The newly elected chair of the ABA Law Student Division has three goals: reforming student loan programs, promoting diversity within the legal profession, and launching a mental health initiative.
Daniel Suvor , a third-year student at George Washington University Law School and a native of Los Angeles, California, was sworn in as the Division’s chair at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco in August. Also taking office were the Division’s two vice chairs, the secretary-treasurer, and the representative to the ABA Board of Governors. The officers were elected at the Law Student Division’s Board of Governor’s meeting in New Orleans in March.
“Student loan reform is my number-one priority,” Suvor says. “As chair, I really want to personally take charge of the student loan crisis. It’s risen to crisis level in America, and I want to put myself in the best position to make an impact. We have more than 53,000 members. If we coordinate and organize, we can become a powerful force.”
Suvor sees several ways law students can be involved in student loan reform. “I want to continue lobbying Congress and begin focusing on state governments so they can promote law students entering public service,” he says. “We want to get as many students involved as possible in lobbying their member of Congress and senators from their home districts and from the districts where they are in law school.”
Diversity is another of Suvor’s goals. “As a Mexican American, I’ve benefited from ABA programming such as CLEO [Council on Legal Education Opportunity], which promotes legal education for minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students,” says Suvor. “I want to see that programs such as Street Law and the ABA Pipeline Initiative are enhanced so we can educate young minority students about law school and the potential for a legal career.”
Suvor’s third goal is to launch a mental health initiative. “Studies have shown that up to 60 percent of law students suffer from severe depression or anxiety,” he says. “That starts in law school and continues on into the profession. Because it starts in law school, we have the opportunity and responsibility to be involved. I want to be involved in finding real, practical solutions.”
Marcus Fernandez , the Law Student Division’s new vice chair, is responsible for building the Division’s membership. A second-year law student from Tampa, Florida, who attends South Texas College of Law, Fernandez wants to increase the Law Student Division presence at all ABA-approved law schools. Considering the benefits of membership, Fernandez says, “it doesn’t make sense not to be part of the Division.”
“I’ve always been involved and had a passion for student leadership, and the Law Student Division is a great forum for me to carry on those areas of interest while I’m in law school,” Fernandez says. “I love interacting with and learning from students across the country. This position enables me to do that.”
Jenna Moomau is the Law Student Division’s new secretary-treasurer. A native of Longview, Texas, she is a third-year student at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Moomau is responsible for the Division’s communications and finances, including disbursement of the grant funds offered by the Division to subsidize programs at law schools.
“The ABA provides so many opportunities for student leadership,” Moomau says. “This position is a great way to ensure that all students are afforded opportunities. I hope to make sure that grant funds and all funds available from the ABA are used fully. If the money is used, it will show that schools are making sure their students aren’t just learned lawyers, but also learned in the community around them through professionalism, ethics, and diversity.”
Nate Bernstein is the second person elected to represent the Law Student Division on the ABA Board of Governors. Bernstein, a native of Vernon, New Jersey, is a third-year student at Seattle University School of Law.
“The purpose of the Division representative is to ensure that the voice of the law student community is heard in the larger structure of the ABA,” Bernstein says. “I hope to build on the work of the past Division representative, assisting to steer the Division in a direction that serves its members and accomplishes meaningful work as in the past several years.”
The fourth member of the Law Student Division’s board, the vice chair for student bar associations, was elected at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco after this issue of Student Lawyer went to press. Also elected at the Annual Meeting were the Division’s three student delegates to the ABA House of Delegates. These students’ profiles will appear in a future issue of Student Lawyer.
Kristi Lemoine, a third-year student at Loyola University School of Law in Chicago, is Student Lawyer's student editor.
