General Practice, Solo and Small Firm
J Thomas Howell (Mercer University-Walter F. George School of Law)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco California. I participated in the various GP Solo Committee Meetings and attended various other meetings. Met all of the ABA leaders and attended various functions. Also spoke on behalf of the law students for the ABA GP Solo Mentoring program.
DIVISION-MEETINGS: At the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco California, I participated in the various GP SOLO Divison Committee meetings. I was the speaker for the GP Solo law student input in order to follow up on an old project regarding mentoring programs for law students.
ISSUES: Bridging the gap between law student participation in the ABA with becoming a full-time ABA member after law school. Putting together a mentoring program.
PROJECTS: ABA GP SOLO mentoring program and a Judicial Clerkship CLE for the next ABA Annual Meeting in New York.

Government and Public Section Lawyers
Sunita Krishna (University of Arizona-Rogers College of Law)
DIVISION MEETINGS: I participated in the Liaison Teleconference provided to orient liaison to their duties and set forth goals.
ISSUES: At my law school, a primary issues that often comes up involves the lack of guidance regarding how to apply for government jobs. Luckily, my law school is very active in publishing a list of government jobs, but we do not offer very much in terms of actually working with the government entitites. The big issue is having some sort of email that goes out to law students telling them how to apply for jobs with links, etc. I have fielded a lot of questions from students around the country who have contacted me regarding how to get involved in governemnt work, where to look, etc.
PROJECTS: In response to the above, I am working to create a list of government jobs and instructions on how to apply. While the website certainly has a lot of good links, a comprehensive letter with links and very specific instructions via email would be helpful. I will be emailing out such an email to my law school community in the spring when our public work fair is scheduled to occur.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: I am focusing primarily on reaching out to law students that do not know that the ABA has a Law Student Division where they can access relevant information through the internet. Awareness is what I am attempting to bring to the forefront here.

Judicial
Michelle Marjon Raji (Loyola University - Los Angeles - School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: Met with student ABA representative one on one and spoke about recruiting student involvement.
PROJECTS: Have been in talks with the SBA of Loyola regarding the Judicial Division. Plan on advertising the division on campus and have helped promote student ABA membership involvement.

Senior Lawyers
Stephen Hamm (Nova Southeastern University-Shepard Broad Law Center)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the Senior Lawyers Division Fall Meeting in Chicago Oct 18-20 where I participated in the Division's Council Meeting and various committee meetings. My primary focus during the meeting was to participate in the various discussions relating to the Senior Lawyers Division future marketing and membership initative that will open their doors to lawyers and law students who practice or are interested in practicing Elder Law.
DIVISION MEETINGS: I currently plan to attend the ABA Midyear Meeting, pending my law school scheduled and academic commitments (exams) at that time.
ISSUES:

• Addressed broadening the scope of the Senior Lawyers Division to include the practice of Elder Law. This has the potential increase Division membership and include participation in Division activities by younger attorneys and law students interested in an Elder Law career.
• The SLD Council endorsed a NY State Bar resolution on Alternative Financing of Long-Term Care to be presented at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Los Angeles. In my opinion, this resolution is of interest all attorneys and all Americans as it relates to the financial security of many families as their members need long-term care.

PROJECTS: I plan to write an article/email for Liaison Notes, Lt. Governors, or school ABA representatives to distribute regarding the Senior Lawyers Division expansion in scope to include Elder Law practice (and encouraging Elder Law practice in general). To get the most out of the timing of this, I wish to wait a few months until more of the Senior Lawyers Division elder law marketing is in place such as changes to its webpage.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Some of the publications and programs planned by the Senior Lawyers Division will be on topics such as retirement planning for attorneys and how to buy/sell a law practice. Much of this is predicated on new attorneys making the correct decisions from their first day. As such, there should be material in some of these publications of interest to soon-to-be attorneys.

Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
Nancy  Eyl (Georgetown University Law Center)

Antitrust Law-Membership and Equal Opportunity Committee
Daniel J Boyle (University of the Pacific-McGeorge School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: During the ABA Annual Meeting, I participated in the Section of Antitrust Law Council Meeting, and joined the Section at the Rule of Law Initiative luncheon. I have participated in a conference calls. I also attended an antitrust luncheon lecture at my law school in order to promote membership in the Section of Antitrust Law.
DIVISION MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, orientation and other sessions. As my first exposure to the ABA, I was there to learn and ask questions to help understand my role and how to serve the as a liaision.
ISSUES: The Section of Antitrust Law has several writing scholarships and two fellowships that it hopes to more broadly advertise and encourage law students to join the section. The section is also the home of consumer protection within the ABA and wants to attract and support students and new lawyers interested in public service. The section supports students with the Steiger Fellowship and is developing a new fellowship for students who take non-paying intern positions with qualified organizations and government entitites dedicated to antitrust and consumer protection issues.
PROJECTS: I have written an article which will be published in Student Lawyer to promote the Steiger Fellowships. I have also begun a project to help identify law schools where the Section can host a brown bag Antitrust series in order to increase interest and involvement in the section.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: As time allows, I hope to suggest updates to the Section's law student web site. I have also forwarded suggestions to the Law Student listing of fellowhips and writing scholarships to ensure they include the Section's offering in their promotional efforts. The new monthly udate of activities in and around the Law Student Division is a venue I hope to use to promote Section activities.

