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Ty Stillerman / Megan Cistulli
Sarah Zhang / Aayush Singh
Ayanna Bediako / Tiffany Chiang
You are receiving this email because you are the designated contact person for your school. Please read the entire email carefully, as failure to follow the guidance here will result in forfeiture of your bid(s).
This year's national tournament will be held by Zoom from January 21-23, 2022
In Spring 2022, undergraduates will have a unique opportunity to play the role of witnesses in a Berkeley Law JD Professional Skills Class (Depositions: Law 246.3), taught by Professor Henry Hecht.
Professor Hecht seeks six (6) students to serve as role-playing witnesses.
Note: At this point, there is uncertainty whether the class will be conducted remotely via Zoom or in person. If any class will be conducted via Zoom, witnesses will receive a Zoom invitation. If a class will be conducted in person, additional instructions will be provided.
Professor Hecht's Depositions course is a lawyering skills course, in which Berkeley Law students, working in small groups, simulate the process of preparing witnesses for their depositions and then taking as well as defending their depositions. Practicing Bay Area lawyers attend these sessions, observe the law students in action, and critique their performances. (Note: A deposition is a pre-trial legal procedure in which witnesses in a civil lawsuit answer questions by the opposing parties under oath, typically in a law office rather than a courtroom.)
Playing the role of a witness will allow you to gain insight into the US system of civil litigation and to see it in operation. In addition, it will provide you with a chance to meet and talk with Berkeley Law students and Bay Area attorneys. Finally, witnesses will earn a $50.00 Amazon gift card for their service.
To Apply:
Please apply by e-mail to Professor Hecht at hhecht@law.berkeley.edu, with a copy of your message to Monique Sanchez, his Faculty Support Assistant, at msanchez@law.berkeley.edu, by no later than Wednesday, January 26, at 5:00 p.m.
Students' applications will be reviewed by Professor Hecht, and he will notify students of his decisions by no later than Friday, January 28, at 5:00 p.m.
OPTION: Earn 1 Unit of LS 199 Course Credit for Supervised Independent Research with Professor Perry
Students who choose this OPTION have the opportunity to earn one unit of LS 199 P/NP course credit for their service as a witness in Professor Hecht’s Depositions class under the supervisor of Professor Perry. In order to earn this supervised independent research credit, students will be required to do some additional readings on the civil litigation process and on the participant observation method, which are described below. At the end of the semester, students selecting this option must submit a paper of at least ten pages in length, exclusive of notes and bibliography. The requirements for the LS 199 course credit, offered by Professor Perry, are described below.
Requirements for LS 199 credit:
i. Attend all six (6) class role playing sessions, and prepare for the role plays;
ii. Take notes on what you did and what you observed, preferably in a small note pad, organized by the date of the session; and submit the raw, handwritten pages along with your final paper;
iii. Read materials, posted on bCourses, on participant observation methods; and consider how those method(s) apply to your own experience;
iv. Read two chapters, posted on bCourses, from Robert Kagan’s Adversarial Legalism: The American Way of Law, focusing especially on Chapter 6, which mentions depositions;
v. Papers will be graded on a P/NP basis by Professor Perry.
If you want to pursue this option, specify that in your cover message to Professor Hecht when you apply; and he will let Professor Perry know.
The Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, a journal of undergraduate legal scholarship based at Columbia University in the City of New York, is accepting submissions for its Spring 2022 issue.
The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, February 8, 2022, by 11:59 PM ET, but we encourage you to submit before that deadline. In recognition of the various paths undergraduates may take to study law, we welcome submissions of research articles, senior theses, and essays embracing a wide range of topics and viewpoints related to the field of law. Undergraduate students in any major, track, or class year should feel free to send us their work. Visithttps://www.culawreview.org to view past journals or to read our mission statement.
Submissions should be double-spaced in Microsoft Word .doc or .docx format, follow Chicago style citations, and include endnotes and a Works Cited section. Although we will consider submissions of any length, the majority of published pieces range from 20 to 25 pages (excluding references). Longer papers should be shortened to fit this page length recommendation before submission. Papers with footnotes or parenthetical citations will be considered, but the author must independently convert them to endnotes before the editing process. In the document, please also include the following information:
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Your name
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Current email address and phone number
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College/University and year of graduation
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Title
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250-word abstract
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Short explanation of when and why paper was initially written
Please submit your article on our website under the"Submit" tab. Feel free to contact us at culreboard@columbia.edu with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jeannie Ren
Executive Editor of Print, Columbia Undergraduate Law Review
Columbia University '24
B.A. Candidate in Computer Science and Philosophy
As you may have read in multiple news outlets in the past week from ABA Journal, Inside Higher Ed or Above the Law, the ABA Council has voted to permit all law schools, at their discretion, to accept GRE test scores in lieu of an LSAT score. (It’s been a busy week around here!)
