Washington Lawyer - September/October 2020 - 20

FEATURE
Beginning in March, law schools across
the District had to make quick adjustments and rethink how to deliver legal
education during the pandemic.
Schools implemented new programs,
or enhanced existing ones, to support
their students and the larger community, while law students scrambled to
adapt to a learning environment transformed by the COVID-19 crisis.
In July, area law schools were
approaching the fall semester cautiously, with reopening plans continScott Lee was completing his
gent on new information about the
third year of law school at
pandemic and government action.
Georgetown University Law
Several intended to hold in-person
Center when the virus hit.
classes at the start of the fall semester
and go fully remote after Thanksgiving
break, and most were explicit in permitting students to continue with
remote instruction if they are uncomfortable with in-person attendance.
Washington Lawyer checked in with District law schools about how
they're navigating this uncharted territory in legal instruction, and spoke
with students to get a picture of how the coronavirus has impacted their
lives and plans for the future.

ATTENTION TO WELLNESS & CONNECTION
Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, which is conducting most classes remotely in September, approached the COVID-19
crisis not with a set playbook but with mindfulness and sympathy.
During the transition to remote learning, law school faculty and staff
found ways to connect with students in the new virtual setting. The
distance learning format also offered opportunities for the school to
innovate. For example, Professor Sarah Duggin, who leads a seminar on
human trafficking and modern-day slavery in the global supply chain,
engaged speakers from England and Wales to address students scattered across the United States.
Catholic Law also hosted virtual townhall meetings and provided support
through its counseling and financial resource centers to address students'
anxieties about the pandemic. Whether or not it is possible to resume
in-person study in the fall, the school is confident that it is ready to learn
from last season's lessons and ensure that the educational and social
needs of its students are met, whatever the circumstances.

20 WASHINGTON LAWYER

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

The coronavirus wasn't the only disruption that made Lee's last year of
law school challenging. His father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,
and on the eve of the implementation of stay-at-home orders, Lee
traveled to San Francisco for his father's surgery.
Fortunately, Lee had planned a relatively light final semester, and the transition to remote learning and pass/fail courses made it easier for him to
balance his family's needs and the completion of his law degree. Lee is
happy to be home to help with his father's recovery, but he has a position
lined up at a D.C. firm, though no start date has been set at this time.
Sally Alghazali, a first-generation law student, was just finding her stride
as a 1L at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School when
the crisis took hold. The pandemic has changed everything, she says,
resulting in a roller coaster of good and bad days.
She decided to set a daily plan for herself and did her best to stick to
it, though she admits that following through was difficult. During the
second semester she had planned to bring up her first semester grades,
but pass/fail courses meant this wasn't possible. Her summer internship
at the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor was canceled, which made it harder for her to find motivation.
Alghazali planned to spend the summer to focus on herself. "I've been
trying to reduce stress. This is a good time to take a breath. It's OK
to just relax and recover," she says. Alghazali also started a blog at
humanrightsweekly.com covering the refugee crisis, human trafficking,
and crimes against humanity.

American University Washington College of Law student Danielle Adams (left)
turned to mindfulness to cope during the crisis. Nina Egbuta of the University of
the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law recalled coming back to
a "whole new world" after a service trip to Tijuana, Mexico.

Nina Egbuta

At the end of July, Georgetown Law announced that it will begin the fall
semester with remote instruction only, citing the increasing number of
COVID-19 cases nationwide and the D.C. government's quarantine
requirements for individuals traveling from coronavirus hotspots.

"I'm Chinese American, and I'm proud of how the Asian American community at Georgetown and in Washington, D.C., stepped up to address
racial tensions," says Lee. "Georgetown hosted a series of virtual panels
called 'Fight the Virus, Not the People" addressing racism, and the Asian
Pacific American Bar Association-DC started a WhatsApp group to facilitate communication and support. The response from law students and
the community has been great."

David B. Jaffe

Georgetown University Law Center took a philosophical view of the
outbreak, framing its efforts to support students in the Jesuit concept
of cura personalis, a Latin phrase meaning "care for the whole person."
With this principle in mind, Dean William M. Treanor and other senior
staff hosted regular sessions touching upon health, wellness, and career
advancement. The law school also organized online events and activities
such as yoga classes, guided meditation, religious services, and programs
intended to assist children and families.

Scott Lee was completing his third year of law school at Georgetown
when the virus hit. He graduated in May and intends to practice in
Washington, D.C. Lee says he applauds the school's support as well as
the efforts of various groups to address issues surrounding the outbreak.

http://www.humanrightsweekly.com

Washington Lawyer - September/October 2020

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