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Jess’ Blog

  • I am QPR Trained, You Should Be Too (especially if you’re a professor)

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    “There are so many people struggling with staying alive.” QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer. It’s an algorithm that equips anyone with the ability to prevent suicide. Question means asking directly if someone is suicidal. Persuade means persuading someone to stay alive and accept help. Refer means actively connecting someone to that help, including…

  • Why aren’t we talking about this?

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    My students often ask me why we aren’t talking about this. As a new professor, I’ve only seen a few versions of this. This meant what’s happening in Gaza. This meant the reelection of Donald Trump. This meant the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This meant the mass censorship of late-night television. And now this means…

  • Initial Observations Teaching Internet Law In the Midwest

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    I’m teaching Internet Law for the first time this semester at the University of Akron School of Law. I’m implementing Prof. Eric Goldman’s course materials. I took Prof. Goldman’s class in 2019 and I served as his TA while finishing law school. Obviously, I’ve practiced / continue to practice Internet law, and I’ve developed deep…

  • On Academia & AALS

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    To the student who told me to get back into blogging, this one’s for you. When I landed my dream job in academia, I thought I would finally feel complete. Every career move I made in my 20’s, every thinkpiece, blog, tweet, speaking gig, was all in the pursuit of becoming an academic. Academics have…

  • You’ve Got This!

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    Below is the email I just sent to my bar students. I’m sharing in case it brings any comfort to anyone else getting ready to take the exam next week. Hey there!  I hope you’ll excuse the Sunday evening email. And I apologize in advance for giving you more reading — I promise this one…

  • To My First 1L Class

    Dear Students, Congratulations on reaching the end of your first semester of law school! And for my Spring Starts, the conclusion of your 1L year—what an incredible milestone. Take a moment to truly savor this achievement. It’s one of those rare, hard-earned moments in law school that often goes uncelebrated. You’ve tackled one of the…

  • Today’s Class: a note to my students regarding the election

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    Students, If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been intentional about keeping my politics neutral in this class. There’s a reason for that. My career has taken me through both ends of the political spectrum—I’ve worked for right-leaning organizations, left-leaning ones, and everywhere in between. Over time, those experiences shaped me into a centrist with core principles…

  • Rounding Up My Legal Advocacy Work for Q2

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    It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end of Q3. As you can tell, I’m quite behind with this Q2 Legal Advocacy update… I love speaking about these topics! For press / speaking inquiries, I can be reached at jess@progresschamber.org Publications Amicus Briefs Letters Press Panels & Other Speaking Opportunities Podcasts

  • Rounding Up My External Legal Advocacy Work on SCOTUS Social Media Cases

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    One of the many aspects of my job at Chamber of Progress that I greatly enjoy is being on the front-lines again, advocating for the Internet and progressive tech policy. The recent SCOTUS social media cases (Gonzalez v. Google & Twitter v. Taamneh), presented my first opportunity, since I was at Google, to get back…

  • The View From Halfway Down

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    tw: mental illness, depression, suicide I’ve had this post rattling around in my mind for almost a year, waiting for the moment I finally felt ready to write it. Someone once told me that blogging should be fun. It shouldn’t feel like a chore. That’s why I stopped writing for most of this year. This…