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You will prepare briefs for a fictional dispute and participate in a trial simulation.
Think of this Project as a day in the life (likely a month) of a lawyer. You will learn the basics of how the US Legal system operates, how laws are interpreted, how to analyse decisions of different US courts and how to apply this law to factual circumstances. You will acquire skills vital for a career in the legal profession such as analysis, research, legal writing and oral advocacy. You will then apply these skills to a fictional legal dispute, draft a legal brief and present these arguments in a trial simulation. These skills are helpful for those of you contemplating taking the LSATs. These skills would also benefit those of you considering careers in fields such as communications, business management and consultancy.
In this workshop you will get acquainted with each other and your Build Law Fellow. Then, we will introduce the project and discuss the deliverables. You will also learn the basics about the US legal system.
You will learn the skill of reading a legal document including a law passed by the legislature and legal decisions issued by different US courts.
You will learn about the genesis of a legal conflict, how such conflicts arise and discuss the different types of legal conflicts.
You will be introduced to the fictional legal dispute which will form the basis of the remaining sessions.
You will analyse the dispute along with the Build Law Fellow from different perspectives and try to develop legal arguments.
You will structure the arguments developed in the previous session into a compelling narrative and then use these arguments to draft a legal brief with the help of the Build Law Fellow.
You will be assigned sides in the dispute and you will then argue your positions before the Build Law Fellow who will act as the judge.
You will meet with lawyers practicing different types of law and will have the opportunity to learn more about the legal field and the guest speakers’ individual career paths.
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Arshiya is a Law Build Fellow at the Open Avenues Foundation, where she works with students leading projects in law.
Arshiya is an associate at Harris St. Laurent Wechsler LLP, where she focuses on commercial and employment litigation.
Arshiya has over six years of experience in the legal field. She previously clerked for the Honorable Andrea Masley, J.S.C. at the New York State Supreme Court (Civil Branch, Commercial Division). She also practiced as a commercial litigator in India for three years and worked with the capital markets practice of a leading Indian law firm for two years.
Arshiya holds a LL.M. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. LL.B. from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University of Law in India. She is a dual-qualified lawyer, admitted to practice in New York and India.
In her free time, Arshiya enjoys dancing, baking and learning new languages.