Good morning, and happy Monday! We have officially made it to the last week of classes for the semester! Big congrats to all of our 1Ls for successfully making it through your first semester of law school. To all the 2Ls and 3Ls, the finish line is in sight.
Finals Care Packages Are Here!!
We will be holding our last office hours of the semester today Monday, December 2nd at 1:00 pm in room 204. Our finals care packages will be distributed then, so be sure not to miss it!! We also have some extra free goodies for y'all to pick up! Further, one member of our e-board unfortunately had to take a step back from their duties to the student org, so we will be hosting a special election at that meeting to select a new co-president. Since it is halfway through the year, the e-board has decided to limit this election to current e-board members to ensure continuity. If anyone has any questions about this, feel free to reach out to Jam or Emma for further information.
Here Is a Special Message From Out & About Panelist and BU Prof Viv Etter!!
"Hi folks,
Vivian Etter here. You may remember me from the Out and About panel and networking event this year. Over my time here, I've heard some talk that student will often face identity and expression challenges from professors, especially during their 1L courses, regarding pronouns and other gendered language.
One of my goals, especially post election, is making sure that all LGBT students, out and proud or still finding their path, feel comfortable at this institution, and I want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to feel heard about this. To that extent, i want to lend you my power as a faculty member.
If you or a friend or other student you know has faced such a challenge, or if you have broader concerns about the environment in the school, I would love for us to chat if you are willing. Anything you tell me would be kept in strict confidence and no names would be associated unless a student would request otherwise. I would like a rough bit of data so I can present this to the full faculty, and I have the support of Assoc. Dean Erika George in this endeavor.
If you are interested, please reach out to me at vivetter@bu.edu. If not, please feel free to disregard! Have a great thanksgiving, good luck on your finals, and your upcoming well-earned holiday break!
Join Students at Northeastern Law to Listen to U.S. v. Skrmetti!
The Northeastern Law Center for Public Interest Advocacy and Collaboration in collaboration with the Queer Caucus, is hosting a watch party for the U.S. Supreme Court case U.S. v. Skrmetti. The event will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, in room DK 30 in Dockser Hall (65 Forsyth St). Briefing and an explanation of the case start at 9:30 am, and oral argument begins at 10:00 am. Food and drinks will be provided. This case could have monumental effects on our community as SCOTUS determines whether bans on gender-affirming care for minors violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. A link to listen to oral arguments will be available here. Please remember to take care of yourself and prioritize your mental health.
Further, BU HOMES is hosting aSword & Shield Housing Justice Coalition Meeting on Friday, December 6th from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm in room 204. Food will be provided! Join the City Life/Vida Urbana organizers, Harvard Legal Aid Bureau students and faculty, and peers at BU to discuss the housing justice movement and opportunities to get involved. Sword & Shield is a pro-housing coalition of organizers, law students, and law faculty in the greater Boston area that meets biweekly to discuss the state of the movement, brainstorm new ideas, and build community. This meeting is co-facilitated by BU Law Professor Naomi Mann and an organizer with City Life/Vida Urbana.
Job Alert!
Justice Vickie L. Henry is seeking interns for the Spring 2025 semester. Justice Henry is a BU alum, a former attorney for GLAD, and one of our country's few LGBTQ judges. If you are interested in applying, please send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to Justice Henry's clerk, Jonathan P. Sturr (jonathan.sturr@jus.state.ma.us).
Our friends at the BU Women's Law Association have developed a super helpful handout for 1Ls that has tons of info on networking, diversity fellowships, judicial internships, PI jobs, etc! Check it out here!
OutLaw OUTline Bank!
Thank you to everyone who contributed materials to the OutLaw outline bank! It can be accessed at any time here. Feel free to save a shortcut to your Google Drive for easy access. We will continue to accept outline submissions throughout the year through this form. Let us know if you have any questions!
We hope you all are hanging in there! Reach out to any of our board members if you have questions or concerns about exams. We hope you all have an amazing winter break!!! You all certainly deserve some rest and relaxation.
Interested in Reproductive Justice? Click here to learn more about If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, and click here to join the If/When/How GroupMe. In addition, click here to learn more about the BU Law Health Law Association. BU Law also has a wonderful host of professors who specialize in reproductive justice. If you are interested in potentially doing research with them at any point while in law school, we highly recommend that you reach out via email to start building those connections now. Professors love to talk about their specialties! The BU Program on Reproductive Justice also hires paid full-time, legal research fellows over the summer.
Are You Receiving Enough Emotional and Mental Support?
Check out this spreadsheet for a list of queer / trans / poly / kink / SW - friendly therapists in the greater Boston area. You can also get in contact with BU Behavioral Medicine for more mental health resources. Did you know? They have a number of support groups, including an LGBTQ+ support group. Check them out here! For more information on the bar exam mental health character and fitness questions in other states, check out the ABA guidelines here. Remember, mental health support makes you a better advocate for your clients, as well as yourself.
Scholarship Opportunity!
Per their flyer, “the Dukeminier Awards Student Writing Competition annually recognizes the best law review note written by a student in the field of sexual orientation and gender identity law. The first-place winner will receive the Jeffrey S. Haber Prize for Student Scholarship and an award of $1,000 and will be published within Volume 24 of the Dukeminier Awards Journal of School Orientation and Gender Identity Law.” All law students are eligible! You can view previous winners here. More information can be found in their flyer, which can be accessed here.
Did you know? OutLaw has a sub-chapter for POC students, which recognizes the importance of intersecting identities and provides additional support. For further information, join the LGBTQ+ POC GroupMe here!
Reminder: Law students get free membership to the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association! Check them out further here!
Come hang out with OutLaw in our last meeting of the season. We will be holding a special election as well as playing games and handing out carepackages.
Join us for OutLaw’s General Body Meeting, where we’ll be electing the new board for the upcoming year and voting on an update to our Constitution! This is a great opportunity to get involved, meet fellow members, and help shape the future of our organization. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the leadership team and make a difference!
