Selling Harvard Law Students

12/08/24 • 54 min

Summary:

In this episode of [F]law School, guest Samara Trilling joins hosts Reya Singh and Sam Perri to pull back the curtain on big law recruitment at Harvard Law School. Samara describes the commodification of law students access to whom is sold by the law school and purchased by Big Law firms. Meanwhile, many students feel unduly pressured to move toward career paths they never signed up for. From the white shoe law firms that pay Harvard thousands of dollars for access to the student pipeline to the recruitment timelines that have been moved up so early that students barely know what a tort is, this episode dissects how the system sets students up to serve corporate interests—not justice.

Editors:

Very special thanks to Madeleine Kapsalis and Giovana de Oliveira for production and editing assistance.

Guest Bio:

Samara Trilling is a 3L at Harvard Law School interested in strengthening anti-monopoly law, building worker power and regulating AI. In her seven years as a software engineer prior to law school, Samara built anti-eviction tools at Justfix, city master-planning software at Sidewalk Labs and tools addressing the digital divide and supporting democratic news reporting at Google. Samara has a degree in computer science from Columbia University with a specialization in AI and a concentration in history.

Music:

Our theme music is "I Been Waiting" by Crystal Squad, and you'll also hear segments of "Palms Down" by Blue Dot Sessions.
For more information and complete show notes, go to the episode's webpage: https://theflaw.org/?post_type=articles&p=4467&preview=true.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
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Summary:

Editors:

Very special thanks to Madeleine Kapsalis and Giovana de Oliveira for production and editing assistance.

Guest Bio:

Music:

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform:

Previous Episode

Profit Over People: The Housing Crisis

Summary:

In this episode of [F]Law School, hosts Haley Florsheim and and Mirei Saneyoshi examine the systemic roots of the affordable housing crisis with guests Sofi Scotti, David Hernandez, and Steven Rome, each of whom have written about this critical issue for The [F]law magazine.

From Boston to Newark to Miami, they explore how corporate landlords and developers are driving housing inequality, pricing out vulnerable communities, and wielding political power to shape laws in their favor.

Drawing on personal and community stories as well as as scholarly and legal analyses, the conversation unpacks the stark difference between small landlords and corporate entities, the importance of tenant organizing and advocacy, and some of the ways law students can get involved in this vital work.

Tune in to learn why housing is a human right—and how we can fight to make that right a reality.

Guest Bios:

David Hernandez is a student at Harvard Law School in the Class of 2025. He is also a graduate of Harvard College. Before law school, David worked with the Robin Hood Foundation’s Early Childhood team

Sofi Scotti is a 2024 graduate of Harvard Law School. In her time at Harvard, she was the Co-Practice Area Head of Housing at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. She is passionate about housing justice in her hometown of Miami and beyond.

Steven Rome is a member of the Harvard Law School Class of 2025. He studied history and political science at Yale University, graduating in 2020. Before law school, he was a sixth-grade teacher.
For more information and complete show notes, go to the episode's webpage: https://theflaw.org/?post_type=articles&p=4467&preview=true.
Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform:

Next Episode

Profits Over Patients

Summary:

In this episode of [F]law School, hosts Molly Enloe and Gauri Sood sit down with third-year law student Charlotte Laurence to expose how private equity is infiltrating our healthcare system and, more specifically, how profit-driven investors are playing shell games with nursing homes—trading care for cash flow, and leaving some of the most vulnerable residents in the wreckage. Charlotte unpacks the legal loopholes and financial sleight-of-hand that make it all possible, showing how the law isn’t just failing to stop the harm—it’s greasing the wheels.

Editors:

Very special thanks to Nandini Kalani for production and editing assistance.

Guest Bio:

Charlotte Laurence is a student at Harvard Law School in the Class of 2025. She is also a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and University of Cambridge. Before law school, Charlotte researched topics in History of Science and worked as a speech writer for the Shadow Minister of Women and Equalities in the British Parliament.

Music:

Our theme music is "I Been Waiting" by Crystal Squad, and you'll also hear segments of "Palms Down" by Blue Dot Sessions.

[F]law Resources:

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform: