Networking Tip #2

As I start to upload the photographs and type up my testimonials of the conference, I'd like to share with you Networking Tip #2: Building Relationships.

After you've exchanged business cards with a new contact, what happens next? Well, I've found this website to be very helpful. It offers great advice on how to build your network and develop relationships with your contacts. For me, the most important thing is to be genuine!

Time to say goodbye to the NAPABA 2011 Convention.

It's our final night here in Atlanta at the 23rd Annual NAPABA Convention. It has been a great three days of chatting with other law students, attorneys and judges. We have learned so much about the progress and successes of the APA community that we want to share this with all our members back in snowy MN (yes, I know we missed the first snow of the season).

So check in regularly to catch our review of the Convention. I will be uploading pictures and including testimonials of the panels and events we attended, bios of the different speakers present and the types of opportunities out there for law students. Though only two WM students could attend this year's Convention, we hope that our experience will entice you to attend next year's.

In fact, I want you all to save the date! The NAPABA 2012 Convention will be held in Washington D.C. at the JW Marriott from November 15th to the 18th.

For more information about this year's Convention, head on over to the Office of Multicultural Affairs and check the news stand. I will be leaving copies of the Convention materials (I apologize for my scribbles!) in the office. Again, check the blog in the next few days for posts on NAPABA Atlanta 2011.

A final good night to Atlanta, to NAPABA and to all the awesome folks we've had the pleasure of meeting!

Minneapolis Board of Education seeks candidates for vacancy

MINNEAPOLIS – Effective January 10, 2012, due to the resignation of Lydia Lee, a vacancy will exist on the Minneapolis Board of Education. In accordance with MPS Policy 8116, the Board of Education will fill this vacancy by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term from January 10, 2012, to January 2013. The vacancy is an at-large seat and may be filled by any resident of the city of Minneapolis.

Interested candidates may submit a letter and resume to:

Adrienne Jordan, School Board Liaison
807 N.E. Broadway, Room 109
Minneapolis, MN 55413

To learn more about the selection process and timeline for filing the vacancy, visit http://bit.ly/board-vacancy, contact Adrienne Jordan at 612-668-0027 or adrienne.jordan@mpls.k12.mn.us.

Women in the Law Panel.

NAPABA-MN Website Updated!

Have you checked out NAPABA-MN's updated website? The website can now be viewed in different formats, allowing you to select how you want to access information. I highly recommend trying the 'Flipcard' format if you're a fan of Post-Its and cue cards.

The NAPABA-MN website is a great hub to learn about upcoming NAPABA events, jobs postings and news in the APIA community.

Multicultural Shabbat Dinner this Friday!

The Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA) invites you to join us for our annual Shabbat Dinner, on November 11th at 5:00 pm in the auditorium.

This year, the event is generously co-sponsored by LLSA, APALSA, Out!Law, NALSA, STAND and the Multicultural Affairs Office. We’ll be providing a family-style dinner, that will be kosher and have vegetarian options, as well as wine and challah.

Diversity PLP credit available.

Families, significant others, and alumni are welcome. Please sign up in the Multicultural Affairs Office and indicate how many guests you plan to bring.

Space is limited, so sign up as soon as possible!

Hope to see you there!
-JLSA

The ABA 2011 Judicial Clerkship Program

Message from William Mitchell's Office of Multicultural Affairs. 

ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline

ABA Judicial Division

The ABA 2011 Judicial Clerkship Program

February 2 – 4, 2012

New Orleans, Louisiana

Students from disadvantage and underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to participate in this worthwhile opportunity to network with judges and former law clerks from all over the country. The Judicial Clerkship Program simulates the clerkship experience that is aimed at addressing several important issues regarding clerkships, including what judicial clerks do on a daily basis, career options, how to apply for a judicial clerkship, and the benefits of clerking.

You have an opportunity to attend the ABA Clerkship program by submitting the following:

• A Resume

• An essay in 500 words or less on “Does the Death Penalty Deliver Justice?”

• A brief statement on why this opportunity would be beneficial to your law school experience.

Please submit the information to the Multicultural Affairs Office by November 7, 2011 on or before 5:00 p.m.

Forum on Unit 731 this Sunday.

