 My name is Ivan Cody. I'm one of the ASB coordinators here along with and I'm Natalie Fisher. I'm the other ASB coordinator All right, awesome. So let's start with the most basic question. You're gonna get what is ASB? ASB is basically spending a week fully immersed in a public interest Internship or legal experience where you can get experience for the entire week and possibly pro bono hours to go towards your graduate I mean your graduation requirement So I actually learned not too long ago that ASB up until four or five years ago was completely student run Which would be crazy considering the cost and travel and expenses that come with that So it was started right after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 a group of students decided. Hey, we got to help out This has been a horrible tragedy in our nation And so now it has grown into this large successful program that matches students to both local and national placements during the week of spring break And the program focuses on areas of the law where clients often lack adequate representation So in the ASB placements a lot of times you're going to be working like one-on-one with clients in your placement and Why is it right for you? I knew it was right for me when I was a 1L because I came straight from undergrad And had no legal experience whatsoever. So I said, okay I got to go and do this because I don't know what I'm doing And it's also a great way to experience new areas of the law. So let's say you're conflicted Do I do criminal defense? Do I do immigration? I'm not sure. This is a great way to test the waters and figure out What you're interested in It's also just a great way to get back to the community Oftentimes the clients are going to be like super thankful that you were here. They might even confuse you with lawyers And it's a great resume builder too Looks great All right, let's get to the every law student's worst nightmare a little bit of math so So this is a way to earn possibly your 50 pro bono hours We while we can't guarantee you'll get 50 hours This is a little breakdown about how you can possibly get to those hours So assuming that the five days a week eight hours a day That's 40 hours right there But a little disclaimer you might not be like of course like sicknesses while you're out at your placement You might not be there that day which is going to count against you or whether a couple of years ago We actually had a placement in Colorado. They got snowed in so they weren't even able to make it to the placement So I think it was like three out of the five days. They weren't even able to go there So got to keep that in mind when you're doing this program Also, there's the mandatory ASB orientation which is before the trip which would be two hours towards your pro bono hours Which you'll come we'll talk about how you're going to act on your placement We're going to give you a little coaching up, you know a little pep talk high fives all that jazz and then And then after that we also have the reflection journaling now This is an option like you don't have to do it I personally did it because I felt it helpful. We have prompts so along so along the seven days of your journey You're gonna have you can write down different things like oh How was this experience today? How is this experience the next day and that's like an hour a day That'll be counted towards your pro bono hours just writing about your experiences and if you have trouble like I don't know What to write about don't worry talk to one of us We can definitely help you out get the juices flowing in your head and then of course the last thing Which is our debriefing so after everyone comes back you get to stand in front right here Where me and Natalie are right now and explain how this trip was transformative and how it helped you and what you would change What would you not it's also helpful for the program going forward so all of that will equal about 50 hours But again, we can't guarantee the 50 hours, but we'll try our best to get you there So here's a list of a little flavoring of a couple of placements that we had last year So we have like the waterfront Commission of public defenders offices around mass as well as here in Rhode Island We also have some very interesting ones like ones out in Denver, Colorado Which is working in the African organization as well as ones in Western New York Which you go split time between Bath and Rochester, which is a very interesting and unique placement Me and Natalie, however got to go to the waterfront Commission of New York Harbor So quick question show of hands. How many people here think that the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor has to do with marine affairs and like water law and things along that nature Right, I thought the same exact thing But I couldn't be further from the truth the waterfront Commission actually deals with organized crime on the waterfront So a lot of what we did is we dealt with a lot of Depositions dealing with trying to get as many mobsters off the waterfront as possible, which I mean I thought like oh, that's just movie stuff Definitely not also while me and Natalie were there. It was actually when the Gambino crime boss Was murdered so we walked into the office unsuspectingly Depositions were canceled security breaches. It was just an entire mess, but it was a great experience so So that's my little plug-in for the waterfront Commission All right by a show of hands who has worked in the public sector before coming to law school Perfect if any of you had like super awesome experiences with your area Please come up to me afterwards if you think that they would be at all interested in hosting students or you would want Students to go there. Please let us know. We're always looking for new placements So Yeah, just come up to me about that Right now. We're trying to get an ASB placement in Chicago Possibly one at the border in Texas So if you have any ideas about where you want to go, please come up and let us know Yeah, it also helps with the whole transformation