Legal Jobs >> Legal Articles >> Law Student Profile >> Martin Magnusson: Vice President Of The American Constitution Society, Northeastern University School Of Law, Boston, MA
Martin Magnusson: Vice President of the American Constitution Society, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MA
by Jen Woods
Magnusson, a second-year law student, is a team leader at the institute, where he works with a group of first-year law students. The Domestic Violence Institute is a volunteer project in which law students staff the Boston Medical Center Emergency Department on nights and weekends, providing support and advocacy for victims of domestic violence. "I am proud to be part of a law school that places such importance on providing these young students with the opportunity to see how the legal system works for (and occasionally fails) some of Boston's most vulnerable citizens," he said.
The institute offers valuable hands-on experience, Magnusson said. "Standing before the court and making arguments on behalf of a real-life client was thrilling! I had the opportunity to work with one particular client through the entire summer, and I came to know her well. After one hearing, my client and I were leaving the courtroom together. She turned to me and said, 'I think you're a terrific lawyer, Martin.' While I did explain to her that I am not an attorney, it was one of the proudest moments of my law school career," he said.
Magnusson is also a law student volunteer at the New England Innocence Project, a legal clinic that seeks to identify, investigate, and exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals. "I am currently reviewing a potential client's extensive trial record and will ultimately draft a memo recommending whether the New England Innocence Project should take on his case. As law school focuses on reading appellate cases, this is my first time poring over a trial transcript," he said.
In addition, Magnusson participates in Northeastern University School of Law's co-op program, in which students alternate between full-time classes and full-time internships. He is currently completing his first six-month co-op at the United States Attorney's Office, where he has been handling criminal and civil cases related to the Big Dig (the Central Artery/Tunnel Project) in Boston. While every day brings new and exciting challenges, his favorite part of the co-op "is working with experienced lawyers on real legal problems," he said.
Studying law has been "intellectually engaging," Magnusson said. So far, his favorite law class has been torts. "I enjoyed it tremendously. It posed questions that are quite profound. How do we assess responsibility? What are the duties that citizens owe one another? When do we shift the burden of loss from one party to another? The answers to these questions speak volumes about how we prioritize conflicting values," he said.
Student organizations have also played an important role in Magnusson's education because they have given him opportunities to see how his academic studies apply to real-life situations in the legal field. "I have had the opportunity to speak to wrongfully convicted prisoners who have been exonerated, eat dinner with a former solicitor general, discuss jury pool selection with a federal judge, and talk to practicing trial attorneys. Each of these experiences has brought my academic work into much sharper focus," he said.
As a first-year student, Magnusson served as the president of Northeastern's American Constitution Society (ACS) chapter. "The mission of ACS is to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law," he said.
Even before his law classes started, Magnusson knew he wanted to be a part of the society. "In the summer before I started law school, I read Justice Scalia's A Matter of Interpretation. While I disagreed with its premise, this book really impacted me. ACS was a venue [where] I could discuss strict textualism and connect with people who shared my criticism of it," he said.
Last year, Magnusson attended the ACS National Convention with other members of Northeastern's ACS chapter. "There, we met law students, lawyers, judges, and professors from across the country," he said.
This year, Magnusson was elected ACS Chapter Vice President. "I am currently preparing to represent my law school chapter in the upcoming ACS national moot court competition," he said.
Magnusson is also an editor-at-large for the American Constitution Society blog (http://www.acsblog.org). "The great thing about ACS is that it has provided me with a range of opportunities to participate in a truly national organization."
Magnusson's favorite law school memory so far is of his visit to the Supreme Court. "Walking into that court, after spending countless late nights reading its opinions, felt like finally meeting a person about whom I had heard so much," he said.
Magnusson has received the support and help of several people throughout his time in law school. When Magnusson was considering law school, his wife was the one who pushed him to get serious about it. "She encouraged me to follow my dreams," he said. Lois Kanter, Magnusson's supervising attorney at the Domestic Violence Institute, has also been influential in his career. "I count her as one of my most valued mentors," he said.
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