STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Although funds are provided by the School of Law to support activities, all organizations are exclusively student-run. Most groups hold meetings and functions during a regularly scheduled activities period or in the early evening.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Contact: aclu-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The American Constitution Society (ALS) is an organization committed to fostering a progressive vision of the law on issues across the policy spectrum, including access to the courts; antidiscrimination and affirmative action; civil liberties; consumer rights; criminal justice; disability rights; freedom of speech; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights; international human rights; immigration; open government; labor law; the political process;
privacy; protection of health, safety and the environment; and women's rights
and reproductive freedom.
Contact: acs-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The
Animal Legal Defense Fund(ALDF) is an academic and public service organization that
seeks to increase awareness of the breadth of legal issues pertaining to
non-human animals. It is committed to the belief that non-human animals deserve
greater protection under the law, and works actively to advance their basic
legal rights. The Northeastern chapter was founded in 2002.
Contact: aldf-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Asian
Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) is an organization that represents South Asian,
Pacific Asian, Southeast Asian and East Asian law school students at NUSL. In
addition to providing a social and academic support network for Asian American
students at the law school, the group is active in both community and campus
issues. APALSA works closely with the administration, and is represented on the
Admissions Committee and the Committee Against Institutional Racism. Throughout
the year, APALSA hosts various social activities for both NUSL students and
other Asian-Pacific law students.
Contact: apalsa-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
Business Interests Group (BIG) is a student organization dedicated
to educating law students about what it means to practice law in the business,
corporate, and financial worlds. The group has a threefold mission: learning
about transactional work, networking, and representing our interests on campus.
The organization works with outside resources, linking current students to
mentors and networking opportunities.
BIG also creates an NUSL social network for students and works closely
with administration to ensure that corporate law classes, co-op opportunities
and other advantages are made available to business minded law students.
Contact: big-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Black Law Students Association's (BLSA) purpose is threefold: to identify, articulate and
promote the needs of black students at Northeastern University School of Law.
In particular, BLSA's focus is on areas of internal academic support,
interaction through various community outreach programs, social support and
validation within and outside of the university setting. The group is also
actively affiliated with the national BLSA.
Contact: blsa-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
Committee Against Institutional
Racism (CAIR) was formed in 1986 in
recognition that the School of Law, like all institutions, could be
strengthened by understanding and fighting the racism hidden in its structures
and assumptions. By joining representatives of the students of color
organizations with elected class representatives and members of the faculty and
administration, CAIR constitutes a forum for asking hard questions about race
and exploring answers through action. The committee reports to the school's
Governing Council, offering advice and recommendations. It also sponsors events
for the community to explore questions within its ambit.
The Cooperative Income Sharing Program
(CISP) is a student-run,
student-funded program that makes grants to students choosing unpaid or
underpaid public interest legal work as a part of their co-op experience. CISP also
sells all official NUSL clothing and merchandise. And, it's a fun
place to do Work-Study or volunteer by helping out in the used bookstore or
cafe.
The Entertainment and Sports Law Society is dedicated to exploring legal
issues and career opportunities in the field of sports of and entertainment law.
In the 2007-2008 academic year, SAELS anticipates sponsoring a series of guest speakers and panels with social events.
Contact: esls-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Federalist
Society sponsors guest speakers and events to foster dialogue
and debate on legal issues. The Federalist Society believes law schools and the
legal profession are currently strongly dominated by a form of orthodox liberal
ideology that advocates a centralized and uniform society. While some members
of the academic community have dissented from these views, by and large they
are taught simultaneously with (and indeed as if they were) the law. The
Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of
conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal
order. It is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve
freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our
Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the
judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be. The Society seeks both
to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application
through its activities.
Contact: federalists-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
Intellectual Property Society is comprised of students interested in intellectual
property law and its role in our society. In addition to holding meetings
several times a year, the society invites speakers to discuss cutting-edge
intellectual property issues and careers in intellectual property. The society
also participates in an Intellectual Property Alumni/ae Speaker Series, which
is generally hosted by an area law firm and in which students, graduates and
friends hear a substantive presentation and have the opportunity to mingle.