of the program with the political climate and things We try to keep our placements as current as possible with issues whether it be the hurricane Katrina when the program Initially started versus now a lot of immigration law and a lot of things along that nature is very prominent in society All right, so what is ASB gonna cost you numbers here? Local placements which include Rhode Island and southeastern mass. That's gonna be a fee of $25 placements outside of Rhode Island and southeastern mass are going to be 100 And there is going to be a stipend associated with this so Right after you pay all these program fees and when it's ASB week You are going to get approximately 200 or 300 dollars for the non-local placements You're not going to get any stipend for the local placement because we're assuming that you're going to be staying at your apartment And you're going to be able to drive to your placement and pay for the parking and whatnot So let me just don't want to make sure it's clear because this is always an issue with costs So this is a subsidized program which is great We don't make you do big sales a lot of schools the students need to generate the money But we want to make sure that those of you who are interested in traveling to a location outside of Rhode Island and southeast mass can do it Without a huge financial hardship So the way it works is like Natalie just said if you're local if you're Rhode Island or southeastern mass Obviously you're just gonna sort of pay for living like you normally would if you're going to New York City Which is a really popular spot for ASB. We do give you a stipend. It's about three hundred dollars for that week Three hundred dollars will not get you far if you're planning on staying in hotel in New York So my feeling because we have a lot of New York City placements Is that placement works well if you have somewhere to live or you have a really smart way to Airbnb with a group of law students, but you will end up paying out of pocket because that stipend just can't cover it So I like to make sure everyone understands that you need to also get yourself to New York City So any placement that's within about four hours You will get a stipend, but we're not gonna get you there You need to figure out how you're gonna get there if you're farther than farther than four hours So you're in Colorado or Texas or we're working on a placement right now possibly in Washington state The law school will arrange for airfare or in some rare case rare cases train Like we have a Delaware placement. We actually do purchase your ticket on Amtrak to get to Delaware So if you're thinking of a really far trip Not in New York City like Colorado. We will pay for your airfare and you're gonna get that stipend so again You likely will have to spend something out of pocket, but it's subsidized So that's sort of helpful. So everyone has a fee everyone has to pay you know 25 or 100 But then again if you're travel, we're trying to subsidize it and make it easier But just remember this is not a fully paid for trip Yeah, and just to put that into context I went to the waterfront of New York Harbor, which was right in Manhattan And I don't know how many people are familiar with Manhattan But a meal in Manhattan is about like 20 bucks and you're definitely not gonna get a hotel just with the $300 But luckily I went to undergrad in Manhattan So I had a friend who had an apartment just like a block away from my placement So that helped offset some of the costs. So if you're thinking about placements like New York City You really want to think about how you're gonna get to and from this placement and how you're going to pay for like meals The subway for instance and other things like that But that's something we can like talk about if you need some advice things along that nature a little coaching That's what we're here for guys. So we can definitely be more clairvoyant on that going forward All right, so how do you apply the application is going to go live December 20th 2019 Actually, I want all of you to take out your calendars and start writing this down. I'm going to give you a second Or phones it is the 21st century Okay, so that's gonna go live December 20th I encourage all of you guys to apply as early as possible one of the biggest ways that we rate applications are When we get them so the people who apply earliest have a much higher chance of getting the placement You want then people who save it to the last second You're gonna receive an email in advance With all the placement descriptions and instructions how to apply so it'll list every single placement where it is what it's about I encourage you also to do further research on the placement I haven't I went to the waterfront last year and of course we didn't know what it was about and it was a new placement last year So I was like, oh, okay. I guess we're fighting crime here. So And then you can also rank your placement profits and preferences when you apply So I think last year we got to rank up to five placements that we wanted to go and usually people get between their first and third choice Well, why we can't guarantee that we try our best to try to get you within, you know Your top three choices, but the five gives us a little leeway and don't worry. There'll be an email about that to make sure All right, so applications are due January 9th 2020 I want you guys to keep in mind that this is the first week of spring semester You're gonna be like so busy. You're gonna have homework. You're gonna have be like maybe flying back from home Taking a long train ride. So just try really hard not to save it till that last day And accepted students will be notified somewhere around January 17th, 2020 And just to touch on what Natalie was talking about before about how we Fit you with your particular placement. It's not just it's not just The priority aspect while that it carries a lot of a weight We also look at the strength and quality of your application So you're gonna be sending submitting in a resume and a personal statement So