Good news! It looks like I'll qualify for a Public Interest Law Certificate by the time I graduate, without even having tried! I'll have 20 units of qualifying credit by gradution:

• Nor. Cal. Innocence Project (NCIP) (4)
• Mass Communications, Broadband, & Convergence (3)
• Broadband Regulatory Clinic (3)
• Environmental Law (3)
• Antitrust (3 - Fall '08)
• Law of Non-profit Orgs (2 - Fall '08)
• Community Economic Development (2 - Spring '09)

NCIP satisfies my "core" public interest requirement, with enough hours left over to also satisfy the certificate's 50-hour community service requirement (I worked enough hours this semester to earn two units, but I'm only taking one). The Community Economic Development course I'm taking in the spring will meet the "identity politics" course requirement; and my Mass. Comm. paper should meet the writing requirement.

Of course, who knows what good a "Public Interest Certificate" is, but it can't hurt!

I've mentioned to a few people now that I'm changing directions in law school, but I haven't had time to adequately explain the decision to those who are interested. My rationale involves several different themes; by writing about it, I endeavor to explain it clearly (to myself as much as to you). The decision was the culmination of many ideas that had been swirling around my subconscious, and converged in a flash of insight while I was meditating at the compound (sincere thanks to ES and SJ). Keep Reading >>