There will be a public forum on Unit 731 and its germ and biochemical warfare at Macalester College at 5:30 pm on Sunday, Nov. 6. The speakers are experts from Harbin where the headquarters of Unit 731 was located. 

Mitchell in New York!

Mitchell in New York is a reception for alumni, friends, and prospective students of William Mitchell College of Law. If you're in New York City on November 7th be sure to be there!

For details RSVPing and location, please click here!

Law Beyond Borders

We will be offering a new J-term course this year titled Law Beyond Borders.  Professors Winer, Konar-Steenberg, Port and Erstling will offer a 5 day, 3 hours a day course exploring the notion of international and comparative law and what Mitchell students need to know about these areas.  This course may act as a feeder into the international and/or comparative law course offerings at the law school.  There is no prerequisite.  Naturally, because Professor Erstling 

and I are involved, two of the 5 days will focus on intellectual property.

Note from: 
Kenneth L. Port
Professor of Law and
Director, Intellectual Property Institute
William Mitchell College of Law
SSRN: http://ssrn.com/author=444675

South Asian Immigration Roundtable

The Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans is organizing an immigration roundtable focusing on the South Asian community on Wednesday, November 9. To learn more about the event, please click here.

The Midterm Mark

It's Tuesday after Fall Break, which means we've just passed our midterm mark of the semester! Many law students say midterm break is the best time (or the latest!) to start outlining.

What type of outliner are you?
I'm more of an outline-as-you-go kinda gal. But whatever type you may be, outlines are incredibly useful for reviewing and studying.

Do you need tips on starting or honing your outlines? Missed one of the Outlining workshops? Well, contact Professor Zusman at sally.zusman@wmitchell.edu. Let her know what you need help with and arrange a meeting with her.

Chinese Language Club coming to Mitchell!

大家好！APALSA will be starting its first Chinese Language Club. Members can come and practice their Chinese with other Chinese speakers.

If you're interested in another language (such as Hmong, Japanese or Korean), please send an email to christina.wong@wmitchell.edu.

Keep posted for more details!

Forum to Focus on Racial Disparities in Justice System

     The Minnesota Judicial Council’s Committee for Equality and Justice will co-host the Council on Crime and Justice's 2011 Minnesota Justice Forum, "Racial Disparities: Crafting Solutions," on Oct. 18.  The program will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Law School, 229 19th Avenue South, West Campus, Mondale Hall, Lockhart Hall, Room 25, in Minneapolis.

This year’s program, also co-hosted by the Institute on Race and Poverty, will focus on identifying racial disparities in Minnesota's criminal justice system, learning about new research, and developing new solutions together.

     Speakers will include: Judge Pamela Alexander, President, Council on Crime and Justice; Judge Tanya Bransford, Fourth Judicial District; John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney; Richard Frase, Professor of Criminal Law; Rena Moran, State Representative; Perry Moriearty, Clinical Professor of Law; Myron Orfield, Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Institute on Race & Poverty; Kevin Reitz, Professor of Criminal Law; Michael Tonry, Professor of Criminal Law; Christopher Uggen, Professor of Sociology; and Judge Wilhelmina Wright, Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Additional information and registration  

    

     The Council on Crime and Justice convenes the Minnesota Justice Forum to bring policymakers and the community together to develop and implement ideas that will make the criminal justice system work better for all Minnesotans.

Domestic Violence in Minnesota's Asian Community

Intellectual Property Scholarships

Application Deadline is November 4

We are pleased to announce that several IP scholarships are now open for applications.

Submit complete applications in the Financial Aid Office, Room 120, Attention:  Patty Harris no later than 5:00 pm November 4, 2011.

1. Completed Named Scholarship Application Cover Sheet (http://web.wmitchell.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/named-scholarship-application-instructions/)
2. Resume
3. Personal statement no longer than two pages addressing your qualifications and interest in the scholarships.