we're gonna read it and see which placement might actually fit you best We take that into Consideration as well as well as your connection with the placement like I was lucky to put it in my essay Oh, I'm I went to undergrad in New York City I know the area pretty well and that kind of helped me, you know So which situate myself into getting a New York City placement as well as the skills that are required by each placement Each placement is different whether it be very Heavy going into court and just watching how like the court plays out or whether it's sitting there writing I know for me and Natalie's placement. We were expected to write law review style Articles right from day one that way we can produce a writing sample to get ready for this Summer of our after our 1L a year So it really varies but we try to look at your skills your personal statement all these factors go together But I can't stress us enough get those applications in early it makes a difference lots of peace of mind You don't have to worry about it and you can go enjoy your little break You know after you finish your first semester whether it be like your two L or three L enjoying, you know That nice little Christmas break with the family And some other important dates to remember January 22nd, that's the date. We're gonna be looking for after you've already been notified what been accepted in your placement That's we're gonna be looking for the fees. So we're looking for those to be paid We're also looking for the commitment forms basically saying yes I intend to do ASB and I commit myself to this and you're all law students You know when you sign your little John Hancock at the bottom of paper it carries a little bit of weight Also February 5th, it's going we're gonna have a nice little coffee and Introduction session so we're gonna try to bring people in from past placements to talk about the people who are just you know New to the ASB program and don't know what to expect from their placement We're gonna try to get as many of those people here So you can like just pick the brains a little bit like luckily me and Natalie have been for the waterfront Commission So those who are placed there will be able to give you a little bit more personal feel But don't worry we'll try to get as many of the other placement people here as well so that you can get that type Of familiarity with your particular site also very important can't stress this enough this is another date I would write down February 28th. That's going to be your pre-trip orientation It is something we highly stress you cannot miss if it's something that Along the lines if you can't make that date, maybe ASB this year might not be for you now While there might be special circumstances where you might not be able to make that and you want to reach out to us That's perfectly fine, but seriously consider that date it's a very important date to get you guys started and ready to go off and We can't stress it enough how important that date is one more thing about the coffee hour on the fifth We're gonna try as hard as we can to get people from past placements But that may be a little bit difficult to do so really the importance of that coffee hour Is to meet people in who are going to the same placement as you so maybe you can Schedule maybe a carpool to get there or if you're going to Run an Airbnb together or something like that Spring break is March 9th through the 13th. So if you guys want to write that down you can So what's next you're gonna get a survey today Via email somewhere around 1 p.m. Or so I know that there are probably people who We're not able to make this meeting but want to do ASB So please if they're your friends and they weren't able to be here Just let them know to look out for that survey fill that survey out Also, you can go to the career service development center to get your resume ready So when that date comes December 20th when the application opens that is one less thing you have to worry about preparing And then also just like get ready to have fun. It's a really great experience I've been I can't stress enough how much fun we had at the waterfront. So for sure Um If you guys have any questions that you think pertain to everything that we've talked about and pertain to the group As a whole, please ask them now Write down our emails if you need those And I've and I are gonna stay back for a couple minutes if you guys have any personal specific questions about ASB that we can Help you with and also feel free to if you see us in the hallways or you like you see not like creeping around or me Very tall very easy to spot walking around the halls Feel free to just tap us on the shoulder. Hey ask us a question. We're very personal at least I think we are so unless it's around finals week because that's a little different But feel free to ask us as many questions as possible. We love this program clear clearly We're the coordinators and we just love to help you guys and have that same experience that we did It's gonna be from Lisa Quinn and in addition to having that survey which helps us gauge how many of you are really interested It also had the brochure of all of the placements last year We have 22 placements and we sent 77 students on ASB. We hope that we can continue We pretty much were able to place nearly every student. We try not to make this a super competitive program So it's okay if you have no connection to an organization like that's what the program's for But if we get inundated this year, you know, if we get 120 of you apply obviously it'll change things, but we have been able to meet the The desire to go on these trips So hopefully we'll do that again, but that email will have last year's brochure with an entire list of the placements the survey That's it right Lisa. Oh and the slides from today's program. So your friends who missed it They'll get all this information through that email. So look for Lisa Quinn's email. Just without the jokes Any questions? All right. Oh those is one right there This year Thanks guys. Yeah, thank you