Business Law
Adam Ross Pearlman (George Washington University Law School)

Criminal Justice Council
Cynthia G. Jones (South Texas College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: During the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, I attended the committee chairs meeting and introduce myself and attended the Prosecution Function Committee Meeting. Durnig the Section's Fall Council Meeting in DC, I participated as a voting member and actively participated in the discussion.
ISSUES:

• CJS dealt with many issues at both the annual meeting and the fall meeting. Of interest to law students was the proposed addition to Model Rules of Professional Conduct 3.8. The addition of subsection (g) was debated and finally passed in its final form by the council this past weekend. This model rule describes the duty of a prosecutor to investigate further any evidence that may be discovered post conviction.
• CJS is very concerned with the Loan Repayment Assistance Program efforts and I lobbied for their assistance and support in Washinton. The council acknowledged that, more than any other section in the ABA, the CJS is being most impacted by the heavy debt loads and recruiting for public service jobs is becomming more difficult. We will be working closely to get the CJS and the LSD to join forces and help with loan reapyment efforts.
• CJS sponsors a writing competiton that is open to all law students. They requested that we help them pass the word and I will be making efforts to do that shortly. Last year they only received eight submissions and were unable to select a winner. I will be working to try to get more submissions this year. If you are interested in submitting an entry, the details are posted on the ABA website on the Criminal Justice Section webpage (http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/)

PROJECTS:

• My main goals at this time are to enlist the help of the CJS in finding long term solutions for the debt load issues facing graduates who would like to serve their communities and neighbors.
• My second project is working with the CJS on a project that will involve teaching historical cases to middle school students. This is a new project and is still in the early stages. Hopefully I should have more information soon.

Criminal Justice-Corrections and Sentencing Committee
Candace Cromes (University of LaVerne College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: During the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, neither the Corrections nor the Sentencing Committee met; however, I did attend the Criminal Justice Section Reception where I met the staff and members of the Criminal Justice Section leadership. I plan to attend the next meeting of both the Corrections Committee and the Sentencing Committee scheduled for the Section's Fall Meeting in Washington D.C., November 1-4, 2007.
ISSUES:

• Currently the Corrections Committee is working on a Resolution that will be considered at its November 3, 2007 meeting. This Resolution deals with the monitoring, inspection, and investigation of prison facilities. It calls for a separate entity to conduct these inspections.
• The Sentencing Committee voted in April for a reduction of the federal minimum sentence for possession of crack which will go into effect on November 1, 2007 provided that Congress does not intervene.
• Both the Corrections and Sentencing Committee have been involved in educating the public on the disparity in federal sentencing laws for crack and powdered cocaine. A distinguished panel of legal experts and activist spoke at George Washington University on this topic on October 3, 2007.

PROJECTS: I plan on continuing with the initiatives the Corrections Committee and the Sentencing Committees have set out for this year. Once I meet with the Committees I will have an understanding of how I can better contribute to each entity.

Criminal Justice-Defense Function and Services Committeel
Sara Dresser (Southwester Law School)
ISSUES: The Committee has an ambitious agenda for the 2007-2008 year. Task force items include:

• To determine to Committee's position on a proposed rule that would severely limit the public s access to plea agreements
• To determine what revisions the Standards Committee is considering to the Defense Functions Standards. Of particular concern are standards regarding plea bargaining and the conduct of criminal investigations
• To determine the status of funding for indigent clients, especially regarding the obligations of overloaded court appointed counsel who assume additional court assignments
• To determine the ethical obligation of a lawyer if he or she has testimonial evidence of the defendant's innocence that contradicts what the defendant has told counsel
• To strive for habeus corpus reform
• To determine the status of the Attorney-Client Privilege Act in Congress
• To urge the ABA to issue a resolution in support of a Justice Department investigation into the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of the Jena 6
• To develop additional CLE programs

PROJECTS: I will be working on revising and recommending new standards, which is one of the Committee's long-term project. I will also be looking into the Jena 6 issue.

Criminal Justice-International Crimes Committee
Leslie  Frost (Santa Clara University School of Law)
I plan on getting more involved in the committee next semester and organize speaker events at law schools.

Criminal Justice-Juvenile Justice Committee
Olivia  Hyatt (North Carolina Central School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended Back to the Future: Forty Years of In Re Gault at the ABA 2007 Annual Meeting in August. This was a CLE that focused on the Rigth to Counsel for defendants in juvenile delinquency cases. A question and answer session followed the CLE. I also attend the Juvenille Justice Committee Meeting on August 12. Robert Schwartz lead the meeting as Chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee. We discussed different aspects of the juvenile system and what direction the committee should take.
DIVISION MEETINGS: I attended my circuit's Regional Fall Roundtable on October 13, 2007 at Duke University School of Law. We started the roundtable with a session titled, Coffee with Experience. We talked with law professionals and discussed what they are doing and what we hope to be doing. Another important session included a discussion on, "The Least Understood Branch." In this session, different judges discussed their role in the system. We also had roundtable breakouts and circuit meetings.
PROJECTS: North Carolina Central University School of Law is hosting "NCBA Minorities in the Profession, High School Law Career." This conference was designed to introduce promising minority students to judges, attorneys and law students and provide them with information about careers in law. In one of the presentations, minority lawyers will give their testimony to youth who hope to become lawyers. I would like to have a follow up activity to this program. I am in the process of organizing a day for those students to follow law students or an attorney for a day. I am also trying to reach out to youth in the area that are underserved and offering a program for At-Risk-Youth. This is in the beginning stages.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Juvenile Justice Committee Goals for 2007-2008

• To recruit members from every corner of the juvenile justice community: academics, defense attorneys, judges, and prosecutors. Committee members are encouraged to urge youthful, energetic colleagues to (join the ABA and) become members of the Committee.
• To develop juvenile justice policy for the American Bar Association and the Criminal Justice Section.
• To look at policy possibilities arising from ABA President Karen Mathis s Youth at Risk Commission.
• To develop and present Continuing Legal Education programs, both during the year and at regular ABA events.
• To involve as many volunteer members in the work of the Section as possible, particularly as it relates to developing policy or providing training and education.

