Bye Bye 2020! Cheers to 2021!

The first semester classes are winding down now and finals are practically here. Fortunately, this time I only have two finals to look forward to – Securities Regulation and Remedies. I’m also lucky that these two finals are spaced about as far apart from each other as possible so I have weeks to study for each exam individually. With so much stress and anxiety looming, I wanted to use this last blog post of 2020 to focus on one of the more fun-filled parts of my semester so far, the Wine & Spirits Law Society (“WSLS”). 

For the most part, Wine & Spirits activities have pretty much wrapped up for the year. Thanks to the efforts of our fantastic Events Chair, Fernanda Hinojosa, and our Treasurer, Zack Trotter, we were actually able to plan, organize and host two virtual events within the last two weeks. The first event was a guided sake tasting which covered the production process and history of sake while highlighting the different levels of “polished” sake rice (junmai, daiginjo and junmai daiginjo) and how the polish can change the color, flavor and overall presentation of the sake.

The second event featured a guided beer tasting AND a discussion of IP issues within the Seattle craft beer community with Prof. Zahr Said of the University of Washington School of Law. Prof. Said’s research and discussion provided an amazing look at the seemingly cooperative competition (termed “coopetition”) that permeated the craft beer community in the Seattle area at the time of her research. That coopetition, however, did not extend to the “Big Beer” industry as is made clear by the comments of some of her interviewees. Her article in the Lewis & Clark Law Review is full of fantastic insights and some amazingly candid interviews which are absolutely worth a read!

I said that we have “pretty much” wrapped up the semester because we do have one additional “event.” Just today we submitted an order for about four hundred customized wine glasses to help raise funds for future events while providing the LLS community a chance to buy a fun WSLS Christmas gift for themselves, a friend or for family. Fernanda found the vendor and negotiated the price and I couldn’t be happier with what she was able to get! It’s a small step but it’s hopefully the first of many moves to make WSLS a more sustainable and enjoyable student organization for years to come.