KU Law Blog
From Africa to Lawrence and Back: One Student's Journey
Law school was always part of “the plan” for me. I did not know what I wanted from it or what it could give me, though I gave my best guess in my personal statement. When classes began, my thoughts were elsewhere. I had just finished an internship at the U.S. Embassy in Malawi and had…
Law School Gives 2L the 'Swimming Lesson' She Desperately Needs
No one pushed me into the deep end of the pool when I was a tot. I had a fear of drowning and resisted formal lessons because swimming in the deep end terrified me. Today I am a competent swimmer, comfortable enough in the water to know I won’t drown, but I’m never the strongest nor the…
Summer in Bangladesh Yields Scholarship, Philanthropy Opportunities for Students Studying Garment Industry
KU Law students Madeline Heeren and Aqmar Rahman planned to spend the summer after their first year of law school in Bangladesh studying the garment industry. Just weeks before their departure, a commercial building in the capital of Dhaka collapsed, killing 1,129 people and injuring more than 2,…
Student Finds Path to LGBT Advocacy Through KU Law
Jake McMillian didn't think Kansas was a progressive enough place to launch his career, but KU Law proved him wrong. Now, with a year of law school under his belt, he’s working and advocating for LGBT rights in Kansas City and has realized the importance of serving his own state. “…
Three Clinics Later, 3L Flush with Practical Experience and More Focused in Job Search
The University of Kansas School of Law provides students with 13 clinical opportunities. As a nontraditional law student, I find that the clinical opportunities are my favorite experiences at the law school. Over the past three years, I have participated in the Public Policy Clinic, the Externship…
Traffic Court Experience Drives Home Vital Advocacy Skills
My new tie felt like a noose tightening around my neck. The suit chafed against me. I couldn’t breathe. My hands shook. Cold nausea rolled over me. But there was no backing out now. I shuffled my evidence, my notes, anything to keep busy, occasionally glancing to the podium,…
Biodiversity Law in Paradise (1/15/2013)
Every year, the students in Biodiversity Law travel with Professor Andrew W. Torrance to the Virgin Islands (U.S. and British) for an intensive week-long fieldtrip. This is the dispatch from January 15, which originally appeared on Torrance's blog Lexvivo. The Biodiversity Law class began its first…
A Glimpse into the High-Stress World of Planet OCS: From Marine to Law Student
No joke, stepping off that bus was like stepping into another dimension. Behind you was the world you knew: you were familiar with this world, you had a pretty good idea how it worked and you thought you were pretty badass for it. But once your foot left the bus and landed on that hot asphalt…
No Sleeping on The Job: Courtroom Testimony Provides Pivotal Personal Moment for Law Student
Did you know that a billionaire is secretly building a small town near Paonia, Colo., called Bear Creek? You can’t drive up and look at it. There is a gate that you won’t get past without proper identification. If you run into one of the construction workers at a bar, you better hope he…
Student Whistling New Tune After Summer Internship at Big Law Firm
I never planned on working at a law firm. I started law school not knowing if I even wanted to be a lawyer. I didn’t know any attorneys growing up, and I was considerably unfamiliar with the practice of law. As I settled into my life as a law student and began to absorb all of the new subject…