November, 2011
3L + 1: This event consisted of a panel of six Widener Law alumni who discussed their legal experience- both at law school and in their respective careers. Each panelist speaking at this event graduated within the past four years- providing particularly relevant advice on getting a job in the current market conditions. The value of such advice was evidenced by the outstanding turnout of students who posed questions to the panel for well over 3 hours. A special thanks to Ana Melhor (Professional Development Chairperson) who ran the event and Clint Orem (Justice) who moderated.
What I Did Over My Summer Vacation: Shortly after running the 3L + 1 event, Ana Melhor was back at it- planning and running the What I Did Over My Summer Vacation. Here, a number of current Widener Law students sat as panelists to discuss what they did over their summer vacation after their respective 1L years. Ana did an excellent job of getting students with various summer experiences- ranging from corporate law to studying abroad. Students were able to give advice to 1L’s as to how to go about getting a summer position and what a typical summer experience is like.
Are You Smarter Than a Professor? On November 11, 2011 the Academic Development Committee put on an event called “Are You Smarter Than a Professor?” The event was held in P203 and ran from 5 pm to 6 pm. It was based off of the popular television show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” The emcee for the night was Justin Gilleg who kept track of the time and provided comedic humor throughout the “show”.
Prior to the event, PowerPoint presentations were made for each contestant (2 total). Each PowerPoint had 6 subjects with different questions and answers, 1 million dollar question, a mechanism to award fictional money, and cheat codes. The subjects were Jurisdiction, Intentional Torts, Negligence, Future Estate, Landlord Tenant, Bailment and Pleadings. The cheats were peak (see your chosen professors answer), copy (take your chosen professors answer), 1 question (ask your professor 1 question), 1 minute (have a 1 minute discussion with your professor), poll the professors and poll the audience. The PowerPoint’s were used during the show on a smart board and advanced through in a Vanna White style. The subjects and cheats disappeared on the board once used.
The event featured a panel of five professors: Professors Johnson, Epstein, Turezyn, Smith and Regan. The professors acted as the student body from the original show. They entered one at a time as Justin read short bio’s for each, dubbing them all with nicknames as per their legal specialty. They were all seated together with nametags and were given red pens and paper to record their answers to every question posed to the contestants. The emcee made sure to ask them to display their answer to every question even when they were not in the “hot seat.”
The event had two contestants, chosen ahead of time: Clint Orem and Sam Elbardissi. They were seated with the crowd and each made their grand entrance when it came their turn to play. Justin read a short bio for each as they made their way to a table in the center of the room. The first contestant went through his 6 questions and million dollar question, choosing a professor and cheat code for each and was awarded “money” along the way. After the first contestant was finished all of his questions, he returned to his seat and the second contestant went through his questions. In the interim of switching contestants and PowerPoint’s, the professors were asked a fun gender-biased question which highlighted the female professors.
The event ran one hour and generated a turnout of 68 guests. Everyone seemed very engaged during the show. Both students and professor expressed a desire to make the event an annual thing. One issue addressed that should be fixed for the next event would be the length of some of the questions. Keeping the questions short would speed up the process and provide for even more contestants or more questions for each contestant (perhaps expanding into upper level subjects or PAD or Widener trivia).
80’s Themed Party (Fundraising): In an attempt to ease student’s stress before finals and, at the same time, raise money for Phi Alpha Delta, the Social Committee ran an 80’s themed party at “Scrimmages Restaurant and Sports Bar.” Students danced late into the night to songs such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to do with it”.
February, 2012
Candy Grams: Community Service Chairperson, Paul Renaud, started the spring semester off on the right foot for Phi Alpha Delta raising well over $200 for charitable donation purposes. Paul took advantage of the love that was ostensibly “in the air” at Widener Law by selling heart shaped candy grams to students one week before Valentine’s day.
Etiquette Dinner: On Wednesday February 15th, Phi Alpha Delta held its 4th Annual “Dining for Success” Etiquette Dinner. We were fortunate to once again have John and Lynne Breil back on campus to give 75 students and faculty tips on how to impress future clients and co-workers with proper etiquette, during a business lunch or dinner. An added bonus this year was a cocktail hour, which was held before the dinner, where guests were treated to glasses of wine in a social setting. Our hosts took the opportunity to tell everyone different ideas and tactics to make the very common happy-hour events a success. They gave different tips about the number of people in a group to approach, as well as being prepared with certain topics to discuss.
After the cocktail hour, everyone sat down for a wonderful four-course dinner served by Widener’s friends at Aramark. The meal included shrimp bisque; a salad with blue cheese, walnuts and blackberry balsamic dressing, chicken covered with mozzarella and pesto, and finished off with a lemon cheesecake. During the entire meal, Lynne Breil gave guests the do’s and don’ts when it comes to proper eating. She even told them what to do in case of a spill, and right on cue, PAD’s own Ana Melhor spilled water all over her table. She recovered perfectly though following Ms. Breil’s instructions. John Breil is well known for his international business ventures and he gave different tips that students may find helpful when dining in various countries. He also gave a quick tutorial on how to use chopsticks; attempted by students with varying degrees of success.
The night ended with Phi Alpha Delta clerk presenting the Breil’s with a plaque thanking them for their continued support with this event. Phi Alpha Delta is committed to improving this event from year to year and we are already thinking of different ideas to make the Etiquette Dinner even better next year.
Starting Your Own Law Office: After students packed into Barrister’s Club at Widener Law, a panel of four solo-practicing attorneys began describing how they went about starting their own respective law offices. Notably, the panelists indicated what is necessary to start a law office and how one can do so on a shoe-string budget. They also informed students of the various tools that are on the market which facilitate a lawyer’s starting his own firm. Intrigued by the thought of being their own boss, students posed questions for several hours. The event was a huge success much to the credit of Ana Melhor and the Career Development Office at Widener Law.
Fusion Dinner: Phi Alpha Delta, which of course connotes the Greek phrase- “Philos Adelphos Dikaios,” represented its Greek underpinnings at the Widener Law annual Fusion Dinner. The George Read chapter served Widener Law students traditional Greek food including – Pastichio (Greek lasagna), Spanakopita (spinach pie) and Baklava. Other student organizations from Widener Law brought food from their respective countries of origin as well (Such as South Asian food from the South Asian Law Student Alliance and traditional African food from the Black Law Student Alliance).
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