ABA/LSD School Representatives Spread the Word

Their title may be a bit unwieldy, but their job is crucial.

ABA/LSD school representatives are the people at each ABA-accredited law school whose job is to promote the American Bar Association's services while reporting law students' concerns back to the ABA's Law Student Division leadership to ensure that the division responds to your needs.

As the Law Student Division's vice-chair, Christopher Stephen of Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. (lsdvicechair@abanet.org), is in charge of promoting division membership and programs. He says the job of an ABA/LSD school representative is to further the goals of the division and the ABA, but also to benefit the law students at his or her law school. "The No. 1 way to do that is to provide them with information on what being a member of the association means," he says.

"I was the point person for every ABA question," says Law Student Division Eleventh Circuit Governor Tanya Lee, a former ABA/LSD school representative at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. She says it was her job to update the ABA bulletin board at school, pass along information about the ABA nationally as well as within the circuit, promote various ABA meetings in Washington, D.C., and encourage law students to take advantage of the association's resources. She also spoke regularly with the school's dean to seek funding so students could get to ABA conferences as well as spread the word about ABA competitions and awards that are open to law students.

When he was the ABA/LSD school representative at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, Fourteenth Circuit Governor Vincent Casiano increased ABA membership at his school by more than 300 students. Casiano says he became aware of the programs and opportunities the ABA offers law students and realized that Hastings students were not taking advantage of them.

For Casiano, the ABA/LSD school representatives are the backbone of the Law Student Division. "If you don't have reps that are enthused and understand the organization-and believe in it-your membership will sink to nothing," he says. "It's the individuals at the schools who can make or break it."

But he also warns that no single person can do it by himself or herself. Casiano is quick to credit a small group of friends for their contribution to his success at increasing ABA membership at Hastings. He got some friends excited, they helped out with the legwork, they got some friends excited, and the thing snowballed. He wants to keep that momentum. Hastings now has three junior ABA/LSD school reps, all first-years, to ensure continuity.

Howard University School of Law's Lee had a similar experience. When she started as ABA/LSD school representative, she and three other Howard students, all circuit lieutenant governors, did virtually all of the work. Now, she says, Howard has several junior ABA/LSD school representatives, as well as separate committee chairs, for planning the various programs. The job is no longer as overwhelming as it used to be. "The opportunities are limited only by the ABA rep's imagination," she says.

Lee Farbman

Lee Farbman, a third-year student at Northwestern University School of Law, is Student Lawyer's student editor.