We have a four day weekend here for Presidents’ Day; I definitely need it. These past few weeks have been quite brutal stress and deadline-wise. I plan to catch up on sleep and school work. Not quite as exciting as some of my classmates who get to go home and visit families, but the break is not long enough for me to travel all the way back to New York.
So I promised to keep you updated on the CWSL-UCSD collaboration project. On Feb. 2nd, CWSL hosted a student Q&A regarding the plans. I’d say it was a very good turnout; standing room only in our “auditorium” (which seems just like a big classroom…).
There is a committee of CWSL and UCSD faculty/board members who meet regularly to talk about plans and logistics. Professors’ Cox and Weinstein are on the CWSL panel and they answered our questions, along with Dean Smith. They were careful to note that these plans are very preliminary and that there a lots of things not ironed-out yet. But it was a very good opportunity to learn more about the proposal.
They wanted to reassure us that CWSL would stay self-sufficient; we would stay at our present location and keep our faculty & staff. Merging w/UCSD would be beneficial to many; UCSD has made a name for itself and would make CWSL more well-known. Some of the points that were discussed are listed below:
- UCSD would give us more access to research and interdisciplinary fields;
- there would be an increase in interdisciplinary class offerings;
- It will not create a “new” law school so there would not be an increase in lawyers
- There would not be an increase in student admittance, although it could become a more competitive school
- The law school name will probably change (Professor Cox pointed out that other schools who have already gone through this change often changed the names after awhile, or incorporated both schools’ names)
- UCSD is concerned that CWSL will cost them money
- Professor Cox and Weinstein are going to try to get the Committee to have another panel with the UCSD committee members
- To those graduating/graduated: don’t worry, a name change should not affect the validity of your transcripts
For being in its preliminary stages, the panel was quite informative. Either way, things like this tend to take quite awhile, so nothing will change overnight. When I hear more, I will post it in my blog.
Job Searching: To current students, if you’ve missed the Career Services updates, the deadline to apply to the Pro-Bono jobs is Feb. 19th.
This past Thursday was filled with job search networking opportunities. The Pro Bono fair was a great success, at least judging from the turnout of both law firms/organizations and students. The tables took up 2 floors and it was quite packed with students. There was a vast array of tables and organizations, from employee rights to district attorneys to bankruptcy clinics. It was fun and a great way to get to know what types of Pro Bono areas are out there.
Thursday evening I attended an attorney panel hosted by the Korean American Bar Association of SD and CWSL’s Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. I’m very glad I attended that panel. The panelists were informative and entertaining; we got a lot of good tips on job/internship hunting in this economy, and in general. It was great to meet so many diverse attorneys, all who work in a variety of fields (Court of Appeal, patent law, Career Services Advisor, etc.).
As a 1L, (after October) you will be BOMBARDED with mixers/panels/CSO sessions/Bar events, etc. Get involved and attend some. But be a little picky; you won’t have time in your schedule to attend them all. I try to attend most of the CSO’s sessions, but they are during my lunch break anyway. Other than that, I mostly choose to attend only the events oriented toward diversity or my area of interest (family/child law). Some of the panels (like the KABA/APALSA panel) are pretty small and intimate. Choose those; you will have a better opportunity to meet & greet afterwards and find someone who you can connect with. For me, I met a Korean American attorney who did her first summer internship in Seoul, Korea. That is an opportunity I would absolutely love, and I wouldn’t have known it was possible if I hadn’t attended.
Well, it is Friday night and I have four days of semi-freedom ahead of me. I’m going to finish up my work so that I can go home and relax.
P.S. Good luck to all those taking the Bar!