Rachel Kleinman, 2L

Associate Editor

Chris Bignell, 2L proudly spent his summer working as a research assistant for professor David Campbell in Durham, United Kingdom, helping to write a hot-button paper that examines the usefulness of the Clean Development Mechanism (a product of the Kyoto Protocol designed to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries). Bignell worked 40 hours per week through June and July, and earned a meager $11.85 per hour, but enjoyed his experience thoroughly nonetheless. Upon completion of his work for Prof. Campbell, Bignell spent about three weeks touring Europe. When asked about the worst part of his summer experience, Bignell took pause … “that I had to pay for my flight?” Bignell reluctantly conceded. “It was really just incredible all the way around.”

By contrast, 2Ls Arthur Latz-Hall, Ben Gross, and Sofya Petrukhin spent the summer completing their 1L coursework at Cardozo, studying Civil Procedure with professor Martin Flaherty (visiting from Fordham University) and Property with professors Stewart Sterk and Jonathan Nash (visiting from Emory University) from the end of May through mid-August. Latz-Hall and Petrukhin lament the lack of vacation time and income the summer at Cardozo afforded them, but Latz-Hall found a silver lining in the opportunity to expand his social horizons. Specifically, Latz-Hall appreciated the opportunity to get to know students who were not in his section last year. While Latz-Hall and Petrukhin focused exclusively on academics, Gross worked an additional ten hours per week during June and July as a research assistant to former Dean David Rudenstine. “It was nice,” Gross said, “and I’d recommend research for part-time students in the future.” Gross counts flexible hours, resume-building, and “getting paid” among the job’s best perks, and mentions Prof. Flaherty’s jokes and “crazy demeanor” as his favorite things about taking classes at Cardozo over the summer.

The experiences of rising 2Ls this past summer were as varied as the class members themselves. While David Adelsberg, 2L worked as a judicial intern for Justice Joan A. Madden in the New York State Supreme Court, Civil Division from the end of May through July, his classmate, Eric Katz, 2L, worked at the union-side labor firm Spivak Lipton LLP from the beginning of June through the beginning of August. Both Adelsberg and Katz enjoyed the summer and gained invaluable professional experiences at the same time. Adelsberg recalls sitting behind Justice Madden during a jury trial as one of his favorite opportunities of the summer, while Katz appreciated the general opportunity to learn more about labor issues and receive career advice from like-minded attorneys. Ryan Wanttaja, 2L, on the other hand, spent the months of June and July interning at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS). Wanttaja enjoyed his time at ACS, citing as the best part of his internship, “the opportunity to go to court,” where he learned, among other important lessons, “that every good litigator should have a pair of glasses to whip off when asking a dramatic question.” Wanttaja describes his internship as “generally pretty fun” despite “the whole waking up and having a job thing,” but looks forward to returning to Cardozo for the fall semester, exclaiming “I’m gonna get my Corporations!”

Among the complaints cited by 2Ls about their summer experiences were insufficient pay, insufficient vacation time, and getting cold-called by Prof. Sterk. Says Wanttaja, who counts his wedding in Pennsylvania as the highlight of his summer, “I like[d] the job, but going into work everyday knowing I’m not getting paid can be a bit rough.” Meanwhile, summer student Latz-Hall named “exams” as the most regrettable part of his summer school experience, and Adelsberg and Wanttaja loathed the mundane nature of waking up early every morning and going to work. Still, Adelsberg points out one of the benefits of his summer job, as opposed to school, was having his evenings and weekends free to spend as he pleased.

Despite their array of summer experiences, when queried about their feelings regarding returning to Cardozo in the fall, the consensus among 2Ls was overwhelming. Gross, Petrukhin, and Latz-Hall all look forward to taking classes they chose for themselves now that their prescribed coursework is complete. Still, Gross admits he has some reservations about beginning the fall semester if only because he thinks he “will still be a little burnt out from summer class and work.” And although Adelsberg expressed some anxiety about getting back into the academic grind, he and Katz are also excited to see their friends and classmates back on campus. Katz explains, “I’m looking forward to seeing the Class of 2011 take leadership roles around the Cardozo community. I’m excited about the type of contributions we can make to the school and to the academic experience. Plus, it’s a wonderful feeling not being a 1L [anymore].”