Organizations
Student-run organizations reflect the varied professional, political, social, and community interests of the Rutgers School of Law-Newark student body.

American Bar Association/Law Student Division (ABA/LSD) With over 51,000 members, the American Bar Association's Law Student Division (ABA/LSD) serves as the national voice of law students at America's ABA-accredited law schools. Members of the ABA/LSD obtain free legal publications, low-cost health and auto insurance, and the opportunity to participate in regional and national meetings and leadership positions. The division sponsors numerous competitions in which the school participates and offers matching grants for law-related projects undertaken by students at the school.

The Art Law Society (ALS) welcomes all students interested in the arts and the arts practice area. The ALS sponsors panels and networking events with practicing attorneys and scholars, and serves as a clearinghouse for information on conferences, symposia, career opportunities, and community events. Visit our Facebook page for upcoming events.

Asian/Pacific-American Law Students Association (APALSA) APALSA, established at the law school in 1976, is dedicated to the admission and retention of Asian/Pacific-American law students, particularly those who will go on to help the legally underserved Asian/Pacific-American community. Members work to foster awareness of Asian/Pacific-American legal and social issues within the law school and strive to build ongoing relationships with other groups and students interested in both law and justice. The Rutgers chapter also sponsors joint activities with other East cCoast APALSAs aimed at community education and the development of interest in legal careers among Asian and Pacific-Americans.

Association of Black Law Students (ABLS) ABLS is an organization of black/African-American law students whose goal is to foster a just and equitable administration of the law. Programming is geared toward promoting the initiatives, professionalism, interests, and academic excellence of black students pursuing a legal education. Since ABLS's inception, diverse programming has been used to protect the interests of all students matriculated at Rutgers School of Law-Newark; to encourage and assist black people in the pursuit of law; to promote professionalism and excellence among black law students; to serve as a law student resource to the Greater Newark community; and black people in general.

Association of Latin-American Law Students (ALALS) The Association of Latin-American Law Students' goals are to:  encourage the study of law among Latin-American students by initiating programs of recruitment and information; ensure the retention of Latin-American law students enrolled at the law school by implementing programs of assistance designed to aid the student beyond the scope of materials covered within the classroom; protect the interests of Latin-American students within the law school on issues pertaining to school policies, particularly in the areas of academic standing, hiring and firing of faculty, and admissions procedures; - educate and sensitize the law school community and other interested groups to the pressing problems confronting the Latin-American community; and - support and assist, wherever possible, those other groups both within and without the law school that demonstrate their concern for the well-being and survival of the Latin-American community.

Christian Legal Society The Christian Legal Society is devoted to developing individual and collective relationships with God; to studying and analyzing the law and recent developments from the Christian perspective; and to establishing closer ties between the law school and the surrounding community through community service activities.

Criminal Law Society The Criminal Law Society is dedicated to creating opportunities for students interested in criminal law to interact with faculty, practitioners, judges, and community organizations that work in the field of criminal law. The Criminal Law Society holds panel discussions, networking events, and field trips to help students engage in the field of criminal law firsthand. Further, the society works with Career Services and volunteer organizations to help bring as many criminal law opportunities - be they academic or hands-on - to students as possible.

Entertainment and Sports Law Society (ENTSPO) The Entertainment and Sports Law Society at Rutgers School of Law-Newark stands to educate, assist, and provide outreach to the school's students in the disciplines of entertainment and sports law. The society serves to provide a forum for like-minded students to meet and share thoughts, knowledge, and experience within these fields. ENTSPO holds events with the participation of attorneys and professionals currently practicing in the entertainment and sports law fields in order to further spread interest, educate on current trends, and create networking opportunities for both those students hoping to one day practice in this area of law, and those simply looking to learn more about the field. ENTSPO annually holds intramural sports competitions along with social mixers as initiatives meant to foster student involvement in the group and as methods for fundraising. Each year, ENTSPO hosts the annual Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium, bringing together a prominent panel of practicing attorneys and/or law school graduates with interesting perspectives and insights into relevant fields. Additionally, ENTSPO serves as an intermediary between the student body and other relevant nationwide groups, notifying and supporting students in relevant writing competitions, scholarships, and job opportunities.

Environmental Law Society (ELS) The Environmental Law Society is a student organization dedicated to promoting awareness and interest in the environment, and providing opportunities for students interested in environmental careers. ELS hosts events with environmental lawyers and experts from the government, public interest groups, and private law firms. In addition, ELS provides volunteer opportunities for students to receive hands-on experience with various local environmental organizations.

Evening Students Association (ESA) The Evening Students Association (ESA) consists of elected representatives from the evening program and is designed to represent the needs of evening students. The organization strives to: foster communication between evening students, day students, and the administration; promote fruitful relationships between past and present evening students; and to highlight the evening students' skills and areas of interest.

Federalist Society The Federalist Society is a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the state of the legal order. It is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of 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. Since its inception, the Federalist Society has provided a forum for legal scholars of opposing views to come together. This chapter received the Federalist Society National Alexander Hamilton Award for Most Improved Chapter in 2010-2011.

