Boys in the Good: BYU

Showing posts with label BYU. Show all posts

Friday, May 20, 2022

Granbury High School Decision Day

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Law School Life

The big news of the week came on Friday when Julie was offered and accepted a new job. It’s just about as perfect as we hoped - she’ll be a technical recruiter at Qualtrics. The pay is decent, and the benefits are pretty great. When I saw that she would get free vision insurance and cheap dental insurance, I almost cried. I thought we’d be without these for a few years. Her start date is March 7th, which gives her a few more weeks to keep teaching Mike and Joe and finish up some to-do items.

I’m really jealous of Mike and Joe. They are learning and having a blast. They recently went to the Provo Police Station, toured it, and then went and met Mayor Kaufusi. Other excursions include visits to the LIbrary, to the Bean (Natural History) Museum.

Sunday has been a wonderful time to connect with family. Last Sunday (Feb 6th) with Aunt Becky in town, and to celebrate the birth of Hudson, we had a big Hutchins family gathering at Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Joy’s. They were extraordinary hosts, feeding all of us (25 or so!) and graciously opening up their home. This Sunday, we had a fun V-day dinner and games at Mary Ann and Dallen’s house. Yummy dinner, amazing decor, so fun. I really enjoyed playing “Don’t Kill Pete.” It’s a game I’d never heard of, and although incredibly simple is one I want to make a tradition of playing.

Talking about Valentine’s Day, forget about Jules’ new job. The best news this week was that I had a valentine for the first time in my life. Jules made the day so special - She decorated our entire apartment and we enjoyed a nice dinner together with a martinelli and then watched a movie. She is my eternal valentine!

Saturday I had my first round of golf in this new year. Jules spent Saturday morning at a women’s conference, and the weather was nice, so I played nine holes. It was memorable solely for the fact that I played with a compulsive liar. The other guy paired with us was really cool though and we just kept looking at each other like “Does he really think we believe him?” The first lie he uttered was that he was a +3 handicap. For perspective, that means he should beat me by 8-10 shots and is nearly identical talent wise to any PGA Tour pro. And much better than 99% of college players. By the time 9 holes had ended, this guy had told like 50 stories, and at least 49 were false. In terms of my game, A few times I walked right past my ball thinking I had hit it 30 yards further. So there’s some rust, but I played smart and hit it straight. And I absolutely whooped the 3+ handicap guy.

I’ve made up my mind and am applying to the MBA program. I met with some admission officers and I’m hoping to apply before February ends. Jules has been pushing me to go for it, which I really appreciate as the thought of another year in school without a salary hurts. Her encouragement is the biggest reason I’ve been moving towards this decision, and the other big factor is the MBA class I’m in right now. I love it. It’s been a breath of fresh air compared to law school.

Our date last night was to the BYU Museum of Art. Once a month they have an “Art after Dark” event. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended one, and while good before, the one we attended last night was amazing. We listened to some rocking live music, ate some cannoli’s they provided as refreshments and then made masquerade masks to take home. We’ll definitely be back.

One of my goals this year is to improve in chess. I just love the game. I began communicating with the BYU chess club and heard about the Intermountain Intercollegiate Tournament scheduled for February 19th. Excited, I decided to see if I could make the 3-person team. I anticipated being ranked somewhere between #2-#4, so my chances were good. Lo and behold, BYU’s best chess player graduated in December, and after the smoke cleared, I was ranked #1. A little panicked, I’ve spent probably 10 hours this week preparing. In the lead up, I’m 13-0 in matches against the other BYU players, but am nervous because the University of Utah has some really strong players. Being number one though, means that means if I win, I can claim title to the best college player in Utah. The tournament is held this year in Cedar City at Southern Utah University. There are 9 universities competing: BYU, UofU, Utah State, UNLV, Weber State, SLCC, Dixie State, UVU, and SUU.

One reason I wanted to go is because I have no school next week. So, we’re going to make a trip out of it. Our plan is to camp at some State and National Parks, visit Las Vegas, and return to Provo Wednesday night.

