Boston College Bulletin, Law, 1985
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Policy of Non-Discrimination Boston College admits students without regard to sex, race, color, age, national or ethnic origin or handicapped status. The Law School does not discriminate on any of the above grounds in its educational pro grams or activities or in its employment practices. The Law School has designated Dean Daniel R. Coquillette as the individ ual responsible for the application of laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex or handicap. Inquiries concerning the application of these laws should be directed to Dean Daniel R. Coquillette, Boston Col lege Law School, 885 Centre Street, New ton Centre, Massachusetts 02159. Accreditation No rating of law schools beyond the sim ple statement of their accreditation status is attempted or advocated by the official orga nizations in legal education. Qualities that make one kind of school ideal for one stu dent may not be as important to another. The American Bar Association and its Sec tion of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar have issued disclaimers of any law school rating system. Prospective law stu dents should consider a variety of factors in making their choice among schools. Boston College Law School has been ac credited by the American Bar Association since 1932, the first year in which accredita tion was possible. It became a member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1937. A chapter of the Order of the Coif, the national law school honorary society, was established at the Law School in 1963. Message from the Dean The best legal education is both intellectual and ethical. This reflects the law's effort to arrange human affairs on the basis of fairness and truth. Neither fairness nor truth is achieved without sound and crea tive intellectual exertion and without a full consideration of ethical and social values. No student becomes an effective lawyer without learning and experiencing both. Much of legal education centers on the intellectual. The skills thus developed of analysis, reasoned interpretation and logic are fundamen tal tools that the law student must develop and the [awyer constantly uses. As we become more sophisticated in our use of these skills, we develop a comprehension of the ethical values of our society, and the relationships that society has decided, and is deciding, wiTl govern us and our activities . Our intellectual training will also teach us the healthy skepticism that we must bring to any true understanding of the world of which we are a part. This comprehension of the variety of personal, political and social values, and the ability to observe and evaluate the ethical issues in a course of action, need to be learned and experienced in legal education with the same care as we learn the more traditional inteirectual skills. We must learn to b~ sensitive as well as questioning, to w:z.derstand our own and others values, as well as to develop those skzlls we need as professionals. Boston College Law School offers an education that meets the stan dards of what we believe is the 'best of legal education. It does so in a supportive, collegial atmosphere, the atmosphere in which we strongly believe you can [earn most effectively. The three years of demanding, challenging, and exciting work and activities will turn you into a professwnal, well-equipped to assist others in successfu[ly identifying and obtaining their best interests, both moral and legal. It also gives you the abilities to function effectively to resolve the many practical and ethical challenges of a successful legal or other career. - Daniel R. Coquillette, DEAN BosToN CoLLEGE LAw ScHOOL BuLLETIN 1 Academic Calendar Boston College Law School Final Academic Calendar 1985-86 Tentative Academic Calendar 1986-1987 Fall semester, 1985 Fall semester, 1986 Second- and third-year classes begin August 26 Second- and third-year classes begin August 25 No classes September 2 Orientation for first year August 26 Orientation for first year September 3 First year classes begin August 27 First year classes begin September 4 No classes September 1 No classes September 16 No classes October 13 No classes September 25 No classes November 11 No classes October 14 Thanksgiving recess November 26-28 No classes November 11 All Classes End December 5 Thanksgiving recess November 27-29 Second- and third-year reading period December 6-9 Second- and third-year classes end December 6 First year reading period December 6-14 Second- and third-year reading period December 7-10 Second- and third-year examinations December 10-20 First year classes end December 10 First year examinations December 15-20 First year reading period December 11-15 Second- and third-year examinations December 11-21 Spring Semester, 1987 First year examinations December 16-21 All classes begin January 12 No classes January 19 No classes February 16 Spring semester, 1986 Winter recess March 