This decision does not mean that students can automatically apply to every law school with a GRE score. Rather, each individual law school will need to determine if it will amend its application processes to alternatively accept the GRE.. We do not anticipate many law schools will make this change in the middle of an application cycle, but of course we’ll be watching closely.
Of course, there’s a lot still unknown about the long term implications of this policy change. How many law schools will adopt the GRE? How will law schools evaluate GRE scores alongside LSAT scores, if there’s an influx of GRE applicants? Will law school prefer one test over the other, even if they accept both exams? Kaplan is currently in touch with law schools, actively following this news. As always, we will do our best to keep you informed.
Our advice for your students?
If you plan to apply to law school this year, take the LSAT so you can apply to all the schools.
If you are unsure which schools you will be applying to, preparing for the LSAT gives you the most flexibility.
Stay healthy this Holiday season!
Krystin Major, Kaplan
I became involved in the issue of the Boeing 737 MAX at the direct request of Ralph Nader, who I have known personally for many years, after his sister Laura who is a friend and collaborator of mine (and as you probably know a faculty member on our campus for sixty years) tragically had her granddaughter killed in one of the crashes. The Boeing 737 MAX is the newest passenger airplane in the skies and suffered two fatal crashes with similar characteristics within five months of each other during its short 22 months of commercial flight before it was grounded worldwide for almost two years. The FAA recently ungrounded it in a questionable decision shrouded in secrecy.
To provide more background: The crashes of the 737 MAX differ from other aviation accidents insofar as they never should have happened, but are the result of a company which prioritized profits over safety as well as a regulatory capture of the government agency which was derelict in its duties. Boeing’s bad behavior led to criminal fraud charges for which Boeing agreed earlier this year to pay $2.5 billion as part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The lead DoJ prosecutor then promptly joined the law firm that had defended Boeing in the case. The FAA recently ungrounded the 737 MAX based on secret data and testing. The FAA’s response to a Federal Freedom of Information Act request was to provide documents from Boeing that have page after page completely blacked out.
And a few details about my involvement: I met with the head of the Aviation Accident Investigation Sub Committee of the National Transportation Safety Committee in Jakarta to get the details of the Lion Air JT610 crash first-hand. I am in frequent contact with many engineers and pilots about this topic, including Captain C. B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III (of "Miracle on the Hudson” fame), who is being nominated by President Biden as Ambassador on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization. I have given talks about the topic. I have been interviewed several times including in a forthcoming Smithsonian/BBC documentary. My full page op-ed in the Globe and Mail was debated in the Parliament of Canada.
Fung Fellowship
Applications are Open
What is the Fung Fellowship?
The Fung Fellowshipis a unique opportunity for rising juniors and seniors to create impact-driven solutions to address real-world challenges alongside our community and industry partners. Fung Fellows utilize the iterative human-centered design process, interdisciplinary tactics, and emerging technology in both of our offered tracks: Conservation + Tech and Health + Tech.
As a Fung Fellow you will:
- Explore innovation and technology in your chosen track sector
- Experience the design process from prototype to product
- Embed in communities to co-create with them
- Establish yourself as a young leader in an emerging field
Selected Fung Fellows attend a 3-unit course each semester, are supported in a summer internship, and rising juniors have the opportunity to apply to a second year honors program.
What your first year might look like:
- Engage in foundational experiences such as weekly lectures and hands-on lab sections, fall boot camp, spring retreat, and interdisciplinary team projects
- Access to exploratory opportunities such as conferences, company site visits, networking events, workshops, hackathons, and career services
Required qualifications:
- Registered student at UC Berkeley
- Class of 2024 rising junior or Class of 2023 rising senior (current sophomore or junior standing)
- Strong passion for health, conservation, social impact, design, and/or technology
Information to apply:
- Learn more about the program at:fungfellows.berkeley.edu
- Stay tuned for more info regarding our infosessions on February 2 and February 9, 2022! We will offer both remote and in-person options.
