Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, December 2004 (Vol. 33, No. 4). All rights reserved.

Officially Speaking

The ABA Seeks Passionate Student Leaders

by Chris P. Jeter

In working with those I consider good leaders, I have found two rules of leadership to be true. The first rule is that everything rises and falls on leadership; goals are accomplished largely through a leader’s vision and example. Good leaders understand they are charged with dispensing credit for a job well done as well as taking personal responsibility for shortfalls.

The ABA Law Student Division is no different. Through the years, the Division’s leaders have learned and evolved from the students who have led before them. This illustrates the second rule of leadership: Good leaders breed good leaders.

As we approach the Feb. 1 application deadline for the Law Student Division’s leadership positions, I am proud to reflect on our leadership team. It includes our national officers, Division delegates, circuit governors, lieutenant governors, liaisons, SBA presidents, and ABA representatives. We encourage all students in these positions to lead with their own talents and passions. If this interests you, I urge you to join them.

In the Law Student Division’s regional circuits, candidates for members of the Division’s Board of Governors face strong competition. Student liaisons to the ABA’s practice-related groups and national competitions are selected from candidate pools that run as many as 30 deep. At the school level, SBA presidents are renewing their interest in the ABA and making sure their voices are heard in the Law Student Division. ABA representatives across the country are being chosen with a strong sense of accountability and purpose.

The result has been the selection of individuals who believe in what the Law Student Division does for students. They also believe in the ABA as an avenue for student involvement in the face of a constantly changing profession.

As the heart of our leadership, SBA presidents and ABA representatives are redefining their roles in leading a diverse membership and tackling issues students care about. Students increasingly realize the ABA is an organization for them. It makes me proud to attend Law Student Division meetings or visit schools and see students opting to be an active part of their education, and their future profession, through ABA involvement.

With our short tenures in law school, it’s vital that the Law Student Division continue to recruit new and driven leaders. If you are interested in serving as the Division’s chair, vice chair, secretary-treasurer, or circuit governor, I challenge you to apply by Feb. 1 for candidacy in the upcoming elections. Feb. 1 also is the deadline for applying for appointment as Student Lawyer’s student editor.

Keep your eyes open for future deadlines to be a Division delegate or vice chair for student bar associations. For more information regarding the exact requirements and deadlines for leadership applications, please visit www.abanet.org/lsd/leadership and continue to read Student Lawyer.

As always, I want you to contact me if you have any questions or comments about the ABA Law Student Division.

Chris P. Jeter
George Washington University
Chair, ABA Law Student Division
cjeter@abanet.org

Return to top of page

Student Lawyer home page