Officially Speaking

Start Spreadin' the News…

Every summer, the Law Student Division holds its annual meeting in conjunction with the American Bar Association's annual meeting. This year, however, I hope the Division will bring you what I'm calling "a different kind of annual meeting."

Why will this meeting be different? First, it will be earlier than usual. Because London is hosting part of the meeting in late July, the American side of the meeting will be held July 6-9 in New York City. We will get under way with a welcoming reception on Thursday evening and then have two full days of business on Friday and Saturday.

Not only the date will be different. So will the focus and emphasis. In the past, most students attending the meeting have been student leaders in their student bar associations or the ABA. But because the annual meeting offers an incredible opportunity for all law students, I want this meeting to focus on all of our members.

To do this, the Division is in the process of adding programs and moving events. Of particular note, we are working on a format that will allow attendees to choose from among several workshops on substantive topics involving careers, law school, and other matters of interest to law students.

Another highlight of the meeting is the election of the vice chair/SBA, who represents and advocates for the interests of student bar associations across the country, and the Division's three delegates to the ABA House of Delegates, the Association's policy-making body.

The LSD Assembly, which is made up of the SBA president and ABA representative at each ABA-accredited law school, also will convene during the annual meeting to vote on resolutions of importance to law students and to conduct other business.

To ensure that we have a successful annual meeting, I have created a Special Committee on Meetings, chaired by 14th Circuit governor Stephen Brundage (a student at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law) and made up of members of the LSD Board of Governors and law students across the country. I have asked this committee to look at our meetings, beginning with the annual meeting.

Do you have an idea for a session you would like to see? Have you attended an annual meeting and have ideas about how to improve it? The Meetings Committee wants to hear from you. You may e-mail Stephen at brundage@holmes.uchastings.edu with your ideas. I also want to hear from you, as none of this will happen without you.

In addition to wanting to hear from you, I'd like to see you at the meeting. It's very easy to register. Just look through the information on pages 45-49, complete the registration form, and mail or fax it in (depending on how you are paying). You can also register online at www.abanet.org/annual/2000/register.html.

It is important to register early because the hotels for the annual meeting fill up quickly. Although the Law Student Division meetings will take place at the Marriott Marquis, nearby are other hotels, such as the Milford Plaza, Howard Johnson Plaza, and the Days Hotel.

I look forward to seeing you in the Big Apple. Until then, "Start spreadin' the news…."

Kyle V. Mitchell
Chair, ABALaw Student Division