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For me, there’s a very bright light at the end of this tunnel. I graduate from law school in December and then it’s out into the real world. My experience at Marquette, in the classroom, has been an exceptional one; but until I spent a summer surrounded by practicing  lawyers, writing actual briefs, drafting complaints, and petitioning an out-of-state court for pro hac vice admission, I hadn’t realized how just how clueless I really was. Granted, I could rattle off the elements of adverse possession with the best of ‘em (thanks Parlow), discuss “penumbras” over cocktails, and wow underclassmen with my thorough understanding of International Shoe… but when I showed up for work on my first day and was handed a new-client file and asked to draft a summons and complaint, the only thing I could muster up was a spot-on impression of a deer in headlights. I thought I remembered talking about complaints in a class once (which one was it?) but the task of actually having to write one was overwhelmingly daunting. Luckily for me, the attorney who assigned me ... Read more..

Refugee law does not get all that much attention in the blogosphere, even on the immigration-related blogs, probably because the numbers of refugees and asylees are so low in the context of U.S. immigration as a whole.   This week, though, there was a little discussion of a new study showing that asylum-seekers’ success rates have gone up to about 50%.  The study also confirms that asylum requests (that is, requests for refugee status made by people who are in the United States already) continue to fall.  The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog mischaracterized the study to some extent, asserting that “Recently revealed statistics show that illegal immigration is down. But another method of gaining residence in the U.S. is up: seeking political asylum,” when, as I just explained, asylum requests actually continue to fall.  It is only the rate of success that has gone up. The increased success rate is surely due to the fact that more asylum seekers are finding legal representation:  as the study explains, unrepresented asylum seekers have a success rate of about 11%, while those with attorneys have about ... Read more..

An economic recession can have a big impact on the way couples stay together and how, when, and if they decide to divorce. There’s good news, however, as according to new data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the divorce rate in the U.S. is the lowest that it has been since the early 70s. Add in the fact that affairs are declining, and the it would appear that couples are doing what it takes to make it these days. The news comes via the Wall Street Journal, which reports that the divorce rate dropped from 16.9 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2008 down to 16.4 divorces per 1,000 women in 2009. That number sounds even better when you compare it to the figure from back in 1980, when the divorce rate per 1,000 women was up at 22.4. These numbers come from the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, which regularly publishes reports on marriage and relationships. Professor Bradford Wilcox is the director of the National Marriage Project. He pointed out that there can be a big difference ... Read more..

It is with a bit of fear that I take over the podium as a guest blogger. The thought of coming up with enough substance to satisfy the cravings of an unnamed and faceless reader base is a bit frightening. So, please excuse me if my nervousness shows through in my writing. So, first a bit about me. I have been very fortunate to have had a fantastic fifteen-year career in the hedge fund business (which does make me a bit of a dinosaur in the industry). Most recently, I was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Stark Investments (one of the oldest hedge funds in the world). During my career working in the business, I have done about everything – from providing legal counsel, to co-managing a large portfolio, to ultimately taking responsibility for the execution of the strategic vision and the overall administration of a large organization. I am a 1993 graduate of the Marquette University School of Law (and have to say that I am thrilled at all of the very positive developments at the Law School ... Read more..

Our guest bloggers this month will be Colin Lancaster ‘93 and 3L Kristen Scheuerman.  Many thanks to our August guests Mary Wagner ‘99 and 2L Peter Curran. Read more..