- Sign up for our interest form: bit.ly/FF22-interest
- Access the application: bit.ly/ffapp2022-23
- Deadline to apply: Friday, February 18, 2022 at 11:59pm PST
- admissions coaching, which includes aid with application strategy, personal statements, legal resume drafting, scholarship negotiation, and character and fitness responses;
- career coaching, which includes an introduction to the legal industry and legal recruiting frameworks, tips for selecting law school extracurriculars, a preview of different practice areas, and preparation for 1L summer legal internship opportunities; and
- an LSAT Stipend.
- A junior or senior in college or graduated undergraduate in the last three years, applying for admission to law school Class of 2026 or 2027.
- A minimum GPA of 3.2.
- A member of a racial, ethnic, gender, or socioeconomic group which has been historically underrepresented in the legal profession, a member of the LGBTQ community, or those with a disability.
I’m happy to announce that Public Policy 98/198: Applied Policy Lab is now accepting applications! Please use this link to fill out the application to be considered for enrollment.
Applied Policy Lab is a space for students to analyze and craft public policy to address social issues. Students are free to select any topic that interests them, and they will be taught methods on researching, analyzing and advocating their chosen policy topics. The class is lightweight and flexible in format. Students may take the course for 1, 2 or 3 units, and only one discussion section per week – either, 7-8 PM on Tuesdays at 182 Dwinelle or 6-7 PM on Wednesdays at 310 Hearst Mining Building.
The course is open to all majors and years. Students have the opportunity to explore any policy topic that interests them in a relaxed, supportive setting and no previous experience with policy or social sciences is required. The course’s four class assignments center around building a portfolio on the student's policy topic, with one assignment due per month, with the assignments scaling for unit count.
Applied Policy Lab is organized by the Roosevelt Network at Berkeley, a student-led, interdisciplinary public policy think tank. Please reach out to GabrielKelvin@Berkeley.edu with any questions.
We presently have several openings for our Legal Access Corps volunteer law student project (formerly known as LiveChat Project). Students gain public interest experience by supporting members of the public, navigating self-help resources and information, and connecting them to legal aid organizations.
LAAC provides training (one 2 hour zoom training + follow up call), and hands on practice with issue spotting. Students learn to sort through complex legal subjects, and to communicate with members of the public using plain language and trauma informed methods. Once trained, students can participate from any computer with internet access, making this a flexible option for earning pro bono hours.
Students may earn hours between 9 AM-5 PM Monday-Friday. The minimum commitment is 2-10 hours per week. The commitment is for a 3 month minimum period with an option for students to continue. We accept 1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls, LLM, and or undergraduate students. This opportunity is fully remote.
Regards,
Safia Kartoum
Program Coordinator - LawHelpCA.org
The Vanguard Court Watch Internship would like to invite your students to join our program. If you could please send out this email to make them aware of this opportunity, we would appreciate it.
Become a Vanguard Court Watch Intern!
We are looking for students interested in an exciting and challenging program monitoring and reporting court cases in the local courts. This is one of the only opportunities for undergraduate-level interns to go into the courtroom to observe live trials.
Due to covid, we are offering both online or in-person opportunities.
The Vanguard Court Watch is a non-profit organization that covers criminal cases through the California courts. It offers student interns an opportunity to gain experience in the courthouse, watch and monitor cases, and develop their journalistic writing skills for a local online publication.
Interns are sent into a virtual courtroom or attend court in person to take notes, monitor cases, and report on the happenings, as well as record observations about current court cases.
We also have opportunities for them to work on wrongful conviction cases and other projects.
(Course Credit available upon arrangements with the institution).
To apply please email a cover letter and resume to mlagos@davisvanguard.org
BLSA also organizes and publishes the California LegalStudiesJournal, a forum for high-quality undergraduate research relating to a large range of law-related topics.
For more information and event updates, please feel free to join our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/berkeleylegalstudies/?ref=bookmarks
Our contact email is berkeleylegals@gmail.com
The application link is https://tinyurl.com/blsasp22
- Labor Summer runs June 20 - August 12, 2022
- All programming will be in-person!
- Open to rising juniors and seniors, graduating students, and graduate students
- Undergraduates are paid $17/hr and graduate students are paid $19/hr
- Applications are DUE January 30, 2022
- Learn more about Labor Summer here: https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/labor-summer-internship/
- Attend an info session!
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