By Nick Ahadzadeh, News Editor, & Ryan Stygar

We would like to start this article with a quotation from our favorite author:

“Ahhh, finals season. What a beautiful and joyous occasion.” – No One Ever

Finals are upon us, and they are quite similar to hurricanes – you want to prepare before they actually happen. Because we have already provided Academic Achievement’s exam tips, this time we wanted to give you our student perspective on how to get through finals with your sanity intact. The first set of tips is about study strategies, and the second set is about general study habits.

Continue reading “Student perspective: Advice for finals preparation”

By Oliver Fredrickson

On December 21, 2018, after significant debate in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, President Trump signed the First Step Act into law. Despite falling short of what many criminal justice reformers were anticipating, commentators say that the First Step Act will deliver “the most significant changes to the criminal justice system for a generation.”

Background

Most of us know that the United States has, both per capita and in total numbers, the highest prison population in the world. To emphasise just how far the United States exceeds the rest of the world when it comes to incarceration, take note of the following statistics:

Continue reading “First Step Act signals progress in criminal justice reform”

Meet Pooja Dadhania, California Western’s newest full-time faculty member. Originally from Sterling, Virginia, Dadhania earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. She took Japanese language courses during college, and after graduation, she lived for two years in Kumamoto, Japan, where she taught English to elementary and middle-school students.

After that, she attended Columbia Law School for her J.D. and Georgetown Law School for her L.L.M. In addition to working in private practice, Dadhania has worked at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Now, she teaches civil procedure and immigration/asylum and refugee law at Cal Western.

The Commentary asked Prof. Dadhania about her interests, passions, and experiences:

Continue reading “Q&A: New Professor Pooja Dadhania”

By Sara Gold, Editor-in-Chief

Tyler Marquez was caught by surprise when she finally found out that her scholarly article, which she had submitted to the Food and Drug Law Institute’s annual competition months earlier, had won an award!

Marquez placed third in the Institute’s national Austern Writing Competition, which solicits articles about the legal implications of FDA-regulated industries, including food, drugs, cosmetics, dietary supplements, and medical devices. She submitted her article back in early June.

“From June to October, time passed and I assumed I was not even being considered, so the news was a shock but also a nice surprise,” Marquez said.

Her paper, titled “The Phenomenon of Financial Toxicity: Health Care’s Insatiable Disease,” discusses the negative effect that rising pharmaceutical drug costs have on overall patient health. Continue reading “3L earns prize in national FDA law writing contest”

By Brandon Birungi-Sengendo

On November 10, I attended my first networking event as a law student, the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation’s 42nd Annual Scholarship & Awards Gala. My main motivation for going to this event was to develop a relationship with the black legal community in San Diego. On the night of, I made sure to arrive somewhat early so I could maximize the number of people I could talk to. Plus, there was a hosted wine bar I wanted to get to before the selection thinned out — seeing as I don’t often have a choice of wine options outside of the cheapest bottle I can find, after a long week of hoping not to get cold called.

Continue reading “Finding a sense of my people — my first 1L networking event”

By Jules Copon

On the corner of First and Laurel St. sits the law office of Casey Gerry, one of the most prominent plaintiff’s firms in San Diego. The ornate Mediterranean exterior eases you to the marble and mahogany of the reception area where awards nearly wallpaper the room. Multiple standing plaques displaying “The Best Lawyers in America,” emblazoned in gold, affirms the standard of this powerhouse firm.

Casey Gerry partner Gayle Blatt, our very own CWSL 1985 alumna and member of the CWSL Board of Trustees, gleefully briefs The Commentary on her legal career and various law school memories. Continue reading “Attorney Q&A: Gayle Blatt, Board of Trustees member”