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Circle of Law School Life: A Love Letter To Mentors

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There is a small gem of a coffee shop tucked away on a side street in Center City named Elixr. I have been there twice: once in my first semester of law school, and once last week. Afterward, I posted this on Facebook: A friend commented that we could appropriately cue music from The Lion King. Though I graduated knowing how much I owe my Temple Law mentors for all their support and guidance, my Owl pride has amplified in the past few weeks as I started my job at the Defender Association. Many of our trainers were my former professors or internship supervisors, such as Temple Law Owl Marissa Boyers-Bluestine (TLAW ’95), who is the Executive Director of the PA Innocence Project, and Director of Advocacy/Famed Evidence Professor Jules Epstein. Part of my training even included a presentation from Kevin Harden (TLAW ‘10) about the importance of networking and mentorship. When I sat down to interview my first client, I realized my mentor Paul Messing (TLAW ’73) had represented him 15 years ago. I …

Temple Rome – A Cultural and Educational Experience

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After the stress of my first year of law school finally settled, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Rome, Italy this summer to study in the Summer in Rome program. I studied at Temple for my undergraduate degree and had always been interested in the summer program, but always had conflicting internships or summer plans that prevented attending. I knew this was probably one of my last chances to study abroad and spend over a month in Europe. One of my biggest concerns was whether I would be able to find a summer internship that would accommodate this program, and obviously the cost of attending. I was lucky enough to find both a judicial internship with a judge who was supportive of my plan and accommodating of my later start date, as well as a scholarship to study in the Rome Program. Temple was extremely accommodating and helpful to students in making the accommodations they needed to get as much out of their summer as they could. In Rome, I studied International Dispute …

2L’s Take Ireland – Spring Break 2018

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As a law student, one of the most common questions I get from prospective students is: does my social life suffer when I start law school? The answer: It does, but you can work around it. During my spring break this year, I took a trip with two friends, who are also Temple Law 2Ls, to Ireland for no other reason than we (1) wanted to and (2) we could. We found cheap tickets and accommodations and set off to visit Galway, Killarney, and Dublin for a week. Our trip got off to a shaky start as Ireland was hit with its worst snow storm of the decade. Our flight was cancelled, but after some logistical changes, we were off! We visited museums, castles, and briefly, got a little lost in the mountains. It was a truly amazing experience. A big part of going to law school is learning to take a break when you need it, and this spring break trip was exactly what I needed. I was well-rested and happy when I got …

IP Moot Court: Leaving your Comfort Zone

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This year, I had the honor of being one of four team members to represent Temple Law in the American Intellectual Property Law Association Moot Court Competition. Temple traditionally fields two teams of two students, and this year’s regional competition was held in Boston. Intellectual property is an umbrella term covering several discrete areas of law. This year’s problem had a patent issue and a jurisdictional issue. The problem was released in the fall of 2017 and my teammate and I started working on it in October. We were fortunate enough to be coached by Temple Law professor Don Harris and Assistant Dean Shyam Nair. The first thing we had to do was write two briefs, one for each party. It took a certain amount of mental gymnastics to advocate for one party and then switch to the other side. The patent issue was one of obviousness. In order for a patent to be valid, it has to be non-obvious. “Obviousness” is the subject of much litigation and a great deal of research had to …

Running for State Representative – Q&A with Maggie Borski and Nick Elia

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At Temple Law, students don’t wait for graduation to start chasing their dreams and building their careers. Currently a third-year law student, Maggie Borski is running to represent the 177th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She and her campaign manager, fellow 3L Nick Elia, sat down with Temple Law for a Q&A last month during finals to share their experiences so far. Temple Law: What made you decide that you wanted to run for district representative? Maggie Borski: I actually did an internship with State Representative Donna Bullock last spring and it was wonderful. I got to know her pretty well, and her staff. I had mentioned to her that, maybe down the line, pursuing public service, public office, would be something I’d be interested in. When the semester began, literally the second week of classes, I get a Facebook message from Donna and it was an article saying my representative, John Taylor, was not seeking reelection. It was kind of like a light bulb went off, you know, if there’s ever a …

Who Runs the World?

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Growing up, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing women – my mom, grandmothers, aunts, family-friends – they made being strong look easy. The moment I began to feel the responsibility of being a woman was when I was 9-years-old and my little sister was born. I saw her for the first time and from that day on, I wanted to be the best version of myself for her. Girls need role models to look up to. If they don’t see women in the legal profession, they might not think they are capable of being lawyers – which could not be further from the truth. Representation is key for change to occur. Women throughout history have worked tirelessly to gain many of the rights we enjoy today. I feel that it is our generation’s responsibility to continue their work and strive for true equality. While interning at Susan G. Komen Philadelphia, I saw first-hand how crucial the fight for women’s rights is and what can be achieved when women work together toward a …