Saturday Morning Update:

We left this morning at 6:30. My first game has ended. I got absolutely creamed. I was paired with the UofUtah’s #1, Tinh Nguyen, who is currently ranked 2100. In comparison, I’m at 1850. It was a bloodbath. Alas. I played riskier than usual to try and throw him off balance but to no avail. When we talked after the game, I told him I knew my 15th move or so turned out to be a huge mistake. He calmly nodded and then said I shouldn’t have made my 3rd move the way I did. Ouch. There are 50 players, 25 games going on, and mine was the first to be over. By a long shot. I’ve got 2 hours until the next round. Ouch ouch ouch. Good news though, Tinh is ranked the highest of anyone here. There’s one other person (his teammate) who is over 2000, and I’m 5th overall. So I’m optimistic that I’ll play the other ones better. Here’s hoping! Porter is playing here too, which thrills me, it's cool to do this together, and he’s looking pretty strong halfway through game one. I’m hoping he can pull out a W.

Tuesday, emeritus General Authority Tad Callister visited the law school. He’s a lawyer by trade and is someone I admire greatly. His humble, yet strong demeanor is inspiring. Last summer, he wrote this article which I found compelling. After two sentences, I was flabbergasted at the tremendous claim he made, but felt the Spirit confirm to me that the decline of the family is the most serious issue today. Here’s the link for those interested:

https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2021-05-22/tad-callister-fence-cliff-ambulance-strong-families-213923

His remarks to the law school (sadly, while the room was filled with students, not a single faculty member attended) were sobering and inspiring. He spoke about how the Constitution was divinely inspired and how although the Founding Fathers are by no means perfect men, they were raised up by God to help create the United States of America and to model democracy and religious freedom the world over.

The most striking one-liner was, “The American Flag is our modern day Title of Liberty.”

I’m so grateful to live in the United States and to live at this time. And I left inspired and committed to do my part to help fulfill this scripture, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 33:12

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Graduate Spotlight

“Becoming comfortable with change and new experiences has been an important part of my journey,” says Tanner Schenewark. “I didn’t know what type of law I wanted to practice coming into law school. BYU Law gave me a lot of options and flexibility while I was figuring that out.”

A formative influence for Schenewark was his involvement with BYU Law’s Deals Academy, an immersive, multi-day deal making program in New York City that guides students through the process of mergers and acquisitions. “Being exposed to corporate law confirmed for me that it was the direction I wanted to go,” he says. Schenewark interned with Clifford Chance, a prestigious multinational law firm. After graduation he will join the firm’s transactional group. “There’s so much good that can be done from that platform––that’s one of the most exciting things about it for me,” he says.

Another highlight for Schenewark was a blockchain and cryptocurrency law course with Professor Matthew Jennejohn. “I was able to get involved with groups at Clifford Chance who were doing that type of work and feel really competent doing it,” he says. D. Gordon Smith, dean of BYU Law, also inspired Schenewark to think deeply about the future and how he could give back. Schenewark launched the New York Law Society, which invites practitioners from New York City firms to speak at BYU Law and also holds résumé and cover letter workshops tailored to corporate law. “We really want to build momentum and make that path easier for future students,” he says.

Ultimately, BYU Law has helped Schenewark to understand what drives his interests. “Law school has also done a good job of teaching me what really matters. One thing that can be crushing to law students their first year is the idea that you are defined by your grades,” he says. “If I had one message to send, it would be that being at BYU Law is enough. You have the tools to succeed. I hope future students will understand and be encouraged by that. You have every option open to you.”

Thursday, April 29, 2021

BYU Law Students Develop Web Resource To Address Flaws In Expungement Process

Bob Ambrogi

Eight students in the LawX legal design lab at BYU Law have developed an online resource, called Goodbye Record, that is designed to address flaws in the process for expunging criminal records in Utah and potentially other states as well.

I’ve written a number of times about LawX, a lab program launched in 2017 in which law students use design thinking to analyze and address critical issues in access to justice. In each semester-long lab, the students tackle a different issue.

Previous LawX projects have resulted in the development of SoloSuit, to help consumers respond to debt collection lawsuits, and which spun off as a private company, and Hello Landlord, designed to help tenants more effectively communicate with their landlords about issues that can lead to eviction.

In an interview yesterday, Marie Kulbeth, one of three adjunct professors who led the lab this semester, and Tanner Schenewark, a 2021 graduate who participated in it (and who will now join Clifford Chance in its New York office), told me that they chose expungement as their topic this year in part because of BYU Law’s past experience offering a Pro Bono Expungement Clinic.

The students initially planned to develop an app to help individuals apply for expungement. But as they investigated the issue as part of the design-thinking process, they found the bigger problem was that expungement often failed to result in the fresh start it was designed to provide.

