The Law Student Division is a powerful and influential voice in the bar community, and within the American Bar Association it develops and grooms student-officers who, many times, eventually become leaders of the "Big Bar.""The Law Student Division plays a key role in the future of the association because we're not just developing future ABA members, but future ABA leadership," says division Chair Jeffrey Jacobson. "The leaders of the Law Student Division have been moving up in the leadership ranks of the ABA for some time."
The ABA's Law Student Division is essentially run by an executive committee, comprised of four national officers, and a permanent staff in Chicago. The four national officers are chair, vice-chair, secretary-treasurer and vice-chair/SBAs (student bar associations).
The chair oversees the division's daily operations and is the highest elective position a law student can attain in the division. Jacobson, a third-year student at Whittier Law School in Los Angeles, compares his position as chair to that of a chief executive officer of a board of directors. "The chair is responsible for long-range planning, interfacing with other entities of the American Bar Association, and ensuring that the board of directors is responsible to our customers, who are the law students," he says.
Jacobson has paid his dues to become chair. Before his election last November, he served as section representative and then vice-president of Whittier's student bar association. Even before his law school days, he served as president of his fraternity at Northern Arizona University. "I believe in service," he says. "I was raised with a service ethic, and I can't think of a more noble way to serve law students than in the Law Student Division."
As chair, Jacobson is also responsible for establishing, maintaining and furthering division contacts with the ABA and other related entities. He devotes at least 25 hours each week to his chair activities. "Personally, my biggest challenge will be balancing my responsibilities in the Law Student Division with my responsibilities as a law student," he says. "My professional challenge will be to ensure that the experience of all the student-volunteers of the Law Student Division is as positive as it can be and that all law students receive the messages of the enormous amount of opportunities in the Law Student Division."
The vice-chair is second in charge of the division and is responsible for maintaining and developing membership. This year's vice-chair is Monica Armster, a third-year student at the University of Florida College of Law and former vice-president of the school's student bar association. As vice-chair, Armster also serves as liaison to the ABA's Standing Committee on Membership and keeps fully informed of each circuit governor's membership and programming activities.
As the liaison between the ABA and the Law Student Division for funding, the secretary-treasurer works with the 15 circuit governors in maintaining budgets and approving expenditures. The secretary-treasurer also helps the chair and other officers update the Law Student Division's governing handbook and submits resolutions passed by the Board of Governors and the Assembly.
Jennifer Bayer, a third-year student at Seattle University School of Law, is this year's secretary-treasurer. Her previous positions include serving as Twelfth Circuit executive lieutenant governor and as student activities director and section representative for Seattle University's student bar association.
Michelle Selig, a third-year student from George Washington University Law School, is this year's vice-chair/SBAs. She is the primary contact for student bar association presidents at law schools, informing them of the ABA's membership benefits.
The chair, vice-chair and secretary-treasurer are elected in November by the division's Board of Governors and serve a one-year term that begins at the following Annual Meeting in August. The vice-chair/student bar associations is elected at the annual meeting and serves a one-year term that also begins at the following Annual Meeting.
Anyone attending an ABA-accredited law school is eligible to seek national office within the Law Student Division. If you'd like to apply for a position on the Law Student Division's executive committee, follow the instructions in "Calling All Future Division Officers!" in this issue of Student Lawyer.
Tommy Sangchompuphen
Tommy Sangchompuphen, a second-year student at the University of Minnesota School of Law, is Student Lawyer's student editor.
September 1997 Table of Contents | Student Lawyer | Law Student Division
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