A Day in the Life

Time, and Technology, March On

This post is to let our readers know that we’re “archiving” the Day in the Life blog. We’ve had a wonderful time writing it and have had great feedback from our applicants about it, but we think the time has come to communicate with you in new and different ways. We find that each year we don’t have that many new things to add to our advice about personal statements and the like, but the advice from previous years is all still valid. So we encourage you to use the archive of this blog as a resource, and we’ll leave it here for you to read.

We hope that you’ll visit our redesigned website as well, as it is chock full of information about our school, the applications process, and many more things that we think our applicants might want to know. You can also follow the Admissions Office and The Law School on Twitter, or see what some of our students and faculty are tweeting about at TweetChicago.

Thanks for keeping us company on this blog these past few years!

Skadden Fellowships Awarded to Two U of C Students!

As you may already know if you have been following our blog, we often discuss the broad range of career resources, services, and opportunities available to our students as they pursue summer and long-term legal employment.  On that note, I am writing today with some very exciting news to share with you.  We are happy to announce that two of our third-year law students have been awarded two-year public interest fellowships from the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, recently described by Lois Casaleggi, our Senior Director of Career Services, as “one of the premier post-graduate public interest fellowship programs”.

Kristen Greer Love will be working at a center for migrant rights in Mexico, where she will focus on transnational workers’ rights law and protecting the rights of guest workers who come to the United States.  Kent Qian will be working in Northern California with the National Housing Law Project assisting tenants in foreclosed properties.  Please read the press release to learn more about the inspiring projects that Kristen and Kent will be pursuing, the Skadden Fellowship, and to read Dean Saul Levmore's thoughts.

The public interest job search for law students is a very individualized process (particularly in comparison to the private sector job search) and requires applications, essays, and other targeted efforts. The Office of Career Services provides comprehensive assistance and support to students pursuing careers in public interest law, including work with domestic and international nonprofit organizations and government agencies.  Please review our recent blog post about funding for students who work in public interest positions following their first year of law school (approximately one third of our students work in the public sector during their first-year summer) and look for an upcoming discussion about our Hormel Public Interest Program on this blog.

Let Me Introduce Myself ...

Hi everyone! My name is Sarah Arimoto-Mercer and I am your new Director of Financial Aid here at UofC. Let me first say how happy I am to be in Chicago and what a wonderful city and law school we are at. Moving to Chicago in the summer makes it impossible not to love this city – every weekend there is a new festival or street fair like the Taste of Chicago or Pierogi Fest (in nearby Whiting, Indiana). Add to that long runs along the lake, going to the beach, and a busy night life that rivals that of San Francisco and I feel like I’m crazy for not having come to Chicago sooner. I’ve been working in law school admissions since graduating from law school myself and I’ve worked at both public and private law schools in San Francisco and New Haven. So, I can unequivocally say that at UofC you will get the best of both worlds – an excellent legal education that will prepare you for a competitive legal marketplace and a vibrant and fun social life!

The Law School has been relatively quiet but for students studying for the Bar Exam and the new faculty starting to drift in. I feel like I’ve had the luxury of an extra-long summer this year since UofC is on the quarter system and doesn’t start classes until the end of September. Once the students arrive I will be back to my myriad of student services responsibilities. Here at UofC, I will be doing everything from reading admissions files to awarding scholarships, from recruiting at undergraduate schools around the country to administering HPIP (our public interest loan repayment program), and from counseling students about their financial aid options to helping organize our Admitted Students Weekend. Hopefully I will see you either on the road or here at UofC next year!

Summer Vacation!!

We're going to take a break from blogging here for the rest of the summer. We'll be back in early September.  In the mean time, we encourage you to catch up with our old posts that you may have missed. Don't forget to sign up for our feed so that you'll be the first to know when we start writing again! Have a great rest of your summer!

We're going to take a break from blogging here for the rest of the summer. We'll be back in early September.  In the mean time, we encourage you to catch up with our old posts that you may have missed. Don't forget to sign up for our feed so that you'll be the first to know when we start writing again! Have a great rest of your summer!

New Clinical Oppportunity: Federal Criminal Justice Project

The Mandel Legal Aid Clinic is proud to announce the creation of a new clinical opportunity, the Federal Criminal Justice Project (FCJP).  FCJP will be led by Director Alison Siegler, formerly an attorney with the Federal Defender Program and instructor of Federal Sentencing course here at the Law School. 

The primary mission of the FCJP is to zealously represent indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  The FCJP will represent clients from arrest through trial/plea bargaining and sentencing and will also represent clients on appeal.  Students will be assigned to cases in teams of two and among their responsibilities will be interviewing of clients and witnesses; conducting and participating in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea and sentencing hearings, and trials; preparing and filing written motions; negotiating withe the United States Attorney's Office and probation officers; and participating in investigations.  In addition to representing individual clients the FCJP will serve as an information clearinghouse and resource for Chicago-area federal criminal defense lawyers and will work to address larger systematic problems with the federal criminal justice process.  Projects members will also attend weekly sessions with the Director that will include exercise and simulations, lectures and discussion sessions. Finally students will take courses in Evidence, Criminal Procedure I, a new course this fall, Federal Criminal Procedure and participate in the Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop before the start of their 3L year.

