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Student Life

Be energized outside the classroom

Education goes beyond academics. The Law Tower constantly hums with social events that bring the fine art of diversionary tactics to a new level. You can join any of the 30-plus student organizations—ranging from the International Law Society to the Communication, Entertainment & Sports Law Association—to explore mutual areas of interests with JDs and other LLM students.

You’ll explore Boston and New England’s myriad diversions through a full schedule of social events:

  • International potluck dinner
  • Ski trip to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine
  • Internationally themed dinners at local restaurants
  • Spirit of Boston harbor cruise
  • Outlet mall shopping trip
  • Scavenger hunt through the City of Boston
  • An evening of skating at the Boston Common Frog Pond

You’ll be tempted by coffeehouses, yoga classes, Student Appreciation Days, holiday parties, social hours, the annual Public Interest Auction, and the annual Legal Follies student musical production, which pokes fun at BU Law.

You’ll take time out for:

  • Brown-bag lunches with professors, prominent outside speakers and alumni discussing current legal topics.
  • Lectures by visiting experts in BU Law’s Intellectual Property Speaker Series and Law & Economics Seminar Series.
  • Major conferences, such as “Shapiro Lecture: Ground Zero for Justice,” in which Naval Commander Suzanne Lachelier (JD ’92) discusses her experiences as a member of the JAG Corps representing Guantánamo Bay prisoners, or “The Role of Fiduciary Law in the 21st Century,” a conference inspired by the work of BU Law Professor Tamar Frankel.
  • Focused programs and events such as Diversity Week.
  • Sporting events and popular music concerts at Agganis Arena, such as our Terrier hockey and basketball games, figure skating, gymnastics, boxing and tennis, and such musical guests as the White Stripes, Alicia Keys, and Daughtry.
  • Exercising your body as well as your mind at the University’s state-of-the-art Fitness & Recreation Center. BU offers more than 80 classes and workshops, personal fitness services and intramural sports. Or join one of BU Law’s own athletic clubs, including rugby, hockey and running.

The Student Government Association (SGA) is the governing body for students at BU Law. The SGA is responsible for planning schoolwide events, advocating on behalf of students, and allocating student activity fees funds to student groups. Each year, two LLM students are elected to serve in a non-voting capacity on BU Law’s Student Government Association, keeping the LLM community involved.

Additional student organizations include:

Journals

You can gain first-hand exposure to legal scholarship. BU Law hosts six legal journals run by JD students. These publications invite scholarly work from the legal community and afford students the opportunity to make their own contributions.

  • Boston University Law Review
  • American Journal of Law & Medicine
  • Review of Banking & Financial Law
  • Boston University International Law Journal
  • Public Interest Law Journal
  • Journal of Science & Technology Law

Career Preparation

The Career Development & Public Service Office

The Career Development & Public Service Office (CDO) will provide you with the advising and resources you need to achieve your goals. All of our career advisors are experienced attorneys with diverse legal backgrounds who will work with you throughout your three years as well as after you graduate. The CDO’s online appointment system allows you to make appointments easily with the advisor of your choice at a time that is convenient for you.

Through individual advising and scores of programs each year, you can work with our CDO team to identify your career goals, explore the world of law, learn how to approach a job search, and take advantage of the many resources available to you, inside and outside of the law school, with alumni and other employers.

Our career programs introduce you to the vast range of career options and practice settings in the United States and around the world. We host attorneys from private practice in large, mid-size and small law firms; public interest organizations; federal, state and local government agencies and legislatures; federal and state courts; businesses; and other alternative career paths.

Along with meeting attorneys, you can attend workshops that will help you master the nuts and bolts of the job search, for internships and permanent jobs, including conducting research about employers, networking, preparing résumés and cover letters, and honing interviewing skills.

More than 250 employers from across the country participate in BU Law recruitment programs. A large number come to the BU Law campus to interview students through our Fall On-Campus Recruitment Program. Many additional employers interview BU Law students in our regional recruiting programs in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles as well as through our two major government and public interest job fairs held annually in Boston.

The CDO also runs the BU Law Pro Bono Program. BU Law students are invited to participate in our voluntary pro bono program and to make a pledge to perform a minimum of 35 hours during their three years in law school. Upon completion of the pledged pro bono hours, students will receive a notation on their law school transcripts attesting to their participation in the program and stating the number of hours volunteered. There are a variety of ways in which BU Law students can get involved right here in Boston through our partner nonprofit organizations as well as in organizations throughout the country and the world. The law school also annually hosts a number of pro bono spring break trips, and gives awards to faculty, students, and alumni for their pro bono work.

LLM Career Advising

BU Law has an unwavering commitment to the career success of its LLM students. We offer a variety of programs and job search activities for LLM students, including workshops on job searches, professional etiquette, résumé and cover-letter drafting, networking and interviewing skills. We also organize career-related panels and speakers from specialized areas of practice. The Graduate & International Programs Office includes a full-time assistant director for professional development who works exclusively with LLM students. Students receive individualized counseling to help them design job searches and market themselves to the legal community.

You’ll be in touch with the world of U.S. legal practice through the annual “LLM Discovery Series” consisting of visits to law firms, companies, courthouses and government agencies where BU Law alumni practice.

LLM students and alumni have access to BU Law’s online job posting site, which includes openings for internships and permanent positions. Foreign-trained LLM students are invited to participate in the annual International Student Interview Program (ISIP), which draws more than 200 potential global employers to New York City each year.

Students enrolled in the Graduate Tax Program participate in our annual Tax Attorney Recruiting Event (TARE)—held in Washington, D.C.—a job fair targeted to recruiting for positions in law firms, government agencies, corporate legal departments and all “Big 4” accounting firms. LLM students also have access to BU Law’s comprehensive career resources library and receive materials specifically tailored to their unique job search needs. After graduation, individual career advising remains available to support your lifelong career development.

Libraries

BU Law’s Pappas Law Library contains one of the largest law school research collections in the United States. You will have access to more than 650,000 volumes and thousands of licensed electronic resources for both legal and interdisciplinary research. You may also use other Boston University libraries, including Mugar Library, adjacent to BU Law, and the Pardee Management Library.

Law librarians teach basic and advanced legal research classes, provide daily research assistance to law students in person, by chat, and email, and meet with students in research consultations for papers. Library news and updates are available through a popular library blog, Facebook, Twitter, and a mobile website.

The Law Library is a member of several consortia with other major law libraries in New England and New York that share scholarly resources through document delivery services.

Technology

BU Law houses four computer labs with Windows 7-based computers. A wireless network is available in the Law School and in many coffee shops and gathering places on campus with service to the Internet, email, LexisNexis, Westlaw, a wide variety of Web-based research resources and interactive products from the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. You’ll also have free access to a wide variety of computing resources through Boston University’s Information Technology Office.

Related Bulletin Pages

Beyond the Bulletin