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Colleen Bathen: 2L and Co-President of the Women’s Law Association at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law [By Heather Jung] Having just completed her first year of law school at USC, Colleen Bathen said that she decided to become a lawyer because law is a field that combines two of her main interests: writing and public policy.
This summer, Bathen is externing at the San
primarily as a fact checker, working under the
When classes resume this fall, Bathen
Francisco Superior Court, working in the Law
research editor. She also wrote an article on
will be the co-president of the Women’s
and Motions Department for judges Patrick
a new See’s candy bar, the Awesome Peanut
Law Association. According to Bathen, the
Mahoney and Peter Busch. She said she is
Brittle Bar. In the end, however, she decided
association’s goal is to “provide women at
enjoying the externship and is learning a lot.
to pass on a career in food writing.
USC Law with a means by which to learn
“I review case files on pre-trial motions,
“I enjoyed my experiences with food
and to learn about being a woman in the
conduct research, and write memoranda on
writing, but I decided to change careers
legal field.” She said that participating in
the motions,” Bathen said.
because I felt that I may want to reserve
student organizations while in law school has
my interests in food for my pleasure and
very distinct advantages.
from and about fellow female law students
Before attending law school, Bathen earned
outside interests instead of for my career,”
her undergraduate degree in English from
Bathen said.
a few years during college, Bathen said, she wanted to be a food writer because it combined her passions for food and writing. She worked as an intern for the food editor at the Contra Costa Times. Her main job during the internship was editing a column called “Cooks & Books” that allowed readers to review cookbooks and submit reviews. While at Contra Costa Times, she also got the opportunity to write two articles and co-write
Q. What do you do for fun? A. Yoga and cooking. Q. What CD is in your CD player right now? A. Norah Jones’ new CD, Not Too Late. Q. What is the last magazine you read? A. San Francisco Chronicle magazine. Q. What is your favorite TV show? A. Lost.
during college, and a restaurant opening in Berkeley. Bathen spent some time working for San Francisco magazine, as well, where she served
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outside of the classroom,” Bathen said. Bathen is still in the process of deciding on the specific field she would like to work in after graduation. She is currently torn between general civil litigation and real estate transactions. “I have formulated my ideas based on talking to people in the field and what I find most interesting in my classes,” said Bathen.
one with the editor that covered topics such as her mother’s cranberry sauce, eating well
“It is a great opportunity to get to know and to learn from your fellow law students
the University of California-Berkeley. For
Q. Who is your role model? A. My father. Q. What is something most people don’t know about you? A. I ice-skated for six years.