Criminal Justice-Prosecution Function Committee
Joshua M. Templet (University of California-Berkeley-School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: During the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, I attended the Prosecution Function Committee Meeting, Criminal Justice Section Reception, and several Criminal Justice Section events.
DIVISION MEETINGS: At the Annual Meeting in August, I attended the major Law Student Division events, including the Liaison Orientation and Career Fair.
ISSUES: Of interest to law students were recent Prosecution Function Committee debates on a proposed addition of a new subsection (g) to Rule 3.8 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, involving the duty of prosecutors to investigate potentially exonerating evidence discovered after a conviction. Also of interest is the committee's ongoing effort to distinguish between two different types of prosecutorial misconduct: 1) error, as when an honest mistake is made; and 2) misconduct, as when there is an intentionally wrongful act.
PROJECTS: I am working to educate first myself, and then fellow students interested in careers in criminal law and/or public service on the relevant details of the newly passed federal loan-repayment assistance bill.

Criminal Justice-Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Joseph Dennis Carlson (Catholic University of America-Columbus School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: Participated in numerous conference calls and plan on attending upcoming lecture series on proposed changes to certain subsections of the Federal Rules of Evidence.
PROJECTS: A roundtale concerning recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the 4th and 5th Amendment and what they might foreshadow in the years ahead concerning Criminal Procedure jurisprudence.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Engaging and encouraging interest in criminal law among law students.

Criminal Justice-Victims Committee
Abby Allford (Oklahoma City University School of Law)
ISSUES: An important issue seems to be the minimal amount of funding in this area.
PROJECTS:

• To increase the visibility of the Victims Committee within the legal community.
• To complete the Committee's work on updating the Fair Treatment Guidelines for Crime Victims.
• To work with the ABA Pro Bono Center to provide pro bono services to victims.
• To determine which pro bono areas have the least amount of support and increase pro bono groups or organizations in that area.
• To increase member participation within the non-profit organizations that support crime victims.
• *To educate and advocate on the rights, needs and funding for services for crime victims.
• To develop additional CLE programs on child abuse, child neglect, rape, and other victims' support groups.
• To work more closely with the other ABA representatives and members to organize a group pertaining to crime victims within our law school as well as within other law schools.

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

• I am currently planning to attend a C.L.E. Seminar on child abuse training and family support.
• I am also planning on attending a Christmas party for all of the children in Oklahoma County that have been victims of crimes.
• I am planning on talking with Lawyers for Children about trying to organize a non-profit support group specifically for children.
  

Criminal Justice-White Collar Crimes Committee
Tracey Johnson (Washburn University Law School)

Dispute Resolution
James P. Sasso (Seton Hall University School of Law)

Environment, Energy and Resources Law
Andrew Jacoby (Tulane University Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the ABA August Annual Meeting in San Francisco, and in September I attended the Section of Environment Energy and Resource Law (SEER) Fall Meeting in Pittsburgh (for which I have been a vice-chair on the conference planning committee for the past year). I attended the SEER governing Council meetings in both San Francisco and Pittsburgh. Based on those meetings, I have a number of initiatives I will be involved with as outlined below.
ISSUES: Volunteers are needed for various projects. I will be promoting these opportunities to students on the SEER website.
PROJECTS: At the SEER Fall Meeting in 2006 (San Diego), there were only a handful of students, and I was asked to join the 2007 conference planning committee in order to increase the number of student attendees. This year, we had about two dozen students, and I will again be a part of the conference planning committee for 2008 (Phoenix) in an effort to increase student attendance even more. It is my opinion that with 1,700 student members of SEER, there should be well over 100 student members attending our fall meetings.
COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES: There are a number of SEER committees and task forces in need of my help as the student liaison. I will be assisting the following:

• EDUCATION COMMITTEE: Increasing student participation in Quick Teleconference series; Carbon Offset Fall Meeting initiative (possible bus to fall meeting for students); ABA sponsorship of student-run conferences (along with the Section Committee on Section Sponsorships); Law School externship research and database development.
• COMMITTEE ON PESTICIDES, CHEMICAL REGULATION, and RIGHT-TO-KNOW: Nanotechnology project (need for student volunteers).
• WORLD JUSTICE PROJECT: This is not an initiative run by SEER, but environmental issues will have particular interest to students, which I am currently considering how we can help.
• RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES COMMITTEE: Initiatives with Yale Law School and NAELS (National Association of Environmental Law Societies).
• SPECIAL COMMITTTEE ON YOUNG LAWYERS: Student involvement in mentoring programs, and development of Quick Teleconferences.

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS:

• Increase student membership by (1) promoting a reduction in student section dues (from $5 to $0), and, (2) encouraging law schools with environmental law programs to promote ABA membership.
• Continue to promote student attendance at SEER conferences, in part via my activity on the 2008 fall meeting planning committee.
• Work with SEER Council and its efforts to develop and promote minority students to join the section.
• Promote change of SEER policy in drawing up conference hotel contracts that preclude promotion of alternatives (less expensive) hotels for students.
• Assistance with the Energy Challenge, which promotes law firms (and hopefully soon, law schools) to reduce their environmental footprint.
  

Family Law
Callie Renee Weed (Stetson University College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the leadership's meeting at the Annual Conference in San Francisco. I spent an entire morning with the section which gave me a great deal of background information concerning the section.
PROJECTS: I have been attempting to increase student resources in the field of family law through more CLE sponsorships for students and by creating a database of family law organizations at law schools.

Health Law
Katie Rose Fink (Saint Louis University School of Law)

Individual Rights and Responsibilities Law
Margaux Day (Case Western Reserve School of Law)
DIVISION MEETINGS: Thus far, I have learned much from the Section's listserve and publications.
ISSUES: Many death penalty discussions.
PROJECTS: Continue to keep updated on discussions (via their listserv) and plan to attend the next regional meeting.

