Big Law 101
September 25, 2024
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
This event has passed
Milstein West
1585 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
Understanding the business of law and exploring practice areas are the most important career-related action items for 1Ls interested in the private sector after graduation. Get started by attending OCS’ Big Law 101 on Wednesday, September 25 from 5-8pm!
This event for 1Ls breaks down into three sessions: All students attend the Business of Big Law session with Prof. Westfahl and then students choose two practice area sessions to attend (Session 2: Corporate, Regulatory, or International; Session 3: Litigation, Intellectual Property, or Specialty Area). When you register you, will choose a panel for sessions 2 and 3 – see below for a description of each session. Dinner will be provided.
This event is for HLS 1Ls only and registration is required. The program registration is now full. If you RSVP’d but can no longer attend, please ocs@law.harvard.edu to cancel and allow someone on the waitlist to get your spot. If you have not registered and hope to attend, click the link to register and you will be added to the waitlist.
Persons with disabilities who wish to request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact ocs@law.harvard.edu in advance of the event.
Schedule and Session Descriptions
- Business of Big Law (5:00-6:00 p.m.): Prof. Scott Westfahl will provide a riveting crash course on what you need to know as you start exploring big law.
- Practice Area Session 1 (6:15-7:00p.m.): Choose to attend one of the following panels:
- Corporate/Transactional: Hear from attorneys engaged in the dominant practice in big law, which involves advising established and emerging companies on various transactions, including M&A and IPOs.
- Regulatory: Hear from attorneys advising clients on navigating and complying with federal and state regulations in the healthcare, environmental/energy, antitrust, and media spaces. This is a great panel for students interested in working in DC to attend!
- International: While no one practice area is encapsulated by the term “international law”, hear from attorneys practicing international arbitration, international trade (import-export laws), and cross-border transactions. Much of this work is in New York or DC.
- Practice Area Session 2 (7:15-8:00p.m.): Choose to attend one of the following panels:
- Litigation: Hear from attorneys representing clients in civil or criminal disputes—at trials, in alternative dispute resolution, or during internal or government investigations.
- Intellectual Property: Hear from attorneys engaged in patent prosecution, IP litigation, and transactional IP, and learn when hard science backgrounds are and are not required.
- Specialty Areas: Hear from attorneys practicing in the bankruptcy, labor & employment, real estate, and tax spaces.
1Ls interested in working in the private sector after graduation are strongly encouraged to attend this event. This event will provide the foundation needed for 1Ls to effectively utilize OCS’ “Meet the Firms” program—a college fair-style event to meet big law firms in mid-November.