Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support this semester! Legal Studies is thriving as we enter the program's 50th year, with all of our classes for next spring at capacity and many more interested students on waitlists. We are looking forward to our upcoming programming and hope to see many of you on campus next spring!

Are you a Legal Studies alumnus looking to support your former program? We are looking for donations to fund things such as transportation for the Law & Society Internship & Seminar class. Please consider donating.

If you are able, navigate to Brandeis University's online donations page. Select "Choose your Designation(s)" and choose "Other." In the text box "Please indicate your preferred designation(s)," write in "Brandeis Legal Studies Gift Fund." Complete the remaining fields to make your gift.

Checks made out to Brandeis University may be sent directly to the Legal Studies Program, Brandeis University, MS 005, Waltham, MA 02453.

If you choose to send a check, please let us know that you are doing so in an email to our academic administrator, melissamckenna@brandeis.edu.

Ideologies of Mass Incarceration

On November 21st, the Brandeis Educational Justice Initiative co-sponsored a panel with Carceral Awareness, Reform, and Education and Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies. The experts that spoke provided context to the history of incarceration and discussed what could be done moving forward.

The topics discussed included the roots of the carceral system that are based in systemic racism that stems from slavery. It also covered how the system is continuing to build from those violent practices today and how communities of color are still being impacted on the global scale. Some of the specific examples used included the mass incarceration of BIPOC communities, mental health and policing, Asian/AAPI internment camps and surveillance of Muslim communities.

Thank you to all who attended this panel, and thank you to the amazing guest speakers!

Documenting Martial Law

Brandeis Legal Studies students were invited to attend a Zoom meeting on December 3rd covering both documentation that was created during the martial law period and a discussion regarding the early stages of the book publishing process.

The speaker at this talk was Dr. Mark John Sanchez, a professor of Asian American Studies at Vanderbilt University.

Election Night Watch Party

On November 5th, the Legal Studies Program co-hosted a non-partisan election night watch party in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium. Students gathered to watch the election results from 7:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and shared snacks and political discussions. Thank you to everyone who spent their election night with Legal Studies!

LSAT Prep With Hiatt

On November 16, the Brandeis Legal Studies UDRs collaborated with the Hiatt Career Center to hold a LSAT student panel titled "How to Prepare and Navigate". All who attended had the chance to win a free Kaplan LSAT prep course.

At the panel, Brandeis students who have previously taken the LSAT discussed resources that they used to study as well as how they decided when the right time was to take the test.

How Beer Helped Win WWII

A lecture given by Professor Breen took place at the Aeronaut Brewery in Somerville, on Sunday, Nov. 3. In it, Breen talked about how the major American brewers were able to market their 3.2 ABW lagers to the US military, by claiming that they were really not terribly intoxicating, and in fact would be a good source of Vitamin B for the troops (both claims were deeply questionable). 

As a result, the government committed itself to buying 15% of all the beer brewers could produce. Meanwhile, with Americans earning more money on the homefront, beer consumption went up by 50%. All in all, the war was the best of times for the brewing industry, after years of hardship brought on by Prohibition and the Great Depression. There was a large and appreciative crowd at Aeronaut.

Court Opportunity Recruitment for All

Court Opportunity Recruitment for All and is a one stop shop for those interested in state court clerkships, internships, and externships. The federal courts have the OSCAR platform to allow for easy applications to opportunities, but until CORA, no such analog existed for the state courts. For those interested in going to law school, the state courts are a fantastic way to gain experience in the frontlines of justice, where over 98% of the litigation in the country takes place. Working at the trial, appellate, or supreme court level offers a real window into the workings of our nation's courts and is an excellent training ground and career boost. CORA is updated weekly with new opportunities and currently hosts over 100 in roughly 25 states. 

Scoville Peace Fellowship

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship is accepting applications from December 6th to January 6th! This fellowship provides recent alumni with the funding and opportunity to work with one of more than two dozen participating institutions in Washington D.C. These organizations include advocacy groups that focus on international security and diplomacy issues and leading think tanks. Recipients of this fellowship may work on a range of issues including nuclear and conventional arms control and nonproliferation; atrocity prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding diplomacy; emerging technology threats; environmental security; and global health security. This fellowship can include salary, basic health insurance compensation, mentoring, moving costs to Washington D.C., meetings with policy experts, a modest stipend for professional development purposes, and an entry into an increasingly influential network.

This upcoming semester, Professor Melissa Johannes will be joining us to teach "Intellectual Property for Innovators" every Friday. In this class, students will explore how IP touches our everyday lives. This class is interactive and project based, students will have the opportunity to design products, logos & brand names as well as develop an associated IP strategy that will include patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights. We are so excited to offer this course next semester and hope all who enrolled enjoy!

Junior and senior students should consider taking this Heller class next semester!

Professor Breen wore his Legal Studies hoodie for Thanksgiving dinner! Happy holidays to all who celebrate!

Current students: are you interested in purchasing some Legal Studies swag? Please fill out the form linked below to demonstrate your interest and share your preferences!

If you already have some Legal studies merchandise, please send us photographs! We would love to feature you in a newsletter next semester!