Intellectual Property Law
Kristina Kirby (ITT-Chicago-Kent College of Law)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting-went to several CLE courses and attended three lunches/dinners to meet entity leadership. Networked with leadership in related sections.
DIVISION-MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting-attended several meetings for law students and for liaisons and Law School Representatives.
ISSUES: Legislative Efforts: Letter in opposition to current Patent reform bills ( S. 1145 & H.R. 1908)
PROJECTS: The IP Section is trying to convert their newsletter to a journal. I plan to try to reserve a section for student submissions. I have encouraged student submissions to the current newsletter.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: I have encouraged the division, when sending out announcements for meetings and classes, to include the a law student price as FREE.

International Law
Cameron Smith (Northern Illinois University College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: During the International Law Section Leadership Retreat, I participated in several leadership roundtable discussions. Later, during the Section's Fall Meeting, I attended several lectures and social events with other members of the International Law Section. Further, I met with members of the Section's Membership Committee to discuss ideas for enticing law students to become more involved. I also had the opportunity to meet the Section Council and other leadership.
ISSUES: In separate conversation, I discussed with several members of the Section's Membership Committee and with the Section's liaision officer and chair-elect the desire of the International Law Section to develop a closer working relationship with the Law Student Division.
PROJECTS: Working with the Membership Committee on strategies to increase law student membership and especially involvement with the Section. Recently sent an e-mail to all student members of the Section describing the member benefits and encouraging them to get involved with the Section and its individual committees.

Labor and Employment Law
Vacant

Law Practice Management
Margrit Parker (University of Colorado Law School)
ABA ANNUAL MEETING: During the Annual Meeting in August, I attended several lunch meetings and sat in on the council meeting of LPM. I was able to meet with several leaders and the ABA staff. It was a great opportunity to get a feel for the group and what would like me to help them with. We did not come up with concrete ideas at this meeting, but floated several ideas, including writing a Liaison Notes column in the Student Lawyer and how to reach out to students more about the LPM Section. Since that time, I submitted a Liaison Notes column for the November issue of the Student Lawyer.
ENTITY MEETINGS: During the LPM Fall meeting, I attended several committee meetings and had the opportunity to talk with many leaders in the Section. I specifically attended the general Council Meeting, the Membership meeting, the Magazine meeting, the E-Lawyering task force meeting, and the Career Paths task force meeting. In addition, I traveled with the E-Lawyering group to law students at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law. There, they gave a presentation on the fascinating and growing market in e-lawyering. During each Section meeting, the group gives this presention at a local law school as a part of its efforts to reach out and to teach about e-lawyering.
PROJECTS: For the LPM Magazine, I will assist with an upcoming article that will in part address law student and minority recruitment, among other things. There are many forthcoming issues that will have content of interest to students.
ISSUES: The Membership group is looking at ways to reach out to ABA members, especially law students. We are looking at ways the Division can become more visible to the Law Student Division, including during the Annual Meeting.

Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
Christine Brady (William S. Boyd School of Law-UNLV)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Council Meeting in Chicago and I attended the Council meeting held in conjunction with the ABA Annual Meeting.
DIVISION MEETINGS: I attended Law Student Division Liaison training at the ABA Annual Meeting.
ISSUES: The main issue the Council is dealing with right now concerns possible changes to the law school accredidation process relative to each school's bar passage rate. This ammendment is otherwise known as 301-6. It is still a sensitive subject because the Council and the Consultant are working with the Department of Education to clarify some issues. The Consultant and others met with, and are in ongoing discussions with the DOE about the Department's expectations vis-a-vis transparency and consistency regarding the use of bar passage data. The Council remains hopeful that a solution will be reached that satisfies the recognition criteria of DOE in the near future. Nevertheless, any new proposal will be published for notice and comment with a lot of opportunity for input from interested parties before anything is final. The Council will be meeting on Nov. 30- Dec. 1, 2007 in Scottsdale, Az. I will let you know if and when there is any new information.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: I attended an Antitrust Workshop that provided relevant information pertaining to the Law Student Division's ability to discuss the cost of tuition with deans and the limitations on the law school deans ability to discuss tuition with each other--even in the context of trying to make law school more affordable for students. Such discussions could subject the deans and their respective schools to an antitrust law suit.

Litigation
Scott A Mason (University of San Diego School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: At the San Fransisco ABA Annual Meeting, I attended the Section of Litigation's Leadership meetings to intruduce myself to the section leadership. At the meeting we went over the Section's plans for the year and the meetings that we had planned. I participated in a conference call with leaders in the Section.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: In November, I will participate in another conference call with Sectino Leaders. In January will be attending the Section of Litigation's Winter Leadership Meeting.

Public Contract Law
E. Abigail Raines (The George Washington University Law School)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting - San Francisco: I attended all section events and actively participated in the section business meeting.
DIVISION-MEETINGS: I attended some events during the 11th Circuit's Fall Roundtable in Washington,D.C. where I organized a panel of speakers from the Public Contract Law Section to discuss career opportunities and the field of government contracts law.
PROJECTS: I am continually working with my section to promote student involvement with the newly formed Young Lawyers Committee which meets once a month at various locations within Washington, D.C. I have also communicated with various Law Student Division Circuit Governors to encourage law students in their circuits to attend the Section's semi-annual meetings by providing information on these event dates, locations, and the valuable networking opportunities.

Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law
Christina Switzer (Vermont Law School)

Real Property, Trust and Estate Law-Trust and Estate Section
Susan Strachan (University of Montana School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the RPTE meeting in Minneapolis held October 18-20. I was an active participant in the Membership Committee meeting, and gave my ideas for increasing membership in the section. The committee seemed very interested in how law schools teach property and estates. They were receptive to ideas on how to encourage student involvement. I was able to attend some break-out sessions, and received valuable training on committees and CLEs. This training was valuable and applicable to law students, as the issues discussed are the same ones facing student committees in the Student Bar Association and other student clubs at the law school.
ISSUES: The RPTE section seems to be concerned with getting new, younger members and involving law students.
PROJECTS: I hope to attend the Midyear Meeting and the section meeting in the spring.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: The next conference call is scheduled for November 15, 2007. I have been asked to participate in this call and I plan to do so.
SPECIAL NOTE: Being a liasion is a fantastic networking opportunity!

