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Frank Busch: President of the Wine Mess at University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL

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published January 29, 2007

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"Involvement in student associations allows me to do my part to make law school more fun for everyone," Busch said. "Law school is hard, law students are busy, and the University of Chicago has a misguided reputation as a place where fun comes to die. Given that, anything that helps people unwind is extremely important and rewarding. Law students necessarily have a great many interests, and I think a great many of us would go crazy if we had no productive outlet for them."

The Wine Mess has been a campus institution for more than 30 years. It allows students and faculty to unwind every Friday afternoon after a long week of classes, studying, papers, and work. Drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and food are served based on the theme of the week; for example, the "Oktoberfest Wine Mess" features a wide variety of German foods, and beer is abundant (students are also encouraged to break out their lederhosen, dirndls, and other types of German garb), while the "007 Wine Mess" features James Bond's drink of choice. As the organization's president, Busch is responsible for purchasing food and drinks. He is also in charge of advertising for the weekly event, getting support from other student organizations, budgeting the money that is earned each week, and helping out on Friday nights.


According to Busch, the Hemingway Society (which is not the one established by the famous writer's widow) is "a wine-tasting society which brings in great wineries from around the world and provides students with valuable exposure to a wide variety of wines." As one of six co-chairs, Busch helps find interesting wineries to feature at their events. The co-chairs are also responsible for making sure all of the tables are set up for a proper wine tasting before their events, as well as cleaning after each event.

Every spring, members of the law school's softball team attend the University of Virginia School of Law Spring Softball Invitational in Charlottesville, VA. This year's tournament will take place March 30 through April 1, and Busch is hoping his team will enjoy the sweet smell of victory. As a co-captain of the team, he is in charge of finding hotel rooms (which often proves difficult since the tournament "draws nearly half of the school"), setting team rosters, and providing rental information.

Many students think this level of involvement in extracurricular activities would be detrimental to their studies. While he initially began law school believing that he should not participate in student associations in order to focus on his studies, Busch now believes otherwise and said that he is more organized and productive due to the fact that he is constantly busy.

"Staying involved helps me remain focused because it forces me to use time efficiently," Busch said. "If I didn't have so many student activity obligations, I would have substantially more time than I need and wind up wasting most of it. Since nothing motivates like deadline pressure, adding more deadlines makes for more productivity. Although it's worth mentioning that I'm far from overwhelmingly busy, there is still plenty of social and relaxation time."

Busch credits his desire to become a lawyer to a summer job he held in high school. He said that he spent two summers working in the conflicts and records departments of a San Francisco law firm. Despite the tedious work, Busch was able to familiarize himself with the legal profession.

"The job gave me a chance to observe the lawyers and the intelligence, excitement, and creativity they brought to their jobs on a daily basis," Busch said. "At the time, I had no idea how unique this was in a workplace, but future experiences repeatedly demonstrated how special law firms are. They made it clear to me that I would be happiest working around the kind of motivated people I knew I could find within the legal profession."

Q. What do you do for fun?
A. Chicago has a vibrant nightlife with plenty of options available no matter which nights of the week are convenient. Beyond that, I make sure to check in on the city's world-class comedy clubs and museums periodically. Even just spending a couple hours walking around the zoo with a friend can make for a great afternoon.
Q. What CD is in your CD player right now?
A. Red Hot Chili Peppers' Live in Hyde Park. It was a semi-joke gift when I decided to go to U of C (located in Chicago's Hyde Park). Despite the fact that it was recorded in the "wrong" Hyde Park, it has a good selection of Peppers tracks.
Q. What is the last magazine you read?
A. Sports Illustrated, but I usually don't have time for magazines.
Q. What is your favorite TV show?
A. Friday Night Lights is the best new show on TV, but it's way too early to place it above returning shows like South Park and Entourage or shows at or near the end of their run like The West Wing and The Sopranos.
Q. Who is your role model?
A. I tend to be wary of picking a particular person as a role model, since everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I admire many people for their strengths—JFK's political courage, Gandhi's revolutionary revolution, Justice Cardozo's legal creativity, Auguste Rodin's ability to sculpt marble, Barry Bonds' ability to hit baseballs, Dave Barry's ability to write humor columns, etc. However, I doubt any of these people is without weaknesses that I'd rather not emulate. JFK's infidelity and Barry Bonds' steroid use are easy examples.

Busch interned at the United States Attorney's Office, Civil Division, in San Francisco (part of California's Northern District) last summer.

"The USAO was a spectacular opportunity for the first summer," Busch said. "It was one of the public interest jobs recommended by career services, and I am grateful to them for emphasizing it. The summer consisted of a number of substantial assignments with individual Assistant U.S. Attorneys and provided me with valuable experience in both legal writing and the federal litigation process."

This summer, Busch plans to work in the San Francisco office of the international law firm Bingham McCutchen. Upon graduation, Busch plans to start out in the private sector but is not entirely committed to any particular area of law.

"As far as a specific practice area, it is too soon to really know, as the USAO isn't structured like a private law firm, so I don't really have any idea what the real benefits are to work in specific areas of the law," he said.

While many students say that they have been most influenced by professors or attorneys who helped them during internships, Busch said that his biggest influence has been his roommate. Busch acknowledged that law school is a time for growing up and said that he might never have made some of the necessary changes had it not been for his roommate.

"He is much more disciplined than I am—in nearly all aspects of his life—and it has been a great experience for me to observe and, quite frankly, leech off," Busch said.

Busch's favorite law school memory so far is of a Monday night tradition he participated in last year. Every Monday, a group ranging in size from four to 10 people would get together at a local pub known for its hot wings and talk over the wings and a couple of pitchers of beer. During the fall, they would stick around for the weekly football game. During the winter and spring, games like shuffleboard, darts, and pool replaced the football games.

"Because people tend to move to the north side of Chicago after 1L year, we haven't been able to replicate last year's Wings Night, but it was such a good thing that we keep talking about trying," Busch said.
  1. Legal Jobs
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  6. Frank Busch: President of the Wine Mess at University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL

published January 29, 2007

( 11 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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