JHL March Newsletter

March 2022 | Vol. 1

JHL President pp 2 New Officers pp 3-4 Professor Spotlight pp 6 Student Spotlight Pp 7 Upcoming Events pp 8 Final Exam Study Tips pp 9 Editor pp 10

Judge Hugh Locke Honor Society Newsletter The Official JHL Newsletter of The Birmingham School of Law

Inside this volume: Meet The New Officers - 2 Professor Spotlight - 3 Upcoming Events-4

Hello and welcome to Birmingham School of Law’s first semester of 2022! I am so excited to take this extremely difficult journey with each of you. Law school is hard, but it is better accomplished by being part of a team. The Judge Hugh Lock Honor Society is a diverse group of dedicated students, who are working together to build long lasting relationships and provide academic support for all members. Our top objectives are to first, build a strong school culture while also collaborating with other BSOL student organizations. We truly believe we are better together!

The Judge Hugh Locke Honor Society [JHL] is an honorary fraternity organized for the advancement of legal scholarship and ethics. Full time students who have completed at least two (2) terms, accumulated a minimum of fifteen (15) term hours of course work at BSL, and attained a minimum 3.00 GPA are eligible for membership.

MARCH 2022 | VOL. 1

A letter from the president I hope you all enjoy our first newsletter. The goal of our newsletter is to get to know each other at BSL. Covid has made that very challenging, but hopefully, we can change that through improved communication!

First, our newsletter is for JHL and all of BSL. We will include JHL activities, BLSA, the Women's Association, other activities available around the school, and upcoming events. The newsletter will also include a highlighted student and professor. If you have ideas for the newsletter, please let us know! The newsletter is for you, and we want to make sure we include things you are interested in reading! Don't hesitate to contact our editor, Danielle Eaton, if you would like to contribute. bsolnewslettersubmissions@gmail.com.

We are planning some fantastic opportunities for everyone to reconnect in person again. First up is the JHL Social on March 24th and 26th at Side Bar, and graduation and the Gala will be for May. Over the summer, we will have some Wellness activities open to everyone.

The TV has arrived and will be installed in the student lounge soon, and it will allow us another way to communicate with BSL students. We will have a scrolling slide show that will include all things BSL: important dates, opportunities, photos of students and professors, etc. So be sure to submit any images, happenings around the school, or suggestions you have to our editor, Danielle Eaton.

As JHL members, we must perform service hours each semester. I know it has been a challenge to meet the requirement closer to home for some of you. We have heard you! Our Service Arbiter, Jennifer Pigeon, is working diligently to make opportunities available for you. We are also looking for tutors! There are options for you to tutor as well. You can do a session through Zoom or partner with another JHL member and tutor several students in the same subject. Tutoring can be very flexible. Let Jennifer know if you are available for tutoring or need any help meeting your hours.

We will also be partnering with BLSA and the Women's Association throughout the year. BLSA is planning Law Day next semester so keep an eye out for service opportunities there. We will partner with the other organizations on campus for several activities to come, so keep an eye out for these great opportunities to meet your fellow students!

Lastly, we have some fantastic speakers lined up for our March meeting you don't want to miss.

My goals for the year are improving communication and building relationships. I appreciate your support of JHL, and I look forward to working with each of you to make this a fantastic year.

Meet Your New Officers Kelly Cimio Occupation: High School English Teacher Current City: Decatur Advice: In law school, I have found that there’s no substitution for doing the reading.

Favorite quote: “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” Albert Einstein

Julie Sak Occupation: Real Estate Investor Current City: Florence Advice: Flash cards are a great way to memorize black letter law.

Favorite quote: “Actions spreak louder than words." -Unknown

Meet Your New Officers Chris Colvin Occupation: Pastor, Fire Fighter & Gym Owner (Tri-Star Fitness) Current City: Jasper Advice: Remember, you're not in law school to pass the bar, you're here to learn how to effectively serve your future clients.

