THE COMMEN T A T OR Vol. XLII, No. 9 The Student Newspaper of the New York University School of Law February 18, 2009 Unfair Times Call for PILC Fair Economy Prompts Schools to Emulate NYU’s EIW Program BY MOLLY WALLACE ’10 grams simultaneously, that could mean coming up with as many as With the economy faltering, one hundred employees to staff the law schools are doing what they recruiting programs of the top-ten can to ensure that their students get law schools. And yet more will be jobs. As a result, many of NYU’s needed to attend the programs of peer schools have rearranged their schools outside the top ten. interviewing schedules to get their During a normal work week, students matched up with employ- finding so many attorneys and ers as early as possible. The law staff at one time would be a tall schools at Harvard, Yale, and Uni- order. In mid-August it might be a versity of Chicago, among others, miracle. Summer camps are over have shifted their interview weeks but school has not yet started, to take place in August where in so attorneys with children often years past they have been held in need this time off to tend to their late September and October. families. High school and college Early interview week (EIW) students who normally work as programs in 2009 may look more babysitters also tend to be out of Students from 21 law schools meet representatives from more than 80 organizations at “table talk” in Greenberg or less the same for students as be- town, so even those who would Lounge on Friday, February 6. The annual PILC Fair typically helps many 1Ls find summer employment. fore, but firms will struggle to keep like to hire childcare may find the interview weeks adequately themselves short-staffed. BY DANIELLE ESCONTRIAS ’11 government, non-profit, and pri- they might not have otherwise staffed. As many as eight of the top The implications of parent- vate organizations. considered, drop off resumes law schools will be holding their attorneys taking this time off may The 32nd annual Public Inter- In order to be selected by an with new employers, or talk interview programs at the same affect students who hope to get a est Career Fair, sponsored by the organization for interview, stu- to employers that didn’t select time on some days. Large firms sense of work/life balance during Public Interest Law Center, took dents submitted cover letters and them after reviewing their traditionally send eight to twelve their callbacks. In New York, pub- place at NYU beginning on Thurs- resumes to the organizations of resumes. It also provided or- lawyers and recruiters to staff each lic schools do not start until after day, February 5. The Fair, which their interest through the PILC ganizations an opportunity to school’s interview program; with was held over the course of two Career Fair’s website. The orga- meet with more students and so many schools holding their pro- See INTERVIEW page 4 days, is the largest public interest nizations could then select the to advertise their organiza- career fair in the nation. It hosted students they were most inter- tion. Eighty-six organizations students from 21 participating ested in to interview. However, showed up on the first day for law schools from New York, Con- the Fair didn’t just provide for table talk, and 89 participated MALDEF President necticut, New Jersey, and Rhode scheduled interviews; employ- the second day. Island, and 196 employers from ers also took place in an event Student lunches were New York, California, Hawaii, called “table talk.” also offered at the Fair. The Has High Hopes for Illinois, and Texas, among other Table talk gave students a states. These employers included chance to meet with organizations See FAIR page 5 New Administration entitled “National Immigration Policy in the New Administra- Change We Can Breathe In tion,” but he also touched on many other issues facing the nation’s BY DAN MEYLER ’09 administration, through Vice- Journal of Law & Liberty Latino community. Dean Barry Friedman, urged the and the Journal of Law & Trasviña said clearly that In response to a memo editors to send a memo to Dean Business.” he is “optimistic about the new signed by the editors-in-chief Ricky Revesz documenting the According to Paul administration.” He has worked of the law journals and the chair problem. “The school has to O’Grady, Associate Director with President Barack Obama in of Moot Court, the Dean’s Of- respond once there is a written for Student Affairs, contrac- the past, and the story is telling. fice initiated renovations last record,” said Friedman. tors took air-readings and Obama, along with Vice President week to the sub-basement of The “Smell Memo,” as it determined the air quality was Joe Biden and Secretary of State D’Agostino Hall, where the was called by the authors, urged safe, though they acknowl- Hillary Clinton, voted for the journals are housed, to eliminate the school to fix the problem edged the strong, foul stench. Secure Fence Act of 2006, legisla- the foul smell that had long so journals could better build Con Edison sealed off electri- tion Trasviña quipped was better plagued the work space. community by making the jour- cal conduits that supply the named the “Secure Re-election The smell had been described nal offices a pleasant place to building’s main electrical BY MARK WEINER ’11 Act.” The vote angered many of as “garbage-like” and “similar to work and interact. The memo feeds—a potential source of then-Senator Obama’s Chicago raw sewage” by students work- described the problem as “es- the odor—from the outside, A packed crowd filled Van- residents, particularly its Latino ing in the journal offices. When pecially severe for the journals derbilt Hall’s Greenburg Lounge community. To build a bridge with confronted with the problem, the in the center cubicle area, the See ODOR page 5 on Monday, February 9, 2009 for that growing community, Obama the inaugural Bickel & Brewer set up a meeting with MALDEF Latinos and the Law Lecture. John and Trasviña at which he promised Trasviña, Stanford Law School to work together in the future. graduate and president and general “In a non-Senator-like move,” Legal Briefs counsel of the Mexican American Trasviña said, “Mr. Obama then Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), gave a talk See TRASVIÑA page 4 Law professor Peggy Davis, who runs the Lawyer- ing Program at NYU, was named one of the three most influential people in legal education by theNational Jurist. The publication also honored Frederick Schauer Feeling low? Reading about Michael Phelps will get you high. at UVA and David Van Zandt at Northwestern. page 2 Thursday, February 12 saw over 800 individuals For the first time in 42 years, The Commentator in the American legal profession lose their jobs. does some investigative reporting. And it’s about the state of the journals. page 4 Unsurprisingly, the National Law Journal is Infra predicting more layoffs in the coming weeks. See infra page 7 for details on where the fir- Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper ings occurred. beats rock. NYU Law knows this mantra well. page 8 Commentator Op/Eds Page 2 February 18, 2009 Banneth the Laptopeth! Phelps Photo Brings “Just Say No” into Question TO THE ED ITOR : Without the laptop, you take BY MICHAEL MIX ’11 It’s hard fewer notes and then have fewer f o r m e t o I am writing to put an end piles of future trash to sort through When I was in elementary side strongly to the debate over laptops in the come exam time. I am not a glut- school, our cafeteria included a with any of classroom: they should be ruth- ton for punishment. I like to make giant “Just Say No” sign. Made those views. lessly banned from all classes. That studying a streamlined affair (and famous by a Nancy Reagan On one hand, otherwise reasonable people can good lawyers know how to simplify quip, the purpose of the “Just Phelps’s folly even differ over this issue shocks things, right?). It’s easier to study if Say No” campaign was to was a youth- me, but that these reasonable people you have less to study. empower kids to reject drugs. ful indis- would dare speak out in favor of As to the “but class is booooor- Unfortunately for the organiz- cretion that laptops in the classroom causes ing” critique, first: there is nothing ers of the campaign, no one ever many people me to consider folding in half and more boring than the internet. told the students in my school commit fre- placing myself in a soft velour car- Everyone prefers to be actively en- what the sign was for. Instead, quently. On rying case. gaged in something than to be kill- kids used to joke that whenever t h e o t h e r, Here’s why: you’re not sup- ing time reading Slate. But what’s they were in sight of the sign, Phelps is one posed to take any notes in class. No that you say? You have a poor the only word they could say of the most one tells you that as a 1L, and many imagination and can’t get into the was “no.” As in, “Do you prefer famous ath- people come to law school mistaken. way the boring professor teaches? Fruit by the Foot or Fruit Roll- letes in the But there is absolutely nothing to The solution: participate in class.