Real Property, Trust and Estate Law-Real Property Section
Veronica Lopez (ITT-Chicago-Kent College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I have participated in several conference calls.
PROJECTS: I am currently assisting a RPTE member coordinate a law student reception in the Washington D.C. area. A similar program took place in Chicago, since I was able to attend,I plan to help as much as possible.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Increasing law student membership in the section.

Science and Technology Law
Mitchell A Tobias (Capital University Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: At the San Francisco Annual Meeting, I attended the Council Meeting, where I was able to introduce myself to the section and hear what the section's committees were working on. I also attended several other section events, including some of the CLEs sponsored by the section. While there, I spoke with many section members, and we discussed ideas on how to reach out to law students and generate interest in the section.
DIVISION MEETINGS: I attended the 6th Circuit meeting at the Annual Meeting, where my involvement was generally limited to meeting and introducing myself to the other attendees and learning about the plans for our circuit. I also attended the Fall Roundtable at Duke University.
PROJECTS: Working to increase student involvement in the Section of Science and Technology Law will serve as the Section leadership's primary objective for the coming year. One way in which the section is trying to reach this goal is by launching a program to find student representatives for the Biotechnology, E-Privacy Law, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Committees. The students will work directly with the committee chairs and will provide a description of the project and the committee's work in an article to be published in the section's publication, The SciTech Lawyer.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: I have also been working on an article about a panel discussion held with the general counsels of several high-tech companies. The discussion was held at the Annual Meeting and was sponsored by the section. Once completed, the article will be published in The SciTech Lawyer.

State and Local Government Law
Jacqueline Dao (University of LaVerne College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS:

• At the Annual Meeting in San Francisco, I was only able to stop by the Chair's Reception for a short while. I was asked by the Section Chair to attend the Student Outreach Committee ("SOC") Meeting which conflicted with the Section's Meeting. At the SOC Meeting, I was the only law student present. We discussed ways to increase law student involvement with the ABA and how to retain them as young lawyers.
• I recently attended the Section's Fall Council Meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Oct. 4-7). Prior to attending the meeting, I shared some of my ideas to increase law student involvement with the Section's Chair. I was excited to learn that on the first day of the meeting, the Executive Board voted to waive membership fees to law students. I attended all of the committee meetings to get a better understanding of what the Section is involved in. I will be working with the State & Local Government Newsletter Editor to create a regular student column in the quarterly newsletter. I will also be assisting with the Section's Minority Outreach Program that is scheduled for the Midyear Meeting.

DIVISION MEETINGS: At the Annual Meeting in San Francisco, I attended the Liaison Training Session, 9th Circuit Meeting, ABA Representative Training Session and Assembly. The Division's Regional Fall Roundtable conflicted with the Section's Fall Council Meeting. I plan to attend the ABA Midyear Meeting and my Circuit's Spring Meeting and Elections.
ISSUES: The Section has waived its membership fees to law students. Law students will receive all of the membership benefits in electronic form - includes the Urban Lawyer (National Journal on State & Local Government Law) and the quarterly State & Local Government Newsletter.
PROJECTS: The Section is currently working on the following programs to support law students and increase student members:

• Minority Outreach Program (described above) for the Midyear Meeting.
• Establishing a regular student column in the State & Local Government Law Newsletter.
• Advertising the Section's free membership to students.
• State & Local Government Law Handbook for students.

One of the Chair's goals for this year is to implement the Section's Diversity Policy. The Section is currently working on a Minority Outreach Program for the Midyear Meeting. There is a strong focus on law students and the program will focus on the ins and outs of government law careers, mentoring, and a panel of seasoned attorneys and judges discussing their challenges and successes. Additionally, the Section is working on a writing competition to be held in the Spring.

Taxation Law
Venay Puri (University of Pittsburgh School of Law)

Tort Trial and Insurance Practice
Terry C. Bruner (Southern Medhodist University-Dedman School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting - San Francisco, California. Attended portions of TIPS activities. Further I attended TIPS Council meetings, TIPS Taskforce on Outreach to Law Students, TIPS Law Student Board meetings, and TIPS Fall Meeting in Palm Beach, FL [attended via teleconference]
ISSUES: TIPS still has a shortage of law students in "Student Vice-Chair" positions. The Student TIPSter Newsletter actively solicits law student written contributions. The TIPS Scholarship Fund is a source for all entity members who need financial assistance to attend meetings. Law students make up about 50% of the those who take advantage of the funding. Additionally, TIPS is planning to host a Deposition Workshop at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Los Angeles. More details to follow.
PROJECTS:

• Ongoing - reduced law student ticket prices.
• Plans - coordinate with TIPS Law and Public Service Committee to involve more students in volunteer/pro bono activities throughout the year and especially at meetings.
  

Affordable Housing and Community Development
Mickey Northcutt (Suffolk University Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I have participated in three monthly conference calls. I have participated by taking minutes and sending them to the Forum Chair following the call.
ISSUES: The Forum will be hosting a conference and training in New Orleans in February. This mid-winter regional conference will be a comprehensive continuing legal education program covering critical aspects of affordable housing and community development law, with a special emphasis on lessons from Katrina and Rita. The workshops will focus on affordable housing lessons from Katrina providing practical advice and creative solutions to catastrophic legal situations.
PROJECTS: I will continue to participate in monthly conference calls. I also plan to attend the February Conference in New Orleans. I plan to submit an article following this conference to the Student Lawyer.

