If you're wondering why you should join the American Bar Association's Law Student Division, any one of the following by itself should be reason enough to join.
First, you cannot afford not to join. For only $15 a year, you receive this magazine--Student Lawyer--each month of the school year, as well as the American Bar Association's monthly magazine for all members, the ABA Journal; $80 off the cost of the PMBR multistate bar exam review course; discounts from MCI, Hertz, Dell Computers, Franklin Quest Day Planners; and our newest membership benefit, a discount on the Bar/Bri bar review. The magazine subscriptions alone are worth far more than the $15 membership fee. You simply cannot get a better value for your $15.
Second, your Law Student Division membership will open doors into the professional world of lawyers. As a Law Student Division member, you can join other sections and divisions of the American Bar Association at discounted rates. You also can attend their meetings, where you can meet and network with the leading lawyers in that field of law. And because the American Bar Association is the professional organization for lawyers, by becoming a member of the Law Student Division you are demonstrating to future employers your commitment to the profession you wish to join.
Third, the Law Student Division is the only national organization that works exclusively for law students. For example, last year the division directly lobbied U.S. Congress to keep the in-school interest exemption on student loans. Just as important is the work the Law Student Division does at the local level. The division is organized into 15 circuits. Each circuit not only solves problems that affect law schools within the circuit, but it also coordinates such activities within the circuit as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
For those of you who have already joined the Law Student Division, I urge you to take advantage of the membership benefits available to you: Join a section or division of the American Bar Association that interests you; attend local Law Student Division circuit meetings; and, if possible, introduce yourself to me at the American Bar Association's Annual Meeting next August in San Francisco.
Chad Allen Lanning
Vice-Chair, Law Student Division
University of Wisconsin Law School