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Integrated Transactional Program: A Student’s Perspective

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During my second year at Temple Law, I was interested in developing practical legal skills that I could use at my summer associate job. I studied abroad in Rome and worked as a research assistant throughout my first summer of law school, so I didn’t have real world experience in the legal field just yet. The Integrated Transactional Program (commonly known as ITP) was the perfect opportunity to focus on my professional and legal skills in a classroom setting. The 2-semester, 10-credit sequence, led by Professor Robert Bartow, combines Trusts and Estates, Professional Responsibility, and an experiential component. Trusts and Estates is taught in the fall semester, while Professional Responsibility is held in the spring. One evening per week in both semesters, students are separated into smaller groups to practice lawyering skills with an experienced lawyer or judge as an adjunct professor. Students gain experience interviewing clients, drafting estate planning documents, negotiating contracts, and much more. Some exercises confront ethical questions in which students are required to put the Rules of Professional Conduct to use. …

Transgender Pride Flag of blue, pink, and white stripes

Temple Law’s Name Change Project

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Wanting to help is a common thread winding its way throughout the Temple Law community. In 2017, this notion prompted Steven Johnston (LAW ’18) to meet with Professor Kathy Mandelbaum to discuss ways to help local nonprofits to serve underrepresented clients.  The Name Change Project at Temple Law was born. After being trained about gender identity and the name change process, teams of two students meet with clients to work through the paperwork necessary to complete an identity affirming name change. So far, the Project has been able to accommodate every client who opted to complete the process. Currently the Project is run by 2L Nikki Hatza and 3L Jasper Katz, with Professor Kathy Mandelbaum serving as the advisor. “I first reached out to Professor Mandelbaum after interning at Mazzoni Center and seeing first-hand the demand for competent LGBTQ legal services. By starting the Temple Law Name Change Project I hoped to efficiently aid transgender Philadelphians in changing their names and at the same time free up Mazzoni Center staff to focus on other pressing …

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 …

Parental Visitation Rights and Tragic Outcomes

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The outcry over a decision that let a child have a weekend visit with her father, an action that led to the child’s death, includes cries for the judge’s removal and a call from the Governor for an inquiry by the Judicial Conduct Board. As we show below, this response misses the boat in two regards – the protection of judicial independence and the need to change the law.   Professor Jules Epstein addresses the former; Professor Sarah Katz the latter. JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE We live in a world where the judiciary is under attack, with cries that “our legal system is broken” and that judicial decisions put our country “in peril.”  But we want and need judges to make tough decisions without looking over their shoulders.  And we want lawyers to be able to go into court on new cases without fearing that the judge will make a harsh decision to ‘look tough’ and appease the critics. Judicial misconduct warrants sanctions.  Lying, stealing, doing favors; not showing up for work; or being racist, sexist or otherwise hostile …

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 …

LRW Faculty Summer Update: Legal Writing Institute Conference

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This summer, Professors Carpenter, DeJarnatt, Margolis, Murray, Stanchi, and Tavares attended the 18th Biennial Conference of the Legal Writing Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Professor Kristen Murray shares a short summary of how she and the Temple Law Legal Research and Writing faculty are involved in the Legal Writing Institute. For news from our Legal Research and Writing Faculty, follow @TempleLawLRW.

Summer Internships: The Ella Baker Internship at the Center for Constitutional Rights

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This summer I had the amazing opportunity to be an Ella Baker Intern at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City. CCR is a legal organization whose work is centered on supporting social movements. This means that, at CCR, lawsuits are not simply about who wins and loses in the courtroom, but how legal work can support wider systemic change. The Ella Baker program is named after one of the most brilliant strategist and organizers of the Civil Rights Movement and carries forward her work by equipping young lawyers with the necessary tools to become movement lawyers. I, along with 11 other law students and two undergraduate interns from across the country, started the program with an exercise asking four questions: Who are the people who inspire us to do social justice work? What is our superpower? What was our “aha moment” that led us to law school and CCR? What we each do to relax? The people who inspire me have always been my family and my community in the Bronx. I …

Temple Law’s Summer Vacation

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Temple Law students use their summer months to relax, catch up on reading, take classes, study abroad, and to gain necessary skills and experiences by working outside of the law school. We asked three law students where they worked this summer and what they learned: Adetola Ajayi, LAW ‘19 There is no substitute for real legal experience. My summer experience was nothing short of amazing. I split my summer at the Philadelphia City Law Department and Archer Law in Haddonfield, New Jersey, through the Temple-Archer Diversity Scholarship program. Archer’s program provided me the opportunity to gain insights into both the public and private sectors of law. At the City Law Department, I worked in the Civil Rights Unit and was able to attend state and federal trials, write memos, and observe settlement conferences and depositions. I learned about topics such as 42 U.S.C. § 1983, qualified immunity, and the spoliation of evidence. During the second half of my summer at Archer, I conducted research and drafted memos. My assignments were from various practice areas including …

Temple Law ICC Moot Court Team Competed at The Hague

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In May, Danielle DerOhannesian ’18, Hwui Lee ’18, and Alison Smeallie ’19 traveled to The Hague, Netherlands. Over a period of five days, they conducted oral arguments and presented briefs about human trafficking in the shrimp industry in the country of Northeros. The country, like the victims—and all allegations in the case—are fictional. The setting of the final round, however, was an actual courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and actual ICC judges adjudicated the fictional case. The Temple Law squad was one of two teams representing the U.S. in the international round of the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition. The other U.S. team is fielded by Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. The teams won the honor of representing the U.S. in March, when students from 15 U.S., Canadian, and Guatemalan universities convened at the annual regional competition, held at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY. While Temple ICC Moot Court teams have advanced to the semi-final round three times in the past …

A Temple Law Family Tradition

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Temple Law has a proud history of cultivating outstanding graduates. For the Bradley family however, cultivating outstanding graduates is a family tradition. In 2014, eldest sister Eleanor Bradley graduated from Temple Law. When her younger sisters starting thinking about applying to law school, “It was a no-brainer for me to encourage them to choose Temple,” she said. In 2015, Eileen, the youngest Bradley sister, applied and started her law school career, followed in 2016 by middle sister Marianne. All three sisters were present at Temple Law’s 2018 Commencement ceremony to celebrate Eileen’s graduation. As a returning alumna, El, along with Dean Mandel, was able to present the diploma to her sister, something Marianne can look forward to next year.  The sisters shared their thoughts on this unique family tradition: Eileen Bradley LAW ’18 My time at Temple Law has been invaluable. At Temple I have gained the practical skills I will need this upcoming fall as I begin my legal career, but I’ve also had the privilege of being part of the Temple Law community …