Air and Space Industry
Jeremy E Juenger (Saint Louis University School of Law)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: 2007 Forum Annual Meeting, October 3-5, 2007 - Memphis, TN -- At Governing Committee meeting: took meeting notes, introduced myself to the GC, and outlined what my goals for the year were regarding law students and the Forum on Air & Space Law. Attended all forums as audience member and interacted with Law Student Division members and members of the Forum.
ISSUES: There is a relatively small number of law students who are members of Air & Space Law. Thus, membership is the largest hurdle to overcome and the most pressing issue at hand. As a result, the Forum has offered scholarships and writing competitions which will be announced shortly.
PROJECTS: Increasing law student participation requires dissemination of information from the forum to the law students. Air & Space Law is a tremendously diverse practice area - one that students interested in areas such as litigation, insurance, and environmental law could benefit from joining. As a result, I have been in preparing targeted emails in an effort to increase law student attendance at the Forum's Midyear Meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 31, 2008 and in researching the preparation of a hosted on-line forum to allow a free exchange of ideas between law students and leading lawyers in the Air & Space Law community.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Environmental Law, Congestion, and Intellectual Property rights are all hot button topics at this time.
I am striving to disseminate information to law students and to encourage students to read our newsletter, join the forum, and interact at the meetings held by the Forum.

Communications Law
Julie Marie Hofmeister (University of Missouri-Columbia-School of Law)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: I attended the Annual Meeting where I attended various luncheons and meetings.
DIVISION-MEETINGS: I have participated in conference calls to introduce myself and listen to the discussion.
ISSUES: Lack of student involvement due to limited student activities within the Forum Committee on Communications Law .
PROJECTS: I hope to plan local events for law students in the 8th circuit where I am located. Disseminated relevant emails to student bodies and have attempted to inspire interest in applying for the Communications Law scholarship to attend the Forum's February annual conference in Florida.

Construction Industry
Joshua  McLane (Brigham Young University Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I participated in several membership committee conference calls, and a few other calls regarding the subcommittee I serve on, the Liaison with State and Local Bar Associations Subcommittee.
ISSUES: The Liaison with State and Local Bar Associations Subcommittee solicited my input on getting greater involvement from state and local bar associations.
PROJECTS: We just finsihed our Proposal For Soliciting Greater Involvement From The State And Local Bar Associations. We are still in the review and discussion phase of the project.

Entertainment and Sports Industries
Erin M. Jacobson (Southwestern Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the Entertainment Forum's Annual Meeting in New York City. I was an attendee for the panels, and took minutes during the Forum's Governing Committee.
ISSUES: The committee is discussing increased strategies for reaching out to law students.
PROJECTS: Promoting the Committee's writing competition and getting law students more involved in our Forum.

Armed Forces Law
Ryan Edward Calef (Pennsylvania State University-Dickinson School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the Annual Meeting of the Armed Forces Law Committee at the ABA National Conference in San Francisco. At the meeting, I received support from the Chief Legal Officers of the service branches to support the student loan repayment program and their support with their legislative representatives in Congress. The JAG Chiefs were excited to support such an organization. As our Midyear Meeting is 1 December, I was hoping to wait to report until then. At that meeting, I plan to offer an invitation to speak at a military law forum held at Penn State in January and offer the army a chance to participate in a pilot program where a service will provide a free JAG to teach a class on either military law or operations / law of war class at the law schools around military bases. PSU-DSL in Carlisle will be the test subject.
DIVISION-MEETINGS: I attended the annual meeting in which I related information between the Law Student Division Leadership and Armed Forces Committee related to the JAG Chief's support for student loan repayment.
ISSUES: Given we have received help from the JAG Chiefs, I think it is important that we consider a resolution supporting military recruitment and military JAGS at the Law Student Division Forum at the Midyear Meeting. While I realize that some in Law Student Division may disagree with the policies of the military in recruiting, it is important for us to recognize that military lawyers are following the orders of the president and congress and that elected public official make broad policy decisions, not the JAGS.
PROJECTS: In addition to the above, am working on a pilot project to bring JAG Officers into Law Schools to teach a free class on operations or military law. I think it is an exciting and important area of law to have understanding of. Additionally, gathering support for a Law Student Division resolution supporting military JAGS because they supported us with student loan repayment.

Legal Services
Maria-Vittoria Carminati-Garbino (University of Houston Law Center)
ISSUES: Law students participating in free legal clinics seems to be a important issue. I am currently compiling a list of activities that could be of interest to the Law Student Division that was discussed at the October meeting.
PROJECTS: I plan to attend the February meeting in Los Angeles. I plan to be more proactive in seeking out legal services programs that could be of interest to the Law Student Division. I would like to create a monthly e-mail that could go out to the law students as well as to the division to create a regular flow of information. The first e-mail should be due out in November.

Election Law
Cindy Lewis (Drake University Law School)

Judicial Independence
Jessica L. Emch (Capital University Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: In August I attended the Standing Committee on Judicial Independence (SCJI) meeting held at the Annual ABA Convention in San Francisco and I participated in the Fall Planning Meeting via conference call. At each meeting I gave a short activity report on the Law Student Division and discussed the details of the Least Understood Branch Luncheon held at the Law Student Division 4th, 5th, and 6th Fall Roundtable.
DIVISION-MEETINGS: I attended the Law Student Division 4th, 5th, and 6th Circuit Fall Roundtable at Duke University, October 12-13. In cooperation with Circuit Governors, we hosted the Least Understood Branch Luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 13. The program focused on the role law students can play in educating the public about the judiciary, which is often considered the least understood branch of our government. In particular, Judge Wynn, North Carolina State Court of Appeals, focused on judicial elections and how members of the legal profession, including law students, need to play an active role in voter education. Justice Edmunds, Supreme Court of North Carolina, shared his experiences on the bench and offered several examples of just and unjust criticism, while Chris Haggerty, Past-Director of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education, discussed the level of public understanding when it comes to judicial elections. Towards the end, Judge Wynn opened up the floor for discussion and took questions.
PROJECTS: This year, SCJI and the ABA Judicial Division are reaching out to law students more so than ever. In particular, the two entities plan to promote the Least Understood Branch project, which is a joint effort of SCJI and the Judicial Division, with the League of Women Voters, Justice at Stake, and the National Center for State Courts as participating entities. This project encourages members of the legal profession to carry the message of the importance of fair and impartial courts in our democracy to every possible venue in their communities.