Human Rights Forum The Human Rights Forum is dedicated to raising awareness of human rights violations in both the international and domestic spheres, addressing such topics as war crimes, genocide, torture, humantrafficking, poverty, homelessness, public health concerns, unjust imprisonment and capital punishment. Our projects include organizing educational forums and debates concerning current human rights issues, raising funds to support human rights initiatives, and working with various human rights-focused organizations through handson volunteer opportunities.

Intellectual Property Law Society (IPLS) The Intellectual Property Law Society advances the study of and encourages interest in the various areas of intellectual property law at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. The goal of the society is to provide the law school community with exposure to the fields of copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, and unfair competition laws.

The Irish American Law Students Association The Rutgers Law School Irish Society was established in 2000 and is open to all students. The organization's principle objective is to encourage inclusiveness and cross-cultural understanding with a secondary focus on current political and legal issues in Ireland.

Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) The Jewish Law Students Association (formerly the Decalogue Society) looks to promote issues of importance to the Jewish community and to provide cultural, social, charitable, and educational events for Jewish students and other students interested in same. We have monthly meetings, cultural events, social events, lunch and learns, and distinguished speakers. Membership in the JLSA is open to all interested Rutgers School of Law-Newark students, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or any other classification.
 
Law Students for Reproductive Justice is a student-led, student-driven national nonprofit network of law students, professors, and lawyers committed to attaining reproductive justice, which will be achieved when all people and communities have access to the information, resources, and support they need to attain reproductive self-determination. This includes the creation of legally tenable, realistically accessible avenues for informed, consensual, unobstructed decision making that is free from coercion, discrimination and violence. Our goal is to ensure that a new generation of advocates will be prepared to protect and expand reproductive rights as basic civil and human rights.

The Medicine and Health Law Society is an association of law students sharing an interest in the discipline and practice of medicine and health law, and sponsors lectures and social events featuring scholars and practitioners in this area of law.

The Moot Court Board is an autonomous, student-run organization that promotes superior advocacy skills. The board administers two internal advocacy competitions each academic year: the Baker Mock Trial Competition each fall and the Cohn Appellate Advocacy Competition each spring, which is used to select the members of the Rutgers National Moot Court Competition. Both competitions are open to both board and non-board member students. In addition, the board encourages and assists in student participation in specialized outside competitions as well as preparing these teams for competition. The board is selected from eligible students demonstrating high achievement in brief writing and exceptional oral advocacy skills.
 
The Rutgers-Newark Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA) is designed to promote and advance knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic culture in the Rutgers School of Law-Newark community and serve the best interests of Muslim students.

Older Wiser Law Students (O.W.L.S.) provides support, networking, and social events for students with significant life experience prior to entering law school. Formed in 2005, O.W.L.S. helps students identify career opportunities, solve challenges unique to older students, and provide academic and social mentoring for first-year students. Regular meetings and events are held throughout the school year, including collaborations with O.W.L.S. groups at other area law schools, coffee hours, and lectures by others for whom law was a second career. We welcome new members throughout the year.

Phi Alpha Delta - Jackson Chapter Founded in 1902, Phi Alpha Delta (PAD) is now the world's largest law fraternity with over 300,000 members forming 205 law school chapters, 99 alumni chapters and 296 prelaw chapters. Phi Alpha Delta is a professional law fraternity composed of law students, attorneys, judges, and educators dedicated to promoting professional competency, service, and achievement within the profession. Approximately one out of six attorneys in the U.S. is a member of PAD. Four sitting justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are members and six US Presidents have been members. PAD provides a forum for law students and professionals to exchange ideas, allowing its members to develop invaluable networking contacts.The Jackson Chapter was chartered at Rutgers-Newark on May 18, 1955, and hosts a variety of events throughout the year, providing students with opportunities to network with professionals, learn about current legal issues, and give back to the Newark community through various volunteer opportunities. PAD hosts a biannual convention providing an unparalleled opportunity to network and an annual mock trial competition where students can gain experience in trial presentation and build fraternal bonds with members from other universities.

The Pro Bono Service Program gives students the opportunity to gain practical legal experience and at the same time provide needed help to the community through a wide variety of placements in Newark and the surrounding communities. Projects have included AIDS legal services, criminal defense, immigration law, women's issues, civil court, and family law. Students who provide 35 hours of pro bono service receive a notation on their law school transcripts and certificates upon graduation.

PILF, the Public Interest Law Foundation, at Rutgers School of Law-Newark is a unique, student-run, nonprofit organization charged with the primary task of raising funds which are provided to students with summer positions in the public interest field. PILF grants allow our students to pursue unpaid domestic and international internship opportunities in government, community, and private organizations. PILF also works on campus to increase awareness of public interest law and the benefits of community involvement.

The Rutgers Admiralty, Aviation, and Space Law Association (RAASLA) is a student-run organization that promotes interest in legal issues surrounding aviation, maritime, and aerospace activities among Rutgers law students and faculty. We were founded in 2008, and our activities include regular meetings, fundraising events, guest speaker forums, moot court preparation meetings, writing competitions, informal debates, and membership drives.