They found that flaws in the system and outdated online information often make it difficult to fully erase a criminal past, even after obtaining expungement, resulting in online remnants that show up in background checks and often prevent individuals from obtaining housing or employment.

Given these findings, the students abandoned the app idea and instead built an online resource that addresses three main constituencies that can play a role in helping to ensure second chances for those who have had their records expunged: employers, individuals and governments.

“The idea is really to provide an electronic toolkit for the problem,” Schenewark said.

The employer component, which Goodbye Record calls the partner component, is directed at employers and invites them to take the Fair Shot Pledge to implement and support a series of measures to help reduce instances of misreporting, thus giving qualified individuals a fair shot at employment. Companies that take the pledge may display their corporate logo on the Goodbye Record website to let potential employees know they support individuals seeking a fresh start.

The individual component informs people on how to navigate post-expungement roadblocks, including how to report violations to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department pf Housing and Urban Development, and how to communicate with the expungement clearinghouse to help background-check companies remove expunged records from commercial databases.

Currently in Utah, individual petitioners are responsible for reaching out to all the different agencies to make sure their records are expunged. This cannot be done electronically and often requires individuals to take time away from their work or job searches.

The government component addresses potential legislative and administrative solutions, including ways states and courts can improve the final step of expungement, limit access points and require commercial data subscribers to update their databases.

One solution the students developed to address the government component is improved contract language between governments and data subscribers. The students found that courts and government agencies have contracts with public records companies to regularly provide criminal data, and that those companies often resell their data even further downsteam. But when expungements are granted, the companies do not always update their data, so criminal records still appear in online databases and in criminal records checks.

The students developed contractual language for governments to use with these companies that does two things. First, it requires the companies to regularly update their databases to reflect expungements. Second, it provides an audit procedure to ensure that companies comply.

The students are also pushing for states to adopt legislation to shift the burden of distributing expungement orders from the individuals who are granted expungement to the agencies that maintain these records.

Earlier this month, the LawX students presented their findings to the Utah Supreme Court and Utah’s Administrative Office of the Courts. As a result, the Administrative Office has committed to amending its Compiled Data Dissemination Agreement to incorporate the students’ language.

It is also considering backing the legislation that would shift the burden of distributing expungement orders from individual petitioners to the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification, which would be authorized to electronically request that other state agencies remove expunged information from their records.

While the students’ efforts have so far focused on Utah, they designed Goodbye Record to be a national resource and they plan to take their lobbying efforts to other states now that this has been launched.

In addition to Kulbeth, who is also COO and general counsel at SixFifty, the lab was also led by adjunct professors Eric Vogeler, general counsel and CCO at Genesis Block, and Justin Whittaker, principal at Invisible Co., who shared his expertise in product and business development and design thinking.

The lab also consulted with Utah Supreme Court Justice Constandinos “Deno” Himonas, known nationally for his role in developing Utah’s regulatory sandbox.

“I am really excited about this project,” Himonas said in a statement provided by LawX. “It is such a powerful example of design thinking and application. Rather than trying to replicate other efforts, LawX studied the space and sought to understand what the real choke points are to create some really innovative approaches to the expungement process.”

Given that Schenewark is now headed off to begin a career as an associate in the transactional group at Clifford Chance, I asked him if he thought his LawX work on a criminal justice problem contributed anything to his future career.

As it turned out, it was his summer associate position at Clifford Chance, a firm known for innovation and where he had the opportunity to work with the legal automation startup Josef, that whet his appetite for legal tech and led him to enroll in LawX.

Working through the design-thinking process in LawX showed him how complex legal problems can be and how many moving parts must be managed to address them, he said.

“When you’re able to come up with a solution that’s elegant and effective, I think that was a huge outcome,” he said. “I hope that I’ll take that forward in my career.”

Kulbeth pointed to something else the students learn. BYU Law seeks to instill in students not just a sense of justice, but also of mercy, she said, and expungement is one aspect of the criminal justice system that truly implicates mercy.

The person granted expungement has done their time, completed any probation, paid any fines, and now wants a chance to live their life and be part of their community.

“To me, that’s the meaning behind the project,” Kulbeth said. “We can’t have a perfect justice system. We know we don’t have one. So we have to have a way for mercy to be incorporated into the system.”