Law and National Security
Erik F. Swabb (Harvard Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the Committee's November 15-16 Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law Conference in Washington, D.C. At the conference, I assisted in hosting a meet and greet for students interested in national security law. I also attended the Fall Committee business meeting on November 17. At the meeting, I presented a report on the growing student interest in the field and my goals as liaison: to set up a Committee-sponsored student writing competition, as well as create a student presence on the Committee website.
ISSUES: The Committee has fostered student interest in the field in the past and will continue to do so. In the summer of 2008, the Committee is planning to host a career event in D.C. geared toward students and young lawyers. The panel would include young practitioners in the field of national security law. The Committee is also willing to support a student writing competition and plans to continue to offer lower student rates at its annual conference.
PROJECTS: The principal project of my term will be to set up a student writing competition on national security law sponsored by the Committee. Having received approval by the Committee to go ahead with planning, I hope to receive ABA approval and present the details of the competition to the Committee during its next business meeting in May 2008. A secondary goal is to establish a student presence on the Committee website that will contain career and academic information for students. The website will also help the liaison serve as a point of contact for students interested in national security law.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: I will continue to support the activities of the National Security and Law Society, which has chapters at law schools across the country and is the primarily link between the Committee and students interested in national security law.

Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants
Dino L Pollock (Valparaiso University School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the first meeting of SCLAID on November 8-9, 2007 in Tucson, AZ. I attended and participated in the full committee meeting.
PROJECTS: I have been appointed to two subcommittees of SCLAID. The first is the Access to Justice subcommittee chaired by Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Karla Gray. The second is the Loan Repayment Assistance subcommittee chaired by Judge Juanita Bing Newton of New York. I will be working closely with the chairs to facilitate the work of both subcommittees and to strengthen information exchange with the Law Student Division.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: The committee spent a great amount of time discussing recent Congressional legislation passed and signed into law by President Bush. The College Cost Reduction Act is the most sweeping legislation in years to assist law students with debt relief for pursuing and matriculating into public interest careers. There are more battles to be waged on other bills pending before Congress to further assist students with loan repayment and loan forgiveness. The ABA was very instrumental in lobbying Congress on behalf of students to get this legislation passed. Law student engagement and support will be critical to any further successes.

Legal Assistance for Military Personnel
Daniel J Spurgeon (Southwestern Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: First meeting since August will be held the week of November 12 in Seattle. I am attending both days of this meeting.
PROJECTS: As a preliminary matter, many ABA law students are currently serving in the National Guard and Reserves. The Department of Defense operates a highly competitive program by which active duty military officers attend law school full time as their official duty, expenses paid, in exchange for a lengthy service contract. It is also likely that some active duty personnel are participating in part-time ABA study at their own expense. While Southwestern Law School has proven to be quite supportive and proactive in times of student deployments, not all law schools are informed of the particular hardships law students face before, during, and after military service. Although I am considering an article in the Student Lawyer, I believe that an informational campaign addressing law school faculty and staff would prove more beneficial to law students than an article addressed to law students themselves.

Public Education
Molly J. Timko (City University of New York at Queens College)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: Although I was not able to attend the Division's Fall Meeting, I have been maintaining communication with the entity via e-mail.
DIVISION EVENTS: I coordinated an ABA Law Student Division recruitment event at CUNY Law in August.
ISSUES: The American Bar Association and the Girl Scouts of the USA are seeking young lawyers to facilitate Take Charge: Violence Prevention Education, Conflict Resolution, and Law, a national pilot program taking place in eleven major cities this fall for girls ages 12 to 18. Participating cities include Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, Denver, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio/Austin, San Diego, Tampa, and Troy, New York.
PROJECTS: I plan to attend the Spring meeting in Chicago. My main responsibilities will involve Law Day and Constitution Day planning activities. Law Day is a major activity coordinated by the Division for Public Education. This year, Law Day will explore the meaning of the rule of law, fostering public understanding of the rule of law through discussion of its role in a free society. The event will take place on May 1, 2008 and the ABA will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Law Day.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Members of the Division for Public Education contribute to an online discussion forum featuring commentaries about law and justice issues. New Division for Public Education postings appear on the 22nd of each month. The Division is also coordinating a 2008 Summer Teacher Institute. The Institute will be held in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 22, through Friday 27, June, 2008. The institute will provide secondary school educators with the training and resources they need to engage students in the history of three landmark federal trials. Applications are due on March 1, 2008.

Substance Abuse
Amy Ingram (Loyola University-New Orleans-College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: The first meeting since my appointment is scheduled as a November 12 teleconference, which I will attend and share ideas for increased law student involvement.
DIVISION MEETINGS: I attended the fall roundtable in Houston for the 13th Circuit and participated in each event.
ISSUES: The entity has not presented any issues of particular interest to the Division.
PROJECTS: I would like to try to have an awareness event for law students. I would like to see a discussion about the warning signs, alternate activities to substance use for stress relief and where to go to get an assessment, treatment and support.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: To date, there has not been any additional activity as the committee is in transition.

AIDS Coordinating Committee
Kitty Tyranne Harris (William Mitchell College of Law)

ALI/ABA Continuing Professional Education
Lance L. Morley (Florida A & M University College of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I participated on a conference call held by the ALI/ABA Board.
ISSUES AND PROJECTS: More to report in May

Center for Children and the Law
Hasmik Badalian (University of San Diego School of Law)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: Participated in webcast on LGBT foster youth in October. Plan to attend large annual conference this winter.
PROJECTS: I would like to do an article on the Center's projects and publications in the Student Lawyer magazine. The Center's projects are very hands on and innovating and I think it would peak the curiosity of a few students. Also, I've been considering a method of sending out law student specific information the Center is involved with to interested students - similar to a newsletter that is released once every few months that summarizes the Center's projects and opportunities to get involved. While the Center is not as active as some other entities, at times there are options for law student involvement.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: The Center provides internship opportunities for law students and has lots of information on possible career paths involving children's advocacy. These are the types of things that would be great to pass along to interested students, if we could establish a listserv.

