One of the unique aspects of UDM is that it is a Jesuit university. When Detroit College opened in 1877 it was run by the Society of Jesus. The Law school was established in 1812 making this our school’s centennial year. In 1920 Detroit College became the University of Detroit and retained its Jesuit roots. Then in 1990 the University merged with the Mercy College of Detroit run by the Sisters of Mercy, an Irish Catholic Order. This created what ...

One month from now it will all be over. No more classes, no more books and no more teacher’s dirty looks as the rhyme goes. Unfortunately that month involves 2 essays, a drafting assignment, a short memo, a short problem and 2 tests. While it sounds daunting it shouldn’t actual be too bad. I also finally get to go home this week (I haven’t been since Christmas vacation) so it will be great to get to see everyone, spend time at the cottage and get...

As April gets closer, I realize that it will be the last full month I have as a law student.  That is the weirdest feeling in the world.   A close friend from law school asked me and a few other friends last week:  what was your favorite part of law school?  My answer:  (laughter)... There is no single answer, I have loved every minute of it.  Sure I'd be lying if I said it wasnt ridiculously hard, or frustrating a...

The other day I volunteered to help at an open house for prospective students.  This was not the first time (nor the last) but I have come to realize that one of the most common questions asked to me is "How do you do it?"  Each time I am asked that quesion I sort of chuckle to myself because I honestly don't know - I just do. To put this into perspective- I am an evening student and that means I attend classes four nights a week, I al...

Although you can't tell from the weather, Spring is here. We are over the semester hump and getting closer to final exams. This past weekend, we had our 1L Moot Court Competition. It was a lot of fun! Everyone was really nervous going into it, but as soon as it was over, all you heard was how exhilarating the experience was for the competitors. The talk of summer internships is in the hallways, too. This is the time students start to narro...

After such a busy start to the semester (or really first half of the semester) I feel like I’m finally settling back into the normal swing and sway of law school. Last week involved 2 smaller assignments, meeting with a professor about one of my midterms and generally just getting myself sorted out for the rest of the semester; nothing huge or phenomenal but a successful week nonetheless. I was also lucky in that a friend of mine took advantage ...

Generally, daylight savings time comes and goes almost without being noticed.  This year - not so much. I can't believe it is already this time of year and I think I'm still recovering from that lost hour of sleep over the weekend.  That probably sounds a bit strange, but every minute of sleep seems to count these days.  A jam packed calendar is to blame... There are numerous things going on at UDM in the upcoming weeks- the 1L mo...

"Life's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."  This is a somewhat dated reference but the immortal lines uttered by Forrest Gump could equally be applied to work in the Immigration Law Clinic.  At least once each week, students leave the Law School to go out into the community to meet with real people and try to see if we can fix their legal issues.  Last night, we were out in Southwest Detroit at a lo...

I was listening to yesterday's Diane Rehm show and heard the following exchange between a caller named Tina and an economist named Ed Conard.  I've attached Tina's question and Conard's response below so that you can check my characterization of what was said. Basically, Tina's family is well-to-do but frugal.  Tina asked whether her family's low level of consumer spending is the sort of thing that affects the economy in one way or ano...

Well the last two weeks have definitely been a whirlwind. Last weekend featured both the Niagara International Moot and UDM’s annual Barrister’s Ball. After a rocky start on my way to Toronto (who knew there were two Intercontinental Hotels in downtown?), the weekend went pretty smoothly. The competition kicked off on Friday with 4 rounds per team. Our team did well and gathered strength throughout the day. Unfortunately we got out argued by som...