The Federal Criminal Justice Program marks the second new clinical project this year, and joins the Exoneration Project as part of an ever expanding number of clinical opportunities offered to our students.  The FCJP will launch in the Fall Quarter.

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2008 Hinton Moot Court Competition

In follow-up to Monday's posting about the Hinton Moot Court Finals we are pleased to announce that this winners of the 2008 Hinton Moot Court competition were Kyle Reynolds '08 and Michael Walsh '08.  All the contestants received copious and glowing reviews from all three justices each of whom expressed their delight in seeing any of the finalists in their courtrooms in the future.  Congratulations to all the finalists and the hard-working Moot Court Board for organizing yet another amazing competition!

Announcing the New Student Events Podcast

In recent months, here at the Law School we've seen an increasing number of student organizations start recording their events for online distribution. Faced with an embarassment of riches, we've decided to launch a new podcast dedicated just to student org-sponsored events, which we're calling "Open Minds" (if you've seen the fences around the fountain construction lately, you'll catch the reference). And don't worry -- student events featuring Law School faculty will be added to both podcasts feeds, so you won't miss any of that Chicago audio goodness.

You can subscribe to Open Minds via iTunes or using the podcatcher of your choice.

CLF Auction Raises Record-Breaking $89,000 for Summer Public Interest Grants

On January 31st the Chicago Law Foundation hosted its annual Public Interest Auction.  Not only is the Auction one of the biggest fund-raising efforts for CLF it is also one of the biggest social events of the year.  Lauren Kramer ('08), one the organizers of the event, provides us with this recap:

"As students entered the Green Lounge, they were greeted by the CLF Board dressed to the nines in flapper costumes and gangster gear, only to be whisked back in time to an era when the gin was always cold, the band played all night, and everyone would unwind and "speakeasy."

During the silent auction, a jazz band played 1920S hits as guests bid on the vast and varied collection of items available.  Highlights included Professor Epstein's vintage ties, a full collection of Supreme Court Bobble Heads, the new iPod Touch, and the remote control boats that formerly graces the Law School fountain.  Tables laden with delicious snacks and bartenders shaking or stirring with true grace only added to the atmosphere.

As the silent auction came to a close and Professor Baird stepped up to the podium to begin the live auction portion of the evening, guests sat forward on their chairs and grasped their number with sweaty palms, ready to ferociously bid.  Early in the auction, students showed that they were ready to throw down some serious money for public interest.  A Neiman Marcus gift card and personal shopper, dinner with Professor Samaha, and a night of poker with Professors Posner and Gersen were early favorites.  As the auction progressed, the fervor only increased with intense bidding wars over a Bulls game with Professor Henderson, the opportunity to attend the 2008 NBA Draft and have lunch with the NBA's Deputy Commissioner, and a Kirkland & Ellis-sponsored trip for four to Italy.

All in all, CLF raised over $89,000 at this fabulous event, more than doubling the success of past years.  The entire $89,000 will support students who choose to work in the public interest sector.  We can only hope that next year will be even better!"

Thanks to Lauren for the great recap and congratulations to all the members of CLF who worked so hard to make this year's Auction such a fantastic success and, of course, thanks to all the members of the Law School community who so generously gave to support our students who dedicate themselves to serving those so much in need.

Welcome to Sarah Rewerts, Our New Director of Financial Aid

My name is Sarah Rewerts and I joined the Admissions Office in late November as the new Director of Financial Aid.   I am excited to join such a vibrant and intellectually curious community.  In my role, I serve as a liaison between our students and the University’s Student Loan Administration Office (SLA),  administer Chicago’s Hormel Public Interest Program (HPIP), and assist our Dean for Admissions with evaluating applications and recruiting each year’s entering class.  Following my graduation from law school a decade ago, I began working within the higher education arena.  For eight of those years, I have assisted prospective law students as they navigated the worlds of admissions and financial aid.  Most recently, I directed the office of admissions at a Washington, DC based law school but the opportunity join the Chicago community brought me happily back to the Midwest!  I’m looking forward to meeting and working with many of our students as they pursue their academic and professional goals.

Welcome (Back) Our New Associate Director of Student Affairs, Maureen Sheehan ('04)

I'd like to welcome (back) the newest member of the Law School's great administrative team, Maureen Sheehan, our new Associate Director of Student Affairs, and one of my own law school chums!  Here's a brief introduction from Maureen:

"My name is Maureen Sheehan and I returned to the Law School this August to serve as the Associate Director of Student Affairs after graduating from the Law School in 2004.  In this role, I provide guidance to our student organizations, advice about course selection, and I am a resource for students on a variety of personal and academic matters.  I decided to leave my transactional practice at a large Chicago law firm to return to the University of Chicago Law School because I am committed to both the academic mission of the Law School and the richness of student life here.  Together with the rest of the student services team, we help ensure that our students enjoy a smooth transition to law school and that our students have a great experience while they are here."

We hope that Maureen's decision to return to the Law School, like my own, helps give you a sense of how happy and satisfied our students find their experience with us!  Once again, welcome back, Maureen!!