Criteria:

Baker Intellectual Property Law Scholarship

• All intellectual property students enrolled at William Mitchell
• Students must be in good academic standing and must show a commitment to pursuing a career in intellectual property law following their graduation
• Preference given to part-time students, and those serving in or honorably discharged from the United States military

Michael D. Schumann and Min (Amy) S. Xu IP Scholarship

• Preference given to students from China with an interest or background in intellectual property law.  If there are no candidates from China who meet this criteria, then students from Asia may be considered.
• Students must be in good academic standing

Welter Intellectual Property Scholarship

• Students of good academic standing in the intellectual property program

Barbara A. Wrigley IP Scholarship for Women

• Female students of good academic standing in the intellectual property program
• Preference given to women pursuing IP as a second career

WM's Thomas Tang Moot Court Teams Perform Well at Regionals!

    Our Thomas Tang Moot Court teams represented Mitchell very ably at the October 7-8 regional competition in Chicago.  Ten teams from six schools participated in the competition. 

    Jason Teiken and Tara Kalar wrote the fourth-best brief.  In the preliminary rounds, Jason and Tara argued against the Loyola team that eventually defeated the other Loyola team for the championship and against the Chicago-Kent team that came in fourth.  Jonathan Fischer and Laura Bantle argued in the preliminary rounds against the Illinois team that came in third and against the Hamline team.

     For their invaluable assistance as practice-round judges, our contestants and I are extremely grateful to Lindsey Andersen, Brad Colbert, Sarah Deer, Eric Goodemote, Doug Heidenreich, Mark Hellie, Jill Kalogerson, Ken Port,  Deborah Schmedemann, Mike Steenson, Edward Toussaint, and Tony Winer.  Also, special thanks to Renate Behrendt for handling the logistics.

     Special congratulations to our treasurer, Laura, for her performance at Regionals!

     To learn more about the Thomas Tang Moot Court at Mitchell, please click here.

APALSA's 1st General Meeting of the Year.

Forbes Recognizes Grand Avenue!

Forbes has listed Grand Avenue as one of the prettiest neighborhood in America! Mitchell is really lucky to have the historic beauties of Summit and Grand so close by. So, take a little study break today, enjoy the sunshine and take a nice stroll on Grand.

The First STAND Auction: A Total Succcess

On Wednesday, September 28, the multicultural student organizations on campus held a silent auction to raise funds for more events that raise diversity. To learn more about the auction, please click here.

Dressing the Part: For the Ladies

As you start your legal career in law school you soon realize that image does in fact matter. If you want to be seen as a professional and be taken seriously you have to look the part. This is especially important if you have an interview for an internship or job, or if you have a networking event or function to attend.

I would like to share with the female APALSA members this wonderful site. My mentor told me about this site the summer before I started law school. Some of the items mentioned are outside the price-range of most law students, but they do offer great tips on how a professional woman should be dressing and carrying herself. Do check it out!

Congratulations to Judge Jacqueline Nguyen!

On Thursday, President Obama nominated Jacqueline H. Nguyen to the United States Court of Appels for the ninth circuit.

To learn more about Judge Nguyen, take a look at this article from Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP).

I haven't had any graded assignments yet, so I don't know how well I'm doing...

Is that what you're thinking? Are you the type of student who tracks his or her progress through assignments from the teacher? If you are, law school must be driving you nuts now. We are one month into the semester. And some students have midterms in the next few weeks. If you want to track your progress you've got to take the initiative and do it yourself. The best way to do that is to get a hold of past exams!

Past exams are helpful in many ways. Past exams from your professors tell you what they're exam style is, which allows you to start writing and thinking in that style. Past exams are also great practice tools. Just because you know the elements to battery or assault does not necessarily mean you know how to apply those elements to a new fact pattern. It's very important in law school to practice your analysis. If you can't express yourself well to another person then it doesn't matter what you know.

And where can you find past exams? The library has a collection of past papers sorted by professors. Look under the Quick Links column and you'll see it. Professor Zusman from the Academic Achievement Program also has pass exams. And of course, ask your professors! They are there to help you as best as they can. They want you to succeed.

After you've taken a past exam, take note of which parts you had problems with. Go to your professor and ask him or her to look it over. I cannot stress how important it is to get teacher-feedback! These are the people who are grading your work. You want to know what they want from you.

Well, I hope this has been helpful! If there are any questions you want us to tackle, contact us.

TEN Tickets to the NAPABA-MN Gala on Mitchell

William Mitchell has purchased ten tickets for students to attend the Annual NAPABA-MN Gala on October 6th. If you will like to be one of the ten lucky students attending the event for free, sign-up up at the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Hmong New Year 2011 in the Twin Cities

For more information, click here.