Favorite quote: "Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Jennifer Bearden-Pidgeon Occupation: Paralegal Current CIty: Birmingham Advice: Brief the cases and do your outlines!

Favorite quote: "Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life.

Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end." -Roy T. Bennett

Meet Your New LITERACY WEEK Officers Laura Peyton Vickery Occupation: Paralegal Current City: Birmingham Advice: The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex-overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -Mark Twain Favorite quote: "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it."

-Judge Learned Hand

Professor Spotlight!

Proffesor John L. Bodie

While many professors have fascinating backgrounds, few have one as unique as Professor John Bodie. Prior to attending law school at BSL, Mr. Bodie had acquired

by Mrs. Donna Stroupe degrees inWritten mathematics and computing which he used working as a computer programmer and operations analyst in Huntsville, Alabama, until 1995. Bodie was one of a few students at BSL who managed to complete his juris doctorate in two years and eight months. This was at a time when students could attend classes, which met at the Jefferson County Courthouse, five nights a week. After graduating in 1997, Professor Bodie opened a private practice in Huntsville. After about a year on his own, he was offered an associate position and moved to Birmingham with his wife, Melissa, also a BSL student whose own studies overlapped with her husband’s. Shortly after, Bodie and three classmates formed their own firm.

Birmingham School of Law, his alma mater, recognized Bodie’s talents early on. He was barely out of school before he was asked to begin teaching courses. Perhaps those administrators knew teaching civil procedure couldn’t possibly be as challenging as his experience teaching calculus at Auburn while he was a graduate student there.

Professor Bodie has taught contracts, legal research and writing, and pleadings and practice, but his favorite courses to teach are civil procedure and juvenile law.

Through his teaching career, he has been a first-hand witness to how BSL has changed over the years EXHIBITION including, in ART December 2013, when the campus moved to its current location which had previously been a BMW dealership. Apparently, the auditorium was once a ramp used to drive cars to the service bays on the Written by Mrs. Samira Hadid second floor. Over the course of his twenty-five years in law, he has experienced a myriad of cases providing experiences which he uses in equipping his students with tips for their “practice toolbox.”

Two years ago, Professor Bodie joined his wife at the Legal Aid Society where she has practiced for sixteen years, focusing on child abuse and neglect cases. Bodie’s case load also consists primarily of child abuse and neglect as well as termination of parental rights and family court appeals work. The couple’s professional and personal lives demonstrate a commitment to caring for children. For many years, they were licensed foster parents through Lifeline Children’s Services and continue to help support foster parenting through a local group. The Bodies are the proud parents of two grown children and two “grandbabies.” Even when they take time off, they are also often serving others; they have traveled throughout the United States working on construction projects with various missions groups. However, Professor Bodie says his favorite way to travel is on a cruise ship because out at sea they are completely cut off from emails and texts. It doesn’t matter the destination; the couple enjoys the break from any expectation to reply to messages.

Many who have had the pleasure of being a student in one of Professor Bodie’s classes would attest to the careful consideration he puts into preparing his lectures. He truly has a heart for students and sincerely desires to see them understand the material. BSL is blessed to include John Bodie among its faculty.

Student Spotlight!

Regina Burpo is an impressive woman, and she becomes even more remarkable when you get to know her.

Childhood was not easy for Regina. Her mother died when she was 11, and she spent parts of her youth moving between Illinois and Alabama.

After high school, Regina began college at Western Illinois University. Unfortunately, she learned the hard way that choices have consequences. Regina had to leave school for financial reasons after her first year.

Regina Burpo

After six months of figuring out what to do next, she decided it was time to come home to Alabama.

The legal field called to her in 2003, and she began at the bottom as support staff. She worked her way up each ladder, starting as a secretary and steadily promoting to paralegal and now office manager. She began at BSL in January of 2019.

In 2004, she restarted her pursuit of a better life by enrolling in UAB's School of Business. It was this same year she discovered she was pregnant with her son. Determined not to get off track again, she finished that first year of school and then took two years off to adjust to parenthood. Regina went on to work full-time and attend school at night at UAB. She took two classes a semester until she completed her degree in April 2014.

