Student Voices

With the turn of the calendar to January, we often wish one another a happy new year. But it has been hard to do so in the past week. As we all reflect on the first days of 2021, I wanted to share a message from our student body co-presidents to the HLS community. I found Noelle and Billy’s words meaningful, and I hope you do too. - Dean Jobson

APALSA works to create community during remote teaching and learning

Each year, HLS students join our community from around the country, and the world. This year's 1L class includes a contingent of students from West Virginia - J.R., Patrick, Arka, and Travis. They connected on Zoom before the semester started. We thought we'd pass along their insight and reflections here on our blog. 

Phebe Hong is a 3L at Harvard Law School. She graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology. Prior to law school, she worked as a consultant advising pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She is a Research Assistant at the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law (PORTAL) and an Articles Editor for the Journal of Law and Technology. Her research interests include FDA regulation of biologics and pharmaceutical patent law.

Admitted students often ask us to introduce them to current students who attended the same undergraduate institution. Last year, a few admitted students who attended women’s colleges asked to speak to current students who also attended women’s colleges. Those connections inspired this blog post. We thought we would interview a few women’s college graduates to pass on their insights more broadly.

It has often been said that you can do anything with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. But that statement is somewhat misleading, because HLS students put their knowledge, leadership, ambition, and blossoming legal skills to use well in advance of graduation. Keep reading to learn more about the exciting and diverse experiences of four of our AFA members from this past summer!

There are plenty of ways to engage with the scholarship and legal conversations that happen here at HLS—including through podcasts. We thought it would be helpful to share some current and recent podcasts that are of interest to anyone considering becoming a lawyer or applying to HLS.

Students enrolled in the HBS/HLS four-year joint degree program come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Many are interested in pursuing careers that operate at the intersection of business and law, and they seek to utilize the resources that are offered throughout the program. Reshma Lutfeali (JD/MBA 2021) and Viroopa Volla (JD/MBA 2021), co-presidents of the JD/MBA Association, offer their perspectives on the program and what they have learned about the HLS/HBS joint degree.

As I reflect back on my first year at Harvard Law, I undoubtedly believe I made the right choice in picking a law school.

I’ll be honest: I’m incredibly attached to the members of the Class of 2021 that I admitted off the waitlist in summer 2018. They’re amazing. And one of them has some advice for you.

As my first year at HLS is coming to a close with COVID-19 affecting the world, I still believe that my decision to transfer to HLS was the right one.

Deciding whether to transfer law schools is an incredibly daunting decision that affects the course of your entire life (trust me, I know).

One of the numerous student groups here at Harvard Law School is Mock Trial. We recently sat down with co-presidents of the HLS Mock Trial team Tiffany Li ’21 and Nick Beachy ’21 to ask some questions and learn more about this unique organization.

I believe the learning and perspective I gained from participating in both programs made my time at Harvard significantly more fruitful.  Without HKS, I do not think I would have gotten the deep dive into international relations that I was looking for, and without HLS, I wouldn’t be a lawyer who plans to (at least for now) tackle complex international problems in international courts of arbitration.

There are many paths to law school. Increasingly, people choose to take a year or two off before pursuing their law degree. Many choose to use those years to gain work experience in banking or consulting, others work for non-profits or in public service roles,… and some spend six years earning a Ph.D. in the humanities.

Last week, you learned about the HLS dorms. This week, we’re featuring a unique housing opportunity at HLS: serving as a residential advisor for undergraduate students at Harvard College. All residential advisors at Harvard College are graduate students, known as “proctors” for first-year students and “tutors” in the twelve undergraduate Houses (where sophomores, juniors, and seniors live).

Over the coming weeks, we’re going to feature some of the places you can live while you are at Harvard Law School. First up: the on-campus dorms. HLS dorm options include Hastings Hall (one- and two-bedrooms), North Hall (singles), the “Woodframes” houses, or the Gropius Complex (singles).

Current students Reiley and Katie traveled to Utah last month to meet with students at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Read about their trip, and their reflections on supporting Latter-day Saint women aspiring to Harvard Law School.

"Every time I speak with prospective HLS students, I offer the same piece of advice: look up every once in a while. It’s so easy to get completely caught up in reading, studying, journals, clubs, etc., but I think it’s vital to set all of that aside every once in a while and appreciate what an enormous privilege it is to be at HLS."

The Harvard Association for Law and Business (HALB) recently went to Tokyo, Japan on their third annual International Trek. We sat down with Ope Adebanjo '20, Genevieve Antono '21, Leo Ding '20, Elizabeth Ferrie '19 and Caroline Shinkle '20 to learn more about their trip.