The 2011 Welcome Reception for New & Returning Multicultural Students

Remember that Reception I mentioned two posts back? Well, here's the link with highlights and photos from the event. Do check out the photos! They were taken by our Assistant Dean and Director of Multicultural Affairs, Lawrencina Mason Oramalu.

And of course, special thanks to Sharon Van Leer and Beryl Rourke for coordinating this event!

Furthering A Culture of Respect CLE

On Wednesday, November 9th, the University of St. Thomas School of Law is hosting a CLE event that might interest some of you. William Mitchell's very own Judge Edward Touissaint will be one of the moderators at the event.

But what is a CLE? CLE stands for continuing legal education. In some states, CLE participation is required of an attorney to maintain his or her license to practice law.

If you're interested in attending, please click on the link and register.

Networking Tip #1

Last night, the Office of Multicultural Affairs had its Welcome Reception for New & Returning Students. And it was a great! Returning students chatted with 1Ls and offered advice on classes and professors. Professors and deans were also there to welcome the new students. It makes me happy to see how William Mitchell continues to be diverse and culturally inclusive. Many of our multicultural alumni attended last night, and they also offered this advice (or warning!) to the 1Ls:

Today is the day you start looking for a job!

Events like these are great for networking. In fact, it's the primary purpose. Law students forget that other than reading for classes, briefing and outlining that we need to think about life after law school. The economy still isn't doing too well, and so it's difficult to land a job after graduation. This means putting yourself out there!

One useful tool to aid you in networking is a business card. It contains your contact information in a sleek little hard-copy format. How do you go about getting business cards? Go to Career Services and ask them about it. When I had my cards made last year, the school used the company below.

Rapid Printing, Inc.
2520 W. Larpenteur Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55113
(651) 644-9766
debbie@rapit.com

I hope this has been helpful. APALSA wants its students to be successful and competitive, so keep checking the website for more useful tips! If you want us to cover something specific, email us!

APALSA's Annual Welcome Dinner: The 2011 Edition

Last Saturday, APALSA held its Annual Welcome Dinner at Mai Village Restaurant in St. Paul. In attendance were 1Ls, returning students, alumni, professors, and deans from the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The event was a great success! We had great conversations over delicious Vietnamese-styled dishes.

If you weren't able to attend the event, do not fret. Check your inbox, the Docket or this blog for event updates. Don't miss out on our other events this year!

Below are some pictures from the event. I apologize for not having more pictures. Once we kick-started the event it was really difficult to tear away from the conversations. 

Education Forum on Asian Pacific Minnesotans

On Saturday, October 1st, the Minnesota Department of Education and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans are having a community forum on the hidden educational achievement gap for Asian Pacific students of Minnesota.

I encourage students to attend the event and learn about a major issue that is affecting the Asian Pacific community in Minnesota.


For more information, please click here. And don't forget to RSVP!

Annual Multicultural Mixer 2011!

Come join several of Mitchell’s multicultural groups for an evening of fun at Salut American Bar on Grand Avenue! Multicultural groups, including BLSA, APALSA, NAPSLA, LLSA, Golf Club, Construction Law, Delta Theta Phi will be joining together to provide free appetizers and beverages. 


So come enjoy an afternoon of fun and get to know other Mitchell students. We will be there from 3PM-6PM this Friday, September 23, 2011.

2011 NAPABA-MN Annual Gala

The NAPABA-MN Gala is on Thursday, October 6th. This is a great opportunity for students to meet and network with attorneys and to get involved with APIA legal community in the Twin Cities. I highly encourage students to attend the event.

The cost of admittance for students is $25 (which covers NAPABA-MN's annual membership fee).

For more information about the event, click here.

It's a new academic year!

Dear followers!

It is my honor to introduce to you the APALSA board of 2011-2012:

President: Christina Wong

Vice-President: Keecha Chang

Treasurer: Laura Bantle

Secretary: Mari Kempton

1L Representatives: Joseph Koe & Khoi Nguyen

Please bookmark our blog or add us to your Google Reader to get-up-date information involving APALSA, NAPABA-MN and the APIA community in the Twin Cities.