Contact: ip-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
International Law Society (ILS) is an association of law students, faculty and
staff who have an interest in international law and issues as they relate to
the academic, professional and cooperative education spheres. In addition to
fostering discussion on related issues, ILS is also a support group for
international students at the law school. ILS coordinates a variety of
activities, including brown bag lunch discussions, lectures and presentations
on international co-ops, and promotes study abroad programs, participation in
international law conferences and international employment opportunities.
Contact: ils-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
Jewish Law Students Association
(JLSA) seeks to bring people together for
the purpose of sharing and exploring the cultural bonds that make Judaism a
part of its members' lives and a distinct cultural tradition in the greater
society. Each year, the group holds a Passover Seder for the entire law school
community.
Contact: jlsa-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Justinian Law Society (JLS) represents students either having
Italian heritage or an interest in Italian culture and values. Named after the Roman Emperor whose legal code inspired
the modern concept of civil law and, indeed, the very spelling of
"justice," JLS provides a forum for, and increased awareness of,
issues of importance to the Italian-American legal community.
Contact: justinians-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Latin
American Law Students Association (LaLSA)
serves as a support system for its
membership, as a forum for students to voice their concerns and as a means to
promote the needs and goals of Latino/a law students at Northeastern
University, as well as in the surrounding community, region and nation.
Contact: lalsa-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Legal Environmental Advocacy Forum
(LEAF) is dedicated to creating a forum in
which contemporary legal issues pertaining to the environment may be examined
and debated. The forum has brought several notable speakers to Northeastern and
has held numerous fundraising/outreach events in order to increase awareness
about cutting-edge legal and political issues. Plans for the future include,
inter alia, an interactive Web site, lobbying for eco-friendly policies in
federal, state and local, governments, and an environmental law journal.
Contact: leaf-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Law Students for Israel Northeastern is a newly formed organization on campus. LSFIN's goals are: First, to disseminate reliable information about Israel's place in the Middle East and about Israel's politics, culture, history and society. Secondly, to foster informed discussion, dialogue and debate about current issues and trends in the Middle East thereby contributing to the intellectual discourse of the academic community. Third, to have a presence on campus that encourages constructive participation and freedom of speech through activities, forums, events and speakers. Lastly, to support and love Israel by celebrating her resilience, her accomplishments, her strength and her people. In 2006-07, LSFIN brought Jeff Robbins, a Former U.S. Delegate to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, to talk about human rights in Israel, and Yael Dayan, current Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv, Israel to talk about women's and gay rights in Israel. LSFIN's events are often co-sponsored with other organizations on campus and are open to law students as well as the entire community.
Contact: lsfin-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The NU Journal Northeastern stands apart from other law schools with its unique
cooperative education program, and the Northeastern University Law
Journal similarly distinguishes itself from other legal publications by
focusing on the practical applications of the law. The Journal
provides practitioners with an opportunity to share their experiences
and to discuss the most effective means of overcoming the challenges
that confront them on a daily basis in their various fields.
Contact: nujournal-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) student chapter has been active since 1974. Northeastern student Guild members work closely with NLG
attorneys: volunteering as facilitators for street law clinics, legal observers
at demonstrations and civil disobedience actions, working on the Guild's
Immigrant Detainee Project and other ongoing campaigns. The National Lawyers
Guild was formed in 1937 as the first non-segregated national association of
legal workers. Today, it includes lawyers, law students, legal workers and
jailhouse lawyers who seek to use the law "in the service of the people,
to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property
interests." see also Northeastern United Radical Front
Contact: nlg-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Northeastern Employment and
Labor Law Society (NELLA) promotes the field of labor and employment law as a career option. The group also explores the current efforts of plaintiff-side employment lawyers and union-side labor lawyers. Activities have included a roundtable discussion on labor/employment law, activism with attorneys from the community, and the screening of movies such as Live Nude Girls Unite!, and Bread and Roses.
Contact: nella-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Northeastern University Graduate and Professional
Student Association (GSPA) is the official voice of the Graduate
Student Community. The GPSA actively pursues a goal of improving graduate
student life. It serves all graduate and professional students enrolled in the
graduate colleges of Northeastern University, including the School of Law.
