prof. Feldman keeps coming back to me throughout the discussion.  Good thing I did the reading…

12:00pm

Go to a lunch discussion panel hosted by the Federalist Society.  The topic of discussion is “Should We Legislate Morality?” featuring Prof. Feldman along with Prof. Charles Fried (former Solicitor General) and Prof. Bradley of Notre Dame law school.  Looking around the room, I’m impressed by the mix of FedSoc members and visitors in the room; while conservatives like myself are an, albeit sizeable, minority at HLS, I’ve always found the students and professors here to be open-minded and accepting of viewpoints that don’t match their own.

1:30pm

Over to Gannett House, where the Harvard Law Review offices are located.  As a new Editor on the Review, I’ve been very busy since the start of the term, working hard to ensure that the November issue is published on time.  Today my assignment is to read a piece written by a fellow student and write up a detailed memo evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the piece’s arguments.  Reading these sorts of pieces, I’m always struck by the intellectual depth and writing abilities of the students here at HLS.

3:30pm

Now finished with the Law Review assignment, I turn to researching some of the law firms which I am interviewing with next week.  Though it might seem crazy, 2L fall is when firms hire for next year’s summer associates – which usually ends up leading to a job after graduation!  So it’s important to go into the interviews with some knowledge about the firms I will be meeting with.

5:00pm

Drop my stuff off at home, then head over to the Harvard Square T station.  I’m heading into downtown Boston to meet up with my wife and some friends of ours for dinner and margaritas at the Cactus Club.  I love how easy it is to get around the Boston area – it’s a compact city, yet it has everything that a major metropolitan center has to offer.  Best of all, the city is highly “walkable,” so you don’t need a car to get around – you can walk from one side of the city (Fenway Park) to the other (the very Italian North End) in under an hour.

10:00pm

The evening ends with hanging out on my friend’s roofdeck.  The leaves haven’t yet started to turn, but the crisp night air portends the coming autumn.  I take a deep breath, look out over the city, and feel blessed to live in such a place.