All posts filed under: Student Commentary

Group of Temple Law APALSA Students

Asian Pacific American Law Student Association | Student Organization Voices Series

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Your Name: Cary Zhang Graduation Year: May 2021 Name of Organization: Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA) Position in Organization: Lunar Banquet Chair   Temple Law School: When did you join this organization? Cary Zhang LAW ’21: I joined APALSA the first day of law school at the student organization fair. The APALSA leaders at the fair were so enthusiastic, I knew that I had found the support I would need to get through 1L year. Anyone (not just students who identify as Asian) can join APALSA their 1L year. TLS: Why did you decide to join this group? CZ: I joined APALSA to find support, mentorship, and friendship. Asian-Americans are underrepresented both in law school and the legal profession. I felt that getting to know people who looked like me and were “making it” in the field would be invaluable as I started my career. APALSA also helped me make lasting friendships. It can be overwhelming meeting so many new people at the beginning of 1L year, but APALSA gave me the chance …

Temple Law students on their front stoop.

My Philly Neighborhood: Queen Village

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I moved to Philly specifically to attend Temple Law. I grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey, so I was excited to give city living a try, and living in Queen Village has not disappointed. I live in an apartment with two other Temple Law students that I met during my 1L year! We were lucky enough to make another friend whose parent was a landlord, so now we are also neighbors with another Temple Law student and one of our closest friends. Our apartment is the second and third floor of a row house. Queen Village is one of the older neighborhoods in Philly, so our apartment was built in the 1800’s. As it is a well established neighborhood, Queen Village is home to a lot of families. On a nice day, you will see kids riding bikes and scooters, as well as plenty of pups out for their daily walks. It has a very friendly and neighborly feel, even though it is only about a mile and a half from Center City. …

Philadelphia street lined with trees

My Philly Neighborhood: Fairmount

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Hi everyone! My name is Kate Sears. I live in the Fairmount neighborhood in Philadelphia, just 1 mile away from the law school, and I wanted to explain why I love my Philly neighborhood. I found my apartment through Apartments.com. Once I found my roommate through the Temple Law roommate list that was circulated through the Admissions Office and on the entering class Facebook Group, we narrowed down what we were looking for and input that into the Apartments.com website. We didn’t have to look very long or tour that many places before we settled on our 2 bed 2 bath apartment. Together, we pay about $2k including utilities and wifi, and we get a lot for what we pay. We ultimately chose Fairmount because it had the best of everything we wanted in our price range. It was a short walk to the subway and then a short trip to school, the area was safe, and the apartment had everything we needed. Fairmount is very residential with a lot of families, so we always …

School Discipline Advocacy Service | Student Organization Voices Series

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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 and this organization is a great way to learn the basics. I had looked up the program before coming to the school and made sure to sign up at the student activities fair. TLS: Why did you decide to join this group? AK: I chose to get involved with SDAS because it is a great way to interact with the community that I hope to work with in the future (students in the public school system and their families). I also was looking for a way to do some community service during my time here at Temple. TLS: What is your organization’s mission? AK: The organization operates in three schools in …

National Lawyers Guild | Student Organization Voices Series

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Your Name: Celia Givens Graduation Year: May 2021 Name of Organization: National Lawyer’s Guild (NLG) Position in Organization: Co-President TLS: When did you join this organization? CG: I signed up for NLG at the student organizations fair at the beginning of 1L fall. Later during the fall semester, I applied and was selected to become a 1L rep for NLG’s Criminal Justice Committee (along with the other current Co-President of NLG, Sarah Kim). TLS: Why did you decide to join this group? CG: Before I came to law school, I worked for four years at the Legal Aid Society in New York City as a paralegal in their Criminal Defense Practice. It was somewhat of a culture shock going back to school after taking time off to work and I missed being able to work with clients on issues directly impacting their communities. I was interested in joining NLG because they focused on the areas of law that I am most passionate about, including client-centered defense, criminal justice reform and direct-client services. TLS: What is …

Teaching, Engaging, Achieving, and Motivating

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“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 and few African Americans and minorities in leadership roles within firms, companies, and organizations nationwide.  One way to address this issue is through opportunity and exposure. Since 2015, I have created five educational programs for minority students. The majority of my programs were created and implemented for students in the Greater Philadelphia area.  My latest initiative is the Teaching; Engaging; Achieving; Motivating program (T.E.A.M.), which I facilitated in Willingboro, New Jersey. T.E.A.M. was launched in January 2019 for 50 middle schoolers in Willingboro, NJ. The 14-week program consisted of 60-minute sessions held on Friday mornings at Memorial Middle School.  Students learned basic criminal law and criminal procedure including Miranda rights, police …

More Than Volunteering

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If you asked me five years ago if I ever saw myself completing a marathon, the answer would have been a stern no. Despite the fact that I loved team sports, I never considered myself a runner. However, this fall, when two students told me they wanted to complete the Philadelphia Full Marathon their senior year, I could not say no; I was their running mentor after all. Students Run Philly Style (SRPS) is a nonprofit organization that provides youth with mentorship, training, and opportunities to run nationally-recognized races without cost. SRPS encourages kids to “run” the streets instead of being consumed by the violence often found in their neighborhoods. I became involved with SRPS in the fall of 2016 while I was still a high school English teacher. Within three months, alongside four of my students, I was crossing the finish line of my first half marathon. Since then, we have completed the Philadelphia Half Marathon a second time, the Broad Street 10-miler twice, countless other informal races, and most recently, the 2018 Philadelphia …

The Lessons We Future Lawyers Should Learn From the Life of Nipsey Hussle

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During his 33 years of life, Ermias Joseph Asghedom (pronounced “Air-me-yaahs” and “Ahs-ged-om”), also known as “Nipsey Hussle,” was an ambitious and virtuous man who inspired millions to never give up, achieve their dreams and give back to their community. For those of you who have never heard of Asghedom, or only learned about him in the last week since his untimely death, please allow me to introduce him to you before I highlight some lessons we future lawyers should learn from Asghedom’s life. Asghedom was born in Los Angeles in 1985 to an Eritrean father (Dawit Asghedom) and an African-American mother (Angelique Smith) and raised in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Los Angeles. As a youth growing up in the rough world of South LA, Asghedom joined the “Rollin 60’s” Neighborhood Crips gang. Despite his affiliation with the Rollin 60’s in his early years, Asghedom knew early on that he wanted to transition out of the gangster life and into one where he could become a musical artist and entrepreneur. Fortunately, Asghedom was able …

Income Tax

The 2019 Fogel Lecture by Dana Trier

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On March 21st Temple Law students had an exclusive opportunity to hear about the 2017 tax legislation, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “2017 Act”), first-hand from Mr. Dana Trier, the 2019 Fogel Lecture keynote speaker. Mr. Trier served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in the U.S. Treasury Department, and was at Treasury during the lead up to the 2017 Act. Many of my peers, myself included, thought Mr. Trier might simply cover the key elements of the 2017 Act, such as the BEAT, essentially a base erosion deterrent in the form of an alternative minimum tax, and the increased taxation of CFC’s under Section 951A, the new GILTI provision. Instead, Mr. Trier treated the room to a truly fascinating recounting of his time at Treasury immediately leading up to the 2017 Act. Indeed, not only was Mr. Trier involved in the process generally, but many of his personal comments directly shaped specific provisions. Mr. Trier first discussed the role of Treasury in passing the 2017 Act. Contrary …

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. …