What the Alumni Say

"I absolutely loved the Legislation Clinic. It taught me more than just the mechanics of a bill. I also got a chance to think through a problem and create a legislative solution. After working in the Massachusetts Senate Counsel's office this summer, I realized that’s how it's done in real life. No one hands you the research and says, “write this.” You have to start with a problem, determine the best solution and then know how to write it."

—Amie Filipchuk (‘06)


“The Legislation Clinic was one of my favorite classes in law school. The Clinic forced me to question all my assumptions about ways to solve my client’s problem. For every assumption, I needed research to back it up or refute it. More often than not, the intensive research refuted the conventional wisdom. It was liberating, in a way, to see the importance of in-depth research in solving such knotty problems. The Legislation Clinic also strengthened my writing and thinking to the point that I can’t imagine what I’d be like without the Clinic. The help of my editor and the critique group proved invaluable to my progress. The problems we worked on the Legislation Clinics also have made great talking points in interviews, at cocktail parties, at dinner with my wife or talking to my parents and family. It makes me feel like my law school education had real-world relevance, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have participated. I’ll take the lessons I learned in the Legislation Clinics with me wherever I go and especially to my clerkship on the Massachusetts Appeals Court.”

—James Kossuth (‘06)


"I flew to California with my client and testified before two Senate committees about a privacy-protection bill I drafted in the Legislation Clinics. The Legislation Clinic's research methodology enabled me to explain to a roomful of state senators why the alternative solutions proposed by top field experts would not adequately protect privacy."

—Zoe Davidson ('04)


"I had a wonderful experience in the Legislative Internship Program. I would recommend it ot students interested in working on state and local issues or who have a general interest in the legislative process. The Legislative Internship Program gave me the opportunity to work hands-on with the staff of a state Senator and insight into the workings of the State House. After I researched an issue and made a recommendation, I had a real chance to get the ear of the Senator and have her adopt my perspective first. The internship was time-intensive, but it was rewarding to be a part of a team and see results at the end of my internship. The Senator and the staff valued my opinions, and it was exciting to see the flurry of activity that accompanies the bill-finding deadline. The class accentuated the experience by demanding thoughtful introspection on what we were learning, primarily by journal-keeping and discussion. The class also dealt with the process of attacking complicated problems with no clear right or wrong answers and many viewpoints."

—Tara Backman ('03)


"I would be happy to speak to any students enrolled in the Legislation Clinics about my AMAZING experience. My proposed legislation advanced to a favorable vote out of committee. Working closely with a state senator's staff, I prepared alternative versions of legislation to deal with a consumer-related issue. After the senator introduced my legislation as separate bills, I testified at a committee hearing. Although neither bill became law [in that session], the senator reintroduced my legislation in the next session, raising the possibility of future passage."

—Adam Falk, Esq. (’99)


"The Legislative Services Clinic [now the General Legislation Clinic] was one of the most positive experiences I had during law school. The process of legislative drafting forced me to investigate beyond the legal implications of the law into the social, economic and political effects of the law. Professors Seidman and Barr guide students through the process as the students become fully engaged in, and responsible for, solving a problem through effective legislative drafting. Now, as a lawyer, I have found this skill crucial to my practice: it has helped me explain to clients the full implications of their decisions before those decisions are made."

—Elizabeth (Cole) Stapp, Esq. (’99)


"The Legislative Services [General Legislation] Clinic provides two wonderful opportunities. First, even if you’ve had no prior legislative experience, the clinic walks you through each step of the legislative drafting process. Concurrently, you are applying what you’re learning in the classroom to the drafting of an actual piece of proposed legislation. Second, the clinic presents a fantastic opportunity to improve your general legal writing skills, due to the precise style of writing necessary in the drafting of any legislation."

—Sherry Ruschioni, Esq. (’99)


"The Legislative Services [General Legislation] Clinic was a really great experience for me, and I would highly recommend it to other law students. It provides students with a wonderful way to complete their cert papers -- drafters have access to an experienced editor whose only role is to help them write a good paper. It’s a really great resource. (As an aside, it also didn’t hurt that the issue of grandparents’ visitation rights – a project of one of the drafters in my critique group – was an essay question on the Mass. Bar exam!) There is no doubt that Bob and Ann Seidman and Cynthia Barr love their work. It shows, and it makes for a great learning environment. The clinic is unique in combining the theoretical and practical aspects of legislative drafting. The chance to draft legislation in response to real issues in the Commonwealth is one of the things that really sets Legislative Services apart from other courses. Also, because it is small and personal, it provides students with a way to meet people both within BU Law and the community. I would be happy to talk with students who have questions about the program; feel free to contact me."

— Elizabeth A.L. Lambert, Esq. (’99)


"Most law school courses focus on how to read cases. The General Legislation Clinic provides the tools to understand and work with statutes, which students then use to address real-world problems for real clients. Additionally, in my experience, my work in the Clinic, both as drafter and editor, improved my writing and analytical skills and prepared me to serve as a judicial law clerk more than any other law school course. My writing and analysis became more precise (and when it was not, my editor let me know it!). Additionally, the regular feedback from my editor and fellow drafters allowed me to create an excellent writing sample for the job search. Also, every judge with whom I interviewed asked numerous questions about my work in the Clinic. I highly recommend that students get involved in this program."

—Gavin Mody, Esq. (’99)


"Legislative Services [the General Legislation Clinic] was one of my most memorable and rewarding law school experiences. It provided me with in-depth knowledge about the making of high-quality and valuable legislation. It also provided me with my first client – a very productive non-profit organization which I continued to work with at my law firm after Legislative Services and law school were long over."

—Kimberly Nuzum, Esq. (’98)