Mintz Levin Attorney John B. Koss Appointed to Massachusetts Bar Association Task Force on Law School Effectiveness
11/28/2011
Boston, MA – John B. Koss, an attorney in the Litigation Section at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., has been appointed to the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) task force to study law school effectiveness. The task force, formed by MBA President Richard P. Campbell in response to law school graduates’ difficulty finding jobs in the struggling economy, will examine whether law schools need to be overhauled to fully prepare their students for jobs in the legal profession.
The group, which is expected to produce a full report next March, has been asked to investigate a number of issues including: the responsibility for law schools to fully inform prospective Massachusetts students on the costs of attending and the likelihood of gainful employment; responsibility for law schools to fully educate students on bar examination topics such that the bar review costs are not added to an already exorbitant tuition bill; the timing of bar examinations; whether the MBA should rethink the three year law school model; and more.
Mr. Koss is a Practice Coordinator for and a founding member of Mintz Levin’s Electronic Discovery Practice Group and is also a member of the Construction Law Practice Group. His e-discovery practice focuses on serving as national discovery counsel for clients preparing for serial commercial litigation. In this role, he advises on records management and e-discovery readiness and works with clients to design and execute company-wide discovery plans. Working primarily with the firm’s biotechnology and construction clients, Mr. Koss assists trial teams throughout all phases of litigation, working closely with clients, in-house counsel, and information technology personnel to ensure that defensible practices are employed with respect to discovery at every phase.
In his construction practice, Mr. Koss focuses primarily on the representation of property owners, contractors, and subcontractors in complex disputes premised on a wide range of issues, including terminations, engineering and architectural malpractice, and/or design failure. His experience includes working with clients to obtain and dissolve mechanics’ liens, initiating bid protests before the Massachusetts Attorney General, and addressing resolution of disputes through mediation, arbitration, and/or litigation.
In 2011, Mr. Koss was named a Rising Star by Massachusetts Super Lawyers. He is a part-time faculty member at Boston University School of Law, where he teaches in the Legal Writing Program. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at Fenway Health.
He received his B.A. from Northwestern University, his M.S. in Journalism from Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, and his J.D., cum laude, from Boston University School of Law.
