All posts filed under: Student Commentary

James Shygelski Moot Court

A Day in the Life of a Moot Court Finalist

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It’s Monday. 7a.m. I am 33 hours away from the final round of the Samuel Polsky Moot Court Competition. These days, my mornings start a little earlier than normal. I pace my apartment floor, still in my pajamas, practicing my presentation and carefully plotting every detail of a complex legal argument. My thoughts on the cases and the policies supporting my plea are interrupted only by pauses where I anticipate questions will fall and by the subtle hum of coffee brewing in the background.

Sela Cowger at the White House

Learning to be Bored: How Law School Prepared Me for an Unconventional Legal Career

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I did not come to law school to become a litigator or to work in private practice. Rather, I wanted to learn the law so I could implement big, systemic policy changes. But focusing on the long-term made staying engaged with the “now” a challenge. By learning to focus on the smallest details, I began to change my frame of thinking and value the ways in which lawyers are taught to make thoughtful and deliberate choices.

Secretary of State John Kerry

Hindsight is Blurry — Iran and the Danger of Assuming Sanctions Beget Diplomacy

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With the achievement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1, the power of diplomacy is being celebrated worldwide. However, behind the applause for successful negotiations some policymakers are giving credence to the long history of US sanctions against Iran for their ability to bring the Islamic Republic to the negotiating table. As Saam Borhani recently wrote, ‘proponents of the United States using sanctions as a tool of statecraft are in a triumphant mode’. But history repeats itself and this is not the first time defenders of sanctions have jumped to conclude their efficacy. After the invasion of Iraq, as the proponents of the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) were backed further into a corner, they retreated to the logic that if WMDs were in fact not present it was only because sanctions had prevented them. Rather than confuse correlation for causation it would behoove US policymakers to consider the real motives and effects of sanctions in light of recent history. Unilateral sanctions by the US must be …

Emily Bock

Agent of Change: Why I Empower Those Marginalized by the Criminal Legal System

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I have been fortunate to work with many different social justice organizations in my short career, but some of the experiences that have been most dear to me are those that I have had while working with people who are charged with crimes, people who are incarcerated, and people who live with criminal records. I co-founded and currently chair the Temple National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Expungement Project. I coordinate with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS) to staff intake clinics throughout the city. With my student committee, I recruit, train, and organize law student volunteers to assist the advocates from CLS with their criminal record expungement cases. I also serve as an external coordinator for the Restorative Justice Project at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Graterford. In this role, I partner with Haverford College students, faculty, staff, and a committee of brilliant men who are incarcerated at SCI-Graterford. I coordinate volunteers on the “outside,” serve as a liaison between Graterford and the Pennsylvania Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA), and participate in two-day and …

Philadelphia Art Museum

My Philly Neighborhood: Fairmount (aka the Art Museum Area)

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Living in Fairmount is like living in the city, but with training wheels.

Fairmount—often referred to as the “Art Museum Area” due to its proximity to the Philadelphia Art Museum—is located just a mile and a half from the heart of Center City, but has all the perks of living in a small neighborhood. For example, there are less people, more parking spaces, and a variety of housing options for a fraction of the cost. I have lived in Philadelphia for over six years, and I spent five of those years living in Fairmount.

Baseball in Mitt

Major League Baseball, Law Review, and Forging Your Own Path

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I have been searching for the intersection of sports and law since beginning law school in 2013. I’ve always been fascinated by the legal, business, and transactional nature of professional sports, and I knew that to increase my opportunities after graduation, I needed to graduate from Temple with a marketable and tangible work product in that area. Fortunately, I found that opportunity during my second year as a member of The Temple Law Review. All of Temple’s academic journals have a unique scholarship component. Students are asked to explore and write an article on a novel or changing area of the law and establish a practical solution. I recognized that this would be an arduous task that would take significant time, effort, and energy. Therefore, I knew I had to research a topic that I was passionate about. My advisor, Professor Ken Jacobsen, helped me bounce around a few ideas. Our dialogue focused on the labor market in professional baseball—an area of the law that was constantly litigated throughout the 20th century. Additionally, I knew …

Singing for the Pope

Preaching to the Choir: Reflections on Singing for the Pope

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The recent Papal visit presented Philadelphians with unprecedented opportunities. Some of us attended as legal observers, volunteered as greeters, or participated in the Festival Families and the Papal Mass on Sunday. I was honored when, after a rigorous audition process, I was selected to sing in the choir for Sunday Mass on the Parkway. I did not say yes right away; after all, I am in Law School, and I had to study. However, I ultimately realized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I had to make it happen. The 500 member choir consisted of people of every background: professional musicians, amateurs, senior citizens, religious, lay people, conservatives, liberals, and everything in between. We were all there for a common purpose. “I had sung this piece so many times before but I had never actually felt the words like I did on the Parkway surrounded by a million people.” Rehearsals, which took place every Monday from July through September, were grueling.  Once the semester started, I would go to class all day, grab …