Voices at Temple

Are Juries Worth the Effort? A View from the International Bench

At this year’s Edward Ross Lecture in Litigation, the Honorable Rebecca Pallmeyer, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, addressed the important and controversial topic: are jury trials worth the effort? Judge Pallmeyer’s answer was an unequivocal “yes.” She argued that juries are not merely useful tools for adjudicating cases, they are integral to the legitimacy of...

How ITS Has Guided My Legal Journey

When I first decided to attend law school, I knew that I learned best by doing. I hoped to gain the practical skills required to advocate zealously for my clients, whether in the boardroom or the courtroom. I never imagined that I would learn right from my first semester and that’s why I am a huge believer in Temple Law’s Introduction to Transactional Skills...

Putting Lawyering Skills Into Practice Through Community Legal Services’ (CLS) Youth Justice Project

This summer, I worked with Community Legal Services’ (CLS) Youth Justice Project (YJP) under the supervision of Temple Law alum Tracie Johnson LAW ’18. YJP works with young people across the range of legal needs they experience. This allowed me to learn about and work on a variety of issues, from helping clients get probation fees waived to researching the legal standard for “recklessness.”...

How Earning an LL.M. Can Help Internationally Trained Lawyers Gain Practical, Legal Work Experience in the U.S.

Ally Lamson, Esq. is Temple Law’s Assistant Director for Global Legal Studies. She supports international LL.M. students by providing career advice for both domestic and international opportunities, such as reviewing resumes and cover letters, searching for jobs and internships, and conducting mock interviews. Prior to this role, Ally worked as a family lawyer and assisted her firms in hiring legal talent. If you have...

Unpacking the Race, Gender, Disability and Class Implications of Juvenile Detention Decisions

Race, gender, disability and class based injustices happen to our nation’s teens every day, in the mundane decisions that probation officers, caseworkers, and judges make, usually out of public view. An article in Pro Publica documents a judicial decision to detain a 15-year-old Black girl for violation of her probation. The violation involved her failure to properly attend her online school program and keep...

My Philly Neighborhood: Passyunk Square in South Philadelphia

When I’m not in class or studying in the law school library, I am enjoying time in my South Philadelphia neighborhood. My brother has lived in Passyunk Square in South Philadelphia for years and suggested I look for housing in the area. I quickly found my apartment on the real estate website, Zillow. I live on my own in a one-bedroom apartment and rent...

School Discipline Advocacy Service | Student Organization Voices Series

Your Name: Araesia King Graduation Year: May 2021 Name of Organization: School Discipline Advocacy Service (SDAS) Position in Organization: Program Director   TLS: When did you join this organization? AK: I joined SDAS as 1L last year. Getting involved with SDAS was actually one of the reasons why I was excited about coming to Temple. I knew that I was interested in education law...

Teaching, Engaging, Achieving, and Motivating

“Lift as you climb.” As I embark on various endeavors and gain knowledge, skills, and experiences, I feel morally obligated to use the resources I have acquired to help others progress and succeed. Throughout my undergraduate education and law school, I have become keenly aware of the lack of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.  Specifically, there is a shortage of African-American attorneys...

Learning to Ask

I don’t even know what I don’t know. This was my mantra my entire 1LE year… and maybe even for a few of my 2LE classes. Law school is essentially a process to break down and rebuild the way you think and analyze information. As a 1LE, one of the first things you do is to spend hours pouring over the Bluebook, the citation...

My Philly Neighborhood: Commuting from the Suburbs

I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, but was always drawn to the city itself. When I enrolled in Temple Law, I was excited to throw myself entirely into city life. I thought that during my time at Temple Law, it was essential for me to live in the geographic boundaries of Philadelphia. However, I quickly realized that this was not the case. Living...