Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, February 2006 (Vol. 34, No. 6). All rights reserved.

Officially Speaking

ABA Resources Can Boost Your Career

by Vicki L. Goodman

Every law student takes classes, but you can do so much more to improve your skills and master the areas of the law that interest you. The American Bar Association is a great way to find opportunities to do just that.

Because the job market for lawyers is extremely competitive, it is important for law students to distinguish themselves. Only you can take the necessary steps to make yourself a more marketable prospect.

By joining the ABA’s practice-related sections that interest you, you can gain a deeper level of knowledge than law students who have not done so. Even as a law student, you can participate in committees that focus on specialized areas of the law. By interacting with their lawyer members, you can enter the work force with cutting-edge information that will be an asset to your law firm or organization.

In addition to section membership, the ABA offers other ways to enhance your legal education and career. In recent months, the Law Student Division has been working to develop the Pro Bono Partnership Program. This exciting initiative grew out of ABA president Michael Greco’s call for a “Renaissance of Idealism” in the legal profession. Among other things, the Renaissance would help lawyers provide free legal services to those who need them most.

In October, the Law Student Division Board of Governors responded to Greco’s initiative by creating the Pro Bono Partnership Program. The idea is simple: Law students would help lawyers do pro bono work by taking on some of the responsibilities of representing a pro bono client.

The beneficiaries of this student-lawyer partnership are threefold: Lawyers could fulfill their professional duty to do pro bono work because their time commitment would be substantially reduced. Law students could benefit by gaining hands-on legal experience and developing networking contacts in the profession. And, of course, both low-income individuals and society as a whole could benefit from the infusion of free legal assistance.

The Law Student Division is creating pilot programs for this initiative across the country. We plan to showcase these Pro Bono Partnership Programs during the ABA Annual Meeting in August as models for adoption at all law schools.

I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities the ABA offers you. Learn about them by visiting the ABA web site and the Law Student Division’s site. In addition, you are welcome to contact me or any other Law Student Division leader if you have questions or want to know how to participate.

Vicki L. Goodman
Widener University--Delaware
Chair, ABA Law Student Division
vgoodman@abanet.org

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