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American Bar Association Law Student Division |
Student Lawyer October 1998 Volume 27, Number 2 |
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Who's Who and What's What | |
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The Law Student Division (LSD) is one of 33 sections, divisions and forums under the umbrella of the American Bar Association. Any law student attending an ABA-approved law school can become a member. There are more than 41,000 division members. The LSD Board of Governors is responsible for setting policy concerning the division's operations, programs and finances. The board consists of four national officers, three division delegates, 15 circuit governors and six nonvoting members. The board is also one house in the division's bicameral legislature; the other is the Assembly. All division policy becomes effective only after approval by the Assembly and the board. Copies of the division's bylaws are available from the Chicago office. The division's four national officers are the chair, vice-chair, vice-chair/SBA and secretary-treasurer. The chair, vice-chair and secretary-treasurer, who serve for one year, are elected by the LSD Board of Governors in November as officers-elect and take office the following August. The vice-chair/SBA is elected at the division's Annual Meeting and serves for one year, also beginning the following August. Three division delegates represent the division in the ABA House of Delegates. They are elected by the Assembly at the ABA's August Annual Meeting and hold office through the next year's Annual Meeting. The circuit governors represent different regions of the country (roughly approximating the U.S. Court of Appeals regions), and are elected for one-year terms at circuit spring conferences every February and March. The Assembly consists of two official voting delegates from each ABA-approved law school: the LSD school representative and the student bar association (SBA) president. Information on how to apply for the position of national officer or division delegate will be published in Student Lawyer. Circuit governors can supply details to students interested in governor or LSD school representative positions. NATIONAL OFFICERS ChairDIVISION DELEGATES Kenya SmithCIRCUIT GOVERNORS First CircuitMETTLE DETECTORS The annual Client Counseling Competition, cosponsored by the Law Student Division and the ABA's Young Lawyers Division, is open to all ABA-approved law schools and recognized Canadian law schools, which may enter one team of two students. The competition format is a simulated law office consultation situation in which students, acting as lawyers, are presented with a typical client problem; in the 1998-99 competition, the subject will be criminal law. The students must conduct an interview with the "client" and determine how they would proceed in the hypothetical situation. Regional competitions will be held Feb. 13 or Feb. 20, 1999 (date to be determined by the host school), in locations to be announced. The national competition will be at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 12-13, 1999. The international competition will be held March 29-April 1, 1999, at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. Information on the 1998-99 competition was sent to all ABA-approved law schools in mid-April. The National Appellate Advocacy Competition is cosponsored by the Law Student Division, the Young Lawyers Division, the ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section, the ABA Section of Litigation and the Appellate Judges Conference. Each ABA-sponsored law school may enter a maximum of two teams consisting of two or three law students. The regional competitions will be held in February and March 1999 and are tentatively scheduled to take place in New York City (Northeast Regional); Washington, D.C. (Southeast Regional); Chicago (Midwest Regional); and San Francisco (West Regional). The final competition will be held in April 1999; dates and location to be determined. Information on the 1998-99 competition was sent to all ABA-approved law schools in mid-April. The Negotiation Competition, cosponsored by the Law Student Division and the Young Lawyers Division, is open to all ABA-approved law schools and recognized Canadian law schools. Schools may enter one or two teams of two students each. The competition's purpose is to recognize the importance of negotiation in resolving disputes and in structuring transactions. Acting as lawyers, law students are presented with a typical client problem, meet with opposing counsel and negotiate, attempting to solve the dispute nonjudicially. The 1998-99 competition subject is personal injury law. The regional competitions will be held Nov. 7 or Nov. 14, 1998 (date to be determined by the host school), in locations to be announced. The final competition will be held Feb. 6-7, 1999, in conjunction with the ABA's Midyear Meeting in Los Angeles. Information on the 1998-99 competition was sent to all law schools in mid-April. The Excellence in Law School Newspaper Competition recognizes the efforts of law school journalists in five categories: entire newspaper, entire magazine, feature writing, humorous article and editorial writing. All law school newspapers sponsored or published by student bar associations or other law student groups of ABA-approved schools are eligible to enter. Winners are announced at the ABA's Annual Meeting. Information will be sent to law school newspaper editors in early January. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) offers tax return preparation assistance to low-income, elderly, indigent and non-English-speaking taxpayers. Law students gain experience with the practice problems of complying with the Internal Revenue Code and the chance to render a public service. Contact National Student Director Angela Boeck at 800/FON-VITA. BE IT RESOLVED The Law Student Division speaks to its members, the ABA Board of Governors, the ABA House of Delegates and the public through its resolution process. By drafting and adopting a resolution and report, any school or circuit may seek the endorsement of the division and, eventually, the ABA House of Delegates on an issue of concern to its membership. Schools and circuits also use the resolution process to make internal changes in division procedures. The LSD Assembly may consider resolutions that originate from either of two sources. Resolutions passed at circuit meetings (summer caucuses, fall roundtables and spring conferences) may be presented to the Assembly at the Annual Meeting after having been put into the proper form by the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee. Resolutions submitted by individual proponents also may be presented to the Assembly after a review by the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee. The format for resolutions and the procedure for submitting them to the division are spelled out in the Division Handbook's chapter on resolution information, available from the Chicago office. CAREER SERIES The division publishes the Career Series, a series of books detailing career opportunities in various areas of the law. Recent titles include Family Law Careers, The Legal Career Guide: From Law Student to Lawyer, How to Start and Build a Law Practice, Careers in Sports Law, Careers in Civil Litigation, Entertainment Law Careers, Careers in Natural Resources and Environmental Law, Careers in Labor Law, Now Hiring: Government Jobs for Lawyers, Careers in Admiralty and Maritime Law, Nonlegal Careers for Lawyers, and Lawful Pursuit: Careers in Public Interest Law. CHICAGO STAFF |
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Director Sherry Gouwens 312/988-5623 |
Assistant Director Joanne Travis 312/988-5621 |
Competitions/Meetings Assistant Judy Stofko 312/988-5622 |
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ABA Service Center (general membership questions) 800/285-2221 |
Editor, Student Lawyer Stephanie Johnston 312/988-6048 |
Mailing Address American Bar Association 750 N. Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60611 |