LSD Membership Has Rewards and Responsibilities

This month’s Division Dialogue focuses in substantial part on membership—the challenges, the rewards, and the reasons why students should strengthen their ties with the American Bar Association.

Why does one join the ABA Law Student Division? There are probably more than 46,000 responses, a different one for every member. We all have our reasons, but one thing remains constant: As our membership grows, so too does our voice in the legal profession. It is to this growth to which our focus must now turn.

As strong as our collective voice is, it can and must be stronger. Currently, less than half of the nation’s law students are ABA members. Although the LSD has enjoyed significant increases in membership during the past three years, there are many who have yet to join us in our quest for greater student services and increased student benefits.

Why? As the Division’s vice chair, it is my responsibility to answer that question. By developing and promoting new membership initiatives, advertising the benefits available to members, and ensuring responsiveness among the nation’s ABA representatives, we have come a long way toward informing students about what ABA membership holds for them. The next crucial step must be taken by you.

It is our ultimate goal and challenge to be the voice of all the nation’s law students. To truly reflect this, we must have more perspectives, more ideas, and more involvement. All of this depends on increased membership, which will strengthen our voice.

I know, I know—you paid your $20 membership fee, but our responsibility as future lawyers and ABA members does not end there. All of us have an obligation to act as a representative of our Division. That means actively recruiting every student at our law schools. If some of your fellow students are not yet members, it is probably because no one has ever had a one-on-one discussion with them about what the ABA/LSD has to offer. The key to our future growth is this sort of communication.

I urge you to use the next semester to fully explore what the ABA/LSD can offer. For instance, did you know that ABA/LSD membership entitles you to join the Association’s other sections at a significantly reduced rate? Our involvement with the other sections does not end there. One of the many leadership opportunities available only to ABA/LSD members is our Liaison Program. Our liaisons act as the LSD’s eyes and ears within the other sections. They are often the only law student in a room of accomplished practitioners, representing what the nation’s law students think about a given issue.

The list of available opportunities goes on and on, and as a law student and an ABA/LSD member myself, I encourage you to learn more about what your membership has to offer. For me and many others, the wealth of information available has done a lot to alleviate the headaches and worries typically associated with law school.

Finally, share what you learn with others, and reap the benefits of knowing that you have been a positive influence in another law student’s life. The continued success and growth of the Law Student Division begins with you. •

 

R. Matthew Graham

R. Matthew Graham, a third-year student at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, is vice chair of the Law Student Division. Contact him at vchair2000@abanet.org.