The Serbian Bar Association of America (SBAA) awards scholarships to law students who are of Serbian birth, ancestry, or connubial relationship. Applicants must submit an essay of no more than 250 words detailing how they plan to use their legal education within the Serbian American community and submit a certified copy of their law school transcript.

Deadline: September 13, 2010
Award: 4 scholarships ranging from $500 to $2000
Contact: Anastasia Pavich
Email: apavich@monicopavich.com
Website and Application: http://www.serbbar.org/scholarship/

On Thursday, August 26, there will be an information session presented by UC Berkeley’s Residence Affairs Unit regarding establishing California Residency for tuition purposes. Students currently billed as nonresidents but planning to appeal their residency status for 2011-2012 should attend this informal lunch period gathering from 12:45 -1:45 in Room 100 Boalt. The impact of working out of California this summer and tips for completing the appeal will be discussed by the presenter. There will be time for questions and answers.

If you have any questions,  please contact the Financial Aid Office
financial-aid@law.berkeley.edu
510-642-1563

Berkeley Law Financial Aid

The 2048 Project at Berkeley Law is working on a restatement of international human rights documents into an International Bill of Rights that could be enforceable in the courts of all countries. A structure similar to the European Convention on Human Rights which is enforceable in the courts of 47 countries is being considered.

Starting this Thursday, August 19, the Project is having weekly meetings EVERY THURSDAY in ROOM 145 from 4:00 - 5:30 to work on the draft document which can be seen at www.2048.berkeley.edu. All students, faculty and staff are welcome, with or without experience in human rights. Food and drink will be served in an informal, brainstorming, setting.

The Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law is looking to fill an articles editor position. The position is available to 2L’s and 3L’s. For more information, contact the Editor in Chief at bjcl@law.berkeley.edu

Didn’t get a Yellow Planner this year? Did you know that you can access the same information online at www.thezonelive.com?

• Go to http://www.thezonelive.com/
• Type Boalt for School under the Students, Parents, Teachers section and click Search.
• Click the link for Boalt Hall.
• The calendar sidebar link displays the same events as in the paper planner. The calendar contains law school events and deadlines as well as holidays.
• The handbook sidebar link displays a PDF copy of the Student Handbook. The Handbook includes the Academic Rules, the Academic Calendar and condensed Directory of Law School Persons and Departments.

Happy planning!

Professor Fred Smith is seeking two to three research assistants for the upcoming school year to assist with research in a range of constitutional areas, including: Section 2 of the 14th Amendment; the Guarantee Clause; sovereignty; campaign finance; housing rights; voting rights; and marriage rights. If interested please e-mail the following to fsmith@law.berkeley.edu: your resume; a list of other extracurricular commitments this fall; two faculty references; and a paragraph about which areas of potential research interest you the most and why.

Professor Elisabeth Semel is in need of a research assistant who is available approximately 10 hours a week, preferably for the entire academic year. Projects include research for a chapter on race discrimination in jury selection.

Please send resumes to Professor Semel at esemel@law.berkeley.edu

Textual extraction and analysis of large numbers of electronic documents for new research project for BCLBE.

Requirements: Good communication skills, experience in programming in Perl, Phthon, and C++ preferred; some experience in understanding legal regulations and documents.

Salary: $14.45-$18.25; 15-20 hours per week.

Please send resume to Eric Talley, etalley@law.berkeley.edu

Sidley Austin LLP has been one of the most prominent and progressive proponents of law firm diversity. Sidley’s mission is to attract and retain outstanding lawyers of varied backgrounds who reflect the global marketplace that Sidley serves. Sidley will grant a $15,000 Sidley Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship to a limited number of deserving second year law students who also have an offer to join Sidley’s 2011 summer program.

Interested applicants should submit an application, including resume, official law school transcript, legal writing sample and personal statement to Jenny Connelly at scholarship@sidley.com or Sidley Austin LLP, One South Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois 60603.

Applications will remain open through the Fall 2010 recruiting session and can be found on their website at http://www.sidley.com/careers/northamerica/about/diversityscholars.

The George Hopper Memorial Scholarship offered by the Fresno County Young Lawyers Association will award one scholarship to a second or third year law student in good standing. Applicants must be in good standing in the law school and demonstrate overall excellence and accomplishment in pursuit of his or her Juris Doctorate. Particular consideration is given to civic and academic involvement of the applicant, scholastic achievement, and the applicant’s demonstrated financial need. Applicants must demonstrate a connection to the San Joaquin Valley as well as a desire to enter the practice of law in either Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings or Tulare County. E-mail completed applications to Brian E. Qualls, Esq. at BQualls@DAKLAW.com.

Deadline: July 15, 2010
Award: $500
Contact: Brian E. Qualls, Esq.
Email: BQualls@DAKLAW.com
Click here to download the application.

Important Financial Aid information for Public Service Graduates pertaining to LRAP, PSLF, Perkins loan cancellation benefits and Grad PLUS “additional six-month” non-payment period

Grad PLUS “additional six-month” non-payment period

We just received an update from Direct Loan Servicing (DL) pertaining to your second and third year Grad PLUS loans. All Boalt graduates automatically receive an “additional six-month” non-payment period for Grad PLUS loans disbursed after July 2008. This “additional six-month” non-payment period is the equivalent of a grace period. However, your first year Grad PLUS loan doesn’t have such an option. You will receive a payment notice within 60 days after graduation if you don’t request forbearance or apply for deferment. Please contact Direct Loan Servicing Center at 1-800-848-0979 for assistance.

LRAP

• Please check the LRAP guidelines for information on extended coverage for “Low Bono”/Union LRAP coverage at our website. This pilot program will be limited to 7 slots for the class of 2010.