There are executive board and senate positions available to students. The executive board of the GPSA
consists of the elected officers. Each officer is elected annually by the
general assembly in April elections. The duties and responsibilities of each officer
are outlined in the GPSA constitution and the executive board by-laws. The Senators
represent each college at the university. Their duty is to present concerns of
their respective departments and vote on issues brought up at the Senate
meetings. Senate meetings are held monthly during the academic year.
Northeastern University Radical
Front (NURF) (aka the law school's chapter of the National Lawyers Guild) Feminists, environmentalists, satirists, labor
organizers, queers, leftists, public service minded, critical theorists, social
justice activists, etc., students and faculty, formed NURF in 1998. NURF seeks
to bring progressive people together to work on a variety of projects both
inside and outside the university's walls. NURF organizes a variety of
activities from potlucks to rallies in an effort to creative activism, both on
and off campus.
Contact: nlg-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Charlotte E. Ray Chapter of Phi
Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International (PAD) is a tight-knit group of students who are interested in bringing a
different dynamic to the School of Law. The purpose of this fraternity is to
form a strong bond uniting students and teachers of the law with members of the
bench and bar in a fraternal fellowship designed to advance the ideals of
liberty and equal justice under law; to stimulate excellence in scholarship; to
inspire the virtues of compassion and courage; to foster integrity and
professional competence; to promote the welfare of its members; and to
encourage their moral, intellectual and cultural advancement; so that each
member may enjoy a lifetime of honorable professional and public service.
Recently chartered and initiated as the first law fraternity at Northeastern
and the 193rd chapter of the international organization in March 2006, the
group is excited to organize new and interesting events on campus.
Contact: pad-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Queer Caucus (QC) is comprised of gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered students, faculty and staff, and their allies. It is
one of the school's most visible and active student groups. Through its many
activities, including hosting dinner discussion groups, sending students to
regional events sponsored by organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign
and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and organizing educational
programs about queer issues, the group provides support and resources for the
entire community.
Contact: qc-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
Shelter Legal Services (SLS), Northeastern law chapter, is a group comprised of students volunteering for the SLS
Foundation at five Boston and Cambridge-based clinics. Shelter Legal
Services provides free access
to legal services for the poor and homeless, and has assisted more than 3,800
people in its 12-year history. Student volunteers, with the supervision of SLS
attorneys, perform case intake, represent clients at administrative and court
proceedings, negotiate settlements and perform most of the functions of
attorneys.
Contact: sls-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Society for Restorative Justice
(SRJ) supports restorative justice activities that empower victims
to have a voice in the judicial process, enables offenders to be accountable
for their conduct, while affording them opportunities to make restoration and
express remorse, and strengthens communities to define their own norms and to
recognize and address the underlying conditions that generate crime. The
Society for Restorative Justice seeks to support the education of students,
faculty and the larger community on issues related to restorative justice and
alternative law and to implement restorative justice as a viable criminal
justice alternative in the Boston area.
Contact: srj-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Student Bar Association (SBA), affiliated with the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association (ABA), is the elected, representative body for NUSL students. It informs and encourages student participation in the activities of the ABA, as well as serving as a forum for communication between NUSL students and the administration. In addition to representing the interests of the student body, the SBA also sponsors numerous social, recreational, educational, and charitable events throughout the year. Common events include a bi-weekly social event ("Bar Review"), seasonal gatherings (e.g., the spring Barrister's Ball and fall Halloween Party), fundraisers for local charities, and a tax-assistance program to help the elderly complete their tax forms.
Contact: sba-chair@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Student Global AIDS Campaign
Contact: sgac-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Women's Law
Caucus exists to enable women
law students to share their legal aspirations and personal and academic
experiences in law school, while providing support to one another and serving
as a social network. The group was extremely active this year with its
"Brown Bag Lunch Series," which invited students and faculty to discussions
on various topics that were opened by a lecture from an invited faculty member.
In addition, the Women's Law Caucus promoted awareness of domestic violence and
sponsored a "Shop and Swap."
Contact: wlc-officers@weboard.slaw.neu.edu
The Youth Advocacy Caucus (YAC) is a coalition of students, faculty, graduate, and
youth advocates who work together to improve direct legal representation of
children in Massachusetts through education, training, volunteer opportunities
and resource identification. The group believes in a holistic approach to
providing legal services to children, with the ultimate goal of youth
empowerment.