Commission on Domestic Violence
Amy Marie Pritchard (Seattle University School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I have attended monthly conference calls and participated in the fall business meeting via phone.
ISSUES: The Commission on Domestic Violence's annual writing competition has been announced- the information on the Law Student Division website is current in regards to the competition.
PROJECTS: I a member of the writing competetion committee and will be helping to read submissions.

Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs
Miniya Maskal (University of Maryland School of Law)

Commission on Mental and Physical Disabilities Law
Shariff L. Jones (Georgia State University College of Law)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: 2007 ABA Annual Meeting where I attended a Reception for Lawyers with Disabilites.
ISSUES: The lack of Lawyer-Mentors for the mentorship program.
PROJECTS: Mentorship program: my goal is to locate law students with disabilities and match them with lawyers with disabilites or lawyers who practice disability law.

Center for Professional Responsibility
Hannah J. Yancy (Thomas M. Cooley Law School)
PROJECTS: I plan to work on the website for the Center. My picture and some comments will be on it. Also, I wanted to be someone people can go to to ask about professional conduct for other students at their school.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Next semester I want to work with my school to get a program set up at each orientation for incoming students. My hope is to get some speakers or students who have violated the honor code and what it means.

Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession
Natasha Walwyn (Suffolk University Law School)

Rule of Law Initative-European and Eurasian Law Program (CEELI)
Amanda F. Mowle (Vermont Law School)
ENTITY MEETINGS: ABA Annual Meeting, San Francisco California. Attended Rule of Law Luncheon.
ISSUES: There was a recent restructuring of the Rule of Law programs that I would like to report on for Student Lawyer Magazine.
PROJECTS: Plan to attend the next orientation for specialist trainings. This training is scheduled for December but has not been confirmed.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Another possible issue is the fact that CEELI specialists typically participate after having 5 years of experience. This experience requriement may make it an entity not of immediate interest to law students so I will be contacting individuals that have participated in an effort to establish how to have students involved, or get them involved.

Commission on Women in the Profession
Jasmine T Parson (Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis)

Commission on Youth at Risk
Callie Renee Weed (Stetson University College of Law)

Arbitration Competition
Davina R. Eads (Stetson University College of Law)

Client Counseling Competition
Paula K. Gregory (William S. Boyd School of Law - UNLV)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I participated in two formal conference calls with the Client Counseling Competition Committee. During the conference calls the entire committee participated in selecting the subject matter for the competition scenarios and divided up the list for each committee member to write scenarios to be used in intraschool, regional and national competitions. I also took minutes and sent them to all members and the ABA Law Student Division.
DIVISION MEETINGS: I attended the ABA Law School Division Competitions Committee meeting in Chicago on September 15. I actively participated in the final selection of all competition scenarios, and in brainstorming changes to the scenarios to be used in the regionals and nationals. I took minutes and submitted them to all committee members and ABA Law Student Division.
PROJECTS: I have been assigned the task of checking and forwarding the finals versions of the scenarios for regional and nationals to ABA Law Student Division, and will be doing that within the next week or two.
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Along with the other committee members, I will be serving as a point of contact for the regional competition in February. I will be attending the National Competition at Pace Law School.

National Appellate Advocacy Competitions (NAAC)
Elijah J. Haahr (University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law)
DIVISION MEETINGS: I attended the National Appellate Advocacy Competition meeting in Chicago near the beginning of this semester.  As the national student director, my position is to help the committee make all needed changes to the rules and work on planning the competitions for the next academic year.
ISSUES: We revised the rules for the competition by looking at how well the competition had gone the year before, whether are enrollment of teams continued to increase, and what complaints we had received and how we should deal with them.
PROJECTS: I am currently preparing to travel to the Appellate Advocacy regional competitions in March and the National competition in April to help the committee run the competitions.

Negotiation Competition
Julia Kim Whitelock (Catholic University of America-Columbus School of Law)
ENTITY MEETINGS: I attended the Negotiation Competition Subcommittee meeting at the competitions committee meeting in Chicago on Saturday, 15 September 2007. I worked on the rules and problems for the regional and national competitions. I also posited what I think is a very important issue, at least from a competitor s standpoint the uncertainty and subjectivity of judge s scoring.
ISSUES: The Competition Committees addressed whether we should have a larger role in competitions that law students participate in that are not currently part of the Division, for example the ADR Section's Mediation competition. The Negotiation Competition Subcommittee addressed judging standards to increase the transparency and consistency in judging for improvement of the competition.
PROJECTS: I am currently helping the subcommittee review the edited regional and national problems. I am in contact with my school s ADR society and helping them plan for the regional competition. I hope to be more active in recruiting new schools in the spring after the national competition. Because registration for the regional competition happened so early, it was difficult to do any recruiting at the beginning of my time as NSD.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
Danette  Kobolt (Thomas M. Cooley Law School)
ENTITY-MEETINGS: I attended the ABA Fall Roundtable in North Carolina, participated in the networking events and the educational events that were offered
ISSUES: I have responded to many inquiries. An estimate would be about 5-8 a week. The question that is most frequently asked is whether a program has been created at the respective law school and who to contact to get involved with the VITA program at the respective law school. I have received a few unsual requests such as allowing children of law students to volunteer at the sites and incorporating the VITA program in to an individuals business. I have had to instruct a few individuals to seek out an IRS agent and discuss further with them those issues.
PROJECTS: Creating a database with all of the schools that are currently participating in the VITA program and compare it to the schools that have participated in the VITA program in the past so that we can estimate our growth over the year.