Regina found her church home in 2011 at Love Fellowship Christian Center in Adamsville, AL. This church changed her life. Regina realized that she had been running from her true calling, service to the Lord. Regina loves her church family and affectionately calls her Pastor and First Lady "Mom and Pops." They have become parent figures in her life, helping to guide and support her. She served as the youth director, teacher, and preacher in her church.

Regina became an ordained minister in 2013. She works full-time, raises her son, serves when possible at her church, and goes to law school. For most, that is a full schedule, but not Regina. She is very active at BSL. Regina is a member of the Judge Hugh Locke Honor Society and serves as the vice-president of the Women's Association, where she handles all things membership, mentoring, and money. She frequently shares inspirational messages with the members of BSLWA. Regina also is a member of the Black Law Student Association and is currently serving as the chair of Law Day. And if that were not enough, Regina is the captain of the Trial Team, where she strives to ensure her teammates are equipped and empowered to advance in this year's STAC trial competition!

If you see Regina Burpo around campus, be sure to say hello to this incredible member of our student body!

Upcoming Events!

JHL Social

Please join us for one of our JHL Socials @ SideBar Bham!

Date & Time:

March 24th 8-10 pm & March 26th 7-9 pm Location

2929 7th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233

2929 7th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233

What is Law Day? “Law Day, held annually on May 1, is a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law.

Law Day provides an opportunity to understand how law and the legal process protect our liberty, strive to achieve justice, and contribute to the freedoms that all Americans share.”

BLSA is celebrating Law Day with several events such as a mock trial for the youth in the surrounding community, a panel discussion, alumni v. students trivia and a scholarship mixer. We have begun planning to make this our biggest Law Day yet!

If you would like to join the Law Day committee please contact Regina Burpo, Chair.

Email: reginaburpo@hotmail.com Visit www.bsolblsa.org for more information.

Study Tips for Finals!

Start Early.

Digest the Information in Multiple Ways.

If you have not started your outlines, start! A great deal of learning happens during the process of creating your outline.

The best way to retain information is to use different studying materials: Voice recorded notes: Take good notes during class, then record yourself reading them out loud. Listen in the car, shower, or anytime you have a free moment.

Watch lecture videos on the subject matter.

Use Sticky notes to write rules of law and then stick them on your bathroom mirrors, refrigerator, exit doors, etc. Force yourself to read them each time you see them.

Take a Break Get up every 30 minutes or so and stretch, get a snack, or get a quick breath of fresh air.

Make a Study Strategy

Then get back at it!

Go over your outline!

Oh yea, Outline!

Eat Smart Study Smarter Adding a few heathy options to your diet could help ward off brain fog and fatigue.

Create a calendar allocating certain days and times per class Make a check list starting with your most difficult class Try studying early in the day if you can If you’re studying with a group still have an individual strategy for your solo study time.

Berries Grapefruit Orages Dark Chocolate Nuts Avocado Fish Eggs Beets

Get some sleep.

Sleep is good.

• Red, green, and orange vegetables

From the Editor Hi! I'm Danielle Eaton, a 2L at Birmingham School of Law! Like many of you, I am extremely excited I’ve made it this far. By day I am Sergeant at the Sheriff’s Office. I’ve been policing 14 years but excited to start a new career practicing law. I am a married mother of 3 beautiful children and a member of JHL Honor Society and BLSA. The little down time I do have I enjoy spending time working out, reading, and volunteering in my community.

Words of advice: DO YOUR READINGS! There is no other way to be successful. Find a study group where you are not the smartest person in the room. (don’t be the opposite either though lol) Favorite Quote: "Every storm runs out of rain."

-Maya Angelou

Just in case you missed the QR Code to join, it's here!

Any content herein expressing the views, thoughts, or opinions of students, staff, or faculty belong solely to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Birmingham School of Law or the Judge Hugh Locke Honor Society or other student associations