2-6 All classes begin January 13 Easter recess April17-20 No classes January 20 Second- and third-year classes end April30 No classes February 17 Second- and third-year reading period May 1-5 Winter recess March 3-7 First year classes end MayS Easter recess March 28-31 First year reading period May 6-12 No classes April21 Second- and Third-Year Examinations May 6-16 Second- and third-year classes end May 1 First year examinations May 13-22 Second- and third-year reading period May 2-6 University Commencement May 18 First year classes end May6 Law School Commencement May 24 First year reading period May 7-13 Second- and third-year examinations May 7-17 In the event of a fuel emergency, the calendar may be modified. A First year examinations May 14-23 revised schedule will be published if necessary. University Commencement May 19 Because changes may occur in the Law School calendar, students Law School Commencement May 25 should inquire of the Law School administration for the effective calendar. Boston College Bulletin should not be relied upon as a statement of the term, cancelling of scheduled classes and other and September by Boston College, 140 Common Law School university's contractual undertakings. academic activities, and requiring or affording al wealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (USPS 389-750) Volume LV, Number 3, September Boston College reserves the right in its sole ternatives for scheduled classes or other academic 02167. Second class postage paid at Boston, Mas 1985 judgment to make changes of any nature in its activities, in any case giving such notice thereof sachusetts. The Boston College Bulletin contains current in program, calendar or academic schedule when as is reasonably practicable under the circum Postmaster: send PS Form 3579 to Boston Col formation regarding the university calendars, ad ever it is deemed necessary or desirable, includ stances. lege Law School, 885 Centre Street, Newton missions, degree requirements, fees, regulations ing changes in course content, the rescheduling The Boston College Bulletin is published six Centre, Massachusetts 02159. and course offerings. It is not intended to be and of classes with or without extending the academic times a year in April, May, July 1, July 15, August 2 BosTON CoLLEGE LAw ScHOOL BuLLETIN Contents Comments from a Law Student: Boston College Law School Student Recognition . 21 The choice of which law school to attend is, of course, a crucially .. Overview and Perspectives Honorary Societies . 21 important one. Many factors must be considered before reaching a deci An overview . 4 Awards . 21 sion. The majority of these (i.e., class size, tuition, student-faculty ratio, average CPA and LSAT score of the incoming class, placement A sense of community 4 statistics, etc.) are readily available and can be used easily in compar The Law School . 4 Student Organizations 23 ing schools. Other considerations in choosing a law school are not as Newton . 5 quantifiable, yet are no less important. Boston . 5 Admissions The attitudes of_your classmates, faculty and administration will New England . 6 Requirements . 24 have a profound eftect on the three years you spend in law school. Law Law School physical Considerations for the schoolzs an unavoidably difficult time . The atmosphere at Boston Col lege, however, helps keep t1iat difficulty to a minimum. The faculty plant . 7 Admissions Committee . 25 and administration make a concerted effort to alleviate the anxiety typ Law Library . 7 Procedures . 25 ically found in law school . As a result, Boston College law students The University - Auditors . 26 are a very closely-knit group, and the student body zs pervaded by a athletic and other Tuition . 26 sense of comraderie rather than the cold, cut-throat, dzstractively com facilities . 7 Registration for the Bar petitive atmosphere found occasionally at other law schools. This atti Additional information 8 tude carries over, I believe, to the interactions between the students Examination . 26 and the faculty. Professors at Boston College are very approachable and Financial Aid . 27 generally treat their students, in class or out, as equals. The conde Program of Instruction Application Procedure 27 scending, Kingsfieldesque attitude doesn't exist here. First Year Program . 9 Programs and Loan The three years at Boston College Law School are by no means a Second- and Third- Year Funds . 28 party. As at any first-rate law school, the students feel pressure-both Program . 10 Scholarship Awards . 29 from the workload and the quality of their classmates. But, at Boston Cross Registration . 18 College there is a warmth, maybe even a sense of teamwork, which makes that pressure much more bearable. Boston College maintains a CLEO.. ...... ........ 18 Placement . 30 very academically competitive law school without allowing that com Law reviews . 18 Office of Placement and petitiveness to adversely affect its students. Competition programs.