• Volunteer work in form of fellowships or uncompensated training programs does not constitute employment and therefore does not satisfy the LRAP or Public Service Loan Forgiveness requirements. You must be employed or have a contract upon which you receive compensation for your service.

• Graduates seeking to participate in LRAP must begin participating in the program within three years after the end of their loan grace period, which normally is six months after graduation. Students who will be graduating this May have the option to enter the LRAP as first-time participants until December 2013 if all eligibility requirements are met.

• Because most educational loans offer a six-month grace period following graduation, May 2010 graduates going directly into qualifying employment will not receive their first LRAP loan until January 2011. The application forms for Spring 2011 will be available on our website by early October and the deadline is November 1.

• Before applying to LRAP please review the application process and our check list of required documents for first-time applicants.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Many of you are planning a long-term career in public service and may utilize the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a 10-year program. Only Federal Direct loans qualify for PSLF. You must consolidate or reconsolidate your pre-Boalt FFEL loans into Federal Direct if you want those loans to be eligible for forgiveness: http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov. Please check if your pre-Boalt loans carry a grace period before initiating a consolidation. Consolidations will cancel a grace period and immediately enter repayment.

Please note that under the 10-year PSLF program a consolidation is considered a new loan and therefore the 10-year clock will re-start on the consolidation. For more details about IBR and PSLF please check the LRAP section and external links of our website,  www.IBRinfo.org and  Equal Justice Works.

Perkins Loan Benefits for Public Defenders

Recently the Department of Education published new regulations for the expanded Perkins loan cancellation benefits for full-time attorneys employed in Federal or Community Defender Organizations. Eligible service performed on or after August 14, 2008 will qualify a borrower for cancellation, regardless of whether information on the expansion of the cancellation category appears on the borrower’s promissory note. Since Public Defender employment also qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), please note that borrowers may not be able to use the same service years for both loan cancellation programs. For more information on Perkins loan cancellation benefits please check your servicing agency’s website. UC Berkeley Perkins loans are serviced by ACS.

Please explore the LRAP section of our website for more information. If you plan a career in public service and have questions about LRAP and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, please schedule an appointment for an individual assessment of your student loan portfolio and repayment options before you leave Berkeley.

Congratulations and Best Wishes!

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Rights Law (IJHRL) is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal designed to address international human rights issues more broadly. The first volume of the IJHRL was ranked #8 among top international law reviews on Express rankings. The journal explores political, philosophical, and legal questions related to international human rights from diverse perspectives. It strives to create a more thoughtful polity better able to make informed choices about ethical foreign policymaking. http://www.americanstudents.us/journals/ijhrl/

Call for Papers 2010-2011:
IJHRL is an annual, peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the Council for American Students in International Negotiations. The journal invites quality submissions from scholars, jurists, and professionals in fields related to human rights. Occasionally, exceptional student work will be accepted. IJHRL also welcomes review essays, book reviews, and comments/notes. Manuscripts are accepted on a rolling basis.

Manuscripts must be computer generated in MS Word and submitted electronically in .doc format via e-mail or Berkeley Electronic Press’s Express submission service. Each submission should contain an abstract of no more than 150 words, a CV, appropriate contact information and a cover letter to the editor assuring that the manuscript has not been submitted or published elsewhere. Manuscripts should range from 3,000 to 10,000 words (approximately 15-25 pages) and be typed, double-spaced. Manuscripts exceeding the maximum length may not be considered. Book reviews may run from 1,000 to 2,500 words. Please adhere closely to the Chicago Manual of Style and cite sources in standard American legal format according to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.

Submissions are subjected to external, double-blind peer review. Additionally, authors are encouraged to seek comments on their manuscripts from colleagues within their discipline. Upon receiving comments from referees, notification of acceptance, rejection or need for revision will be given within approximately 6-8 weeks of receipt of manuscript.

Submissions and other editorial correspondence should be addressed to ijhrl@americanstudents.us.

Publish your work with the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law!

The California Writing Workshop provides students a chance to write and publish articles on recent developments within the California criminal law system. This class will give you the opportunity and resources to discover trending topics, exhaustively research your thesis, and produce polished, high-quality papers.

You can satisfy their writing requirement through this workshop. If accepted by BJCL, your article will be published on Westlaw, Lexis, and Hein Online.

If interested, please send a five page writing sample to (gy@berkeley.edu) to apply.

238.5T- Criminal Writing Workshop
2 Units (+1 if you’re doing your writing requirement)
Th 3:35-5:25p

Just in time for finals! Peer counseling is now available for all students!

Feeling overwhelmed? Frustrated? Down? Confused about what you are doing in law school? Need to talk about school, stress, friends, family, LIFE? Tired of pretending everything is fine?

Law Students for Law Students (LSLS) is a new student organization dedicated to providing support for law students through peer counseling and wellness programming. LSLS allows students to talk honestly to other students who understand what law school is like. Trained peer counselors offer free, confidential peer counseling services in an empathetic and non-judgmental manner. We don’t care if you don’t have everything together. We don’t care if you don’t even know what you are doing in law school. Come talk to us. Seriously.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, email:  lawstudentsforlawstudents@gmail.com or visit http://boalt.org/lsls/.

Professor Anne Joseph O’Connell seeks a part-time Research Assistant (possibly two) for Summer 2010 (for at least one month between early June and the start of fall classes) to help with various research projects, including one on agency rulemaking and one on qualifications of agency leaders. Familiarity with Excel (to deal with FEC contribution files) is necessary. Interested students should email a resume and unofficial transcript to aoconnell@law.berkeley.edu.