HLS in Focus

1L and Co-Chair of the Public Interest Auction Sarah Jelsema recently sat down for a Q & A with us after this yearly highlight of the HLS calendar.

What is the public interest auction?
The public interest auction is a fundraiser run entirely by the 1L class that raises money to support students who do public interest work over the summer. We solicit donations from faculty, staff, alumni, parents, students, firms, and local businesses. Some donate money and some donate things to auction off. We receive all sorts of donations – things like Red Sox tickets, gift certificates to restaurants and salons, lunches and fishing trips with professors, cookies and brownies made by the librarians, and a tour of the Northwest Corner Construction project. The auction is one of the biggest social events of the year. Every year the auction has a theme, and we decorate Austin Hall accordingly. This year the theme was “Bright Lights: Bid City” and so the different rooms were decorated as different big cities – London, Paris, and New York.

What has gone into preparing for this event and what have you gotten out of the experience as a co-chair?
Almost all of the 1L class helps out with the auction. We divide the students up by committees and committees mostly help out either by asking for donations, calling alumni and asking them to donate, emailing firms, going door to door in Cambridge, or by helping process the donations and get them ready to sell, or by helping out on the night of the auction. As one of the auction co-chairs, I had the opportunity to work with a group of amazing people to try to plan and coordinate this huge event – it was definitely a  challenging experience for all of us. From coordinating hundreds of student volunteers to keeping track of hundreds of donations, to making sure everything comes together on the night of the auction, being a co-chair was a lot of work, but it was extremely rewarding. It was also a good opportunity to meet new students.

The event is always a lot of fun for students, faculty and staff. What was your favorite part of the evening? Did anything surprise you?
The event was a huge success. My favorite part of the evening was the live auction. Our auctioneers – this year Professors Elizabeth Warren and Jonathan Zittrain – were auctioning off the “right to be – or not be – in the 2010 parody.” The first bidder was the Dean of Students because they gave her a hard time this year in the parody, but then Professor Mann, who bought this item last year, got in a bidding war with Professor Warren and everyone was laughing so hard!

Why should admitted and prospective students seeking a strong public interest community choose Harvard? Why did you?
I think that students looking for a strong public interest community should choose Harvard because they can go anywhere and do anything with a degree from Harvard Law. We are a bigger law school, but as a result, we have so many more options to pick from than other law schools. Good public interest law jobs are really competitive – and since I want one, I’m glad I chose Harvard. I know that the connections and friends that I will make here, with professors and fellow students, will be of benefit for the rest of my life.

Starting April 15, HLS will begin accepting transfer applications for the fall. Over the last couple of years, there have been increased opportunities for Harvard Law students to study off-campus through joint degree and foreign study programs which make it possible for us to admit more transfer students than ever before.

The question of whether to apply as a transfer student is the right move is up to you, but we think that a little research will show you the vast benefits of transferring to HLS. With 102 full-time professors and more than 300 courses, HLS is home to the most intellectually stimulating legal community in the world. Outside the classroom, there are 14 journals, over100 student organizations, clinical placements in approximately 30 areas of the law, and more than enough opportunities for you to experience the incredible diversity of the HLS community during your second- and third- year. For example, the Harvard Law Review encourages transfer applicants to apply for membership and several past transfer students have been successful in that endeavor.

Bottom line? Whether you are interested in constitutional law or environmental law or human rights advocacy or any number of other areas, the breadth and depth of our offerings is incredible. Whether you want to clerk at the circuit court level, follow the path to academia, or pursue a career in public service, the opportunities presented to our graduates are unsurpassed.

For more details on the transfer application process including eligibility guidelines, deadlines, and application requirements, please visit: http://www.law.harvard.edu/prospective/j…

Also, stay tuned in the coming days and weeks for blog entries of a few students talking about their experience transferring into Harvard Law School!

We did a bunch more interviews of students and faculty members to add to the HLS Speaks page off the JD Admissions home page.  New categories of interview clips include: (1) Clinical & Pro Bono Programs; (2) Criminal Law & Justice; (3) Law, Business & Economics; (4) Negotiation & Conflict Resolution; (5) Constitutional Law & Policy; (6) Why Law School; (7) Law, Science & Technology; (8) Reading Groups & Small Seminars; (9) National Security & Terrorism; (10) Social & Gender Justice, Civil Rights; (11) Career Plans; and (12) Joint Degrees.

Please visit the link to HLS Speaks off the JD Admissions home page if you’re interested in these subjects.

It’s always interesting to catch up with HLS grads who have been out in the “real world” for a few years. They often provide great insight into their fields and offer sound retrospective advice. We recently caught up with Steven Callahan ‘04, an associate at McKool Smith in Dallas. Steven specializes in IP and commercial litigation.

Tell me a little bit about your career path since leaving HLS.

After I graduated from HLS, I was an associate at WilmerHale in Boston for about a year. I worked on securities and products liability cases, and a pro bono case involving police brutality. On the pro bono case, I took depositions and appeared in court, which was great experience. My wife and I then decided to move to Dallas, Texas. I ended up at my current firm, McKool Smith, a litigation boutique based out of Dallas, Texas.

A degree from HLS is a tremendous asset when interviewing for a lateral position at law firms. I currently practice intellectual property and complex commercial litigation. Over the last year, I’ve been involved in two patent trials, both in the Eastern District of Texas. In the first case, we obtained a $156 million jury verdict for our client against AT&T. The case settled on appeal. In the second case, the jury awarded our client $21 million against Nintendo. The verdict is now on appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. At the moment, I’m working on a patent infringement case involving fiber optic technology and a case involving allegations of misappropriation and patent infringement relating to semiconductor chips.

What classes or activities exist at HLS for those students interested in IP law?

I took an intellectual property law class taught by Professor Weinrab that explored copyright, patent, and trade secret law. The class was great, and piqued my interest in intellectual property law. There are many other intellectual property avenues at HLS to explore, such as the course Trademark and Copyright Litigation, the Journal of Law & Technology, and taking advantage of the immense resources that the Berkman Center for Internet and Society has to offer.

Having been out in the world of IP law now for a few years, what would you tell someone interested in following a similar path?

I’d recommend taking intellectual property law courses, joining an intellectual property law journal, and possibly publishing an article on an IP subject. I’d also recommend exploring a clerkship on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or in a district court known for its intellectual property expertise (such as the Northern District of California, Eastern District of Virginia, or Eastern District of Texas), as such clerks are in high demand. On the whole, however, the skills acquired just in the process of obtaining a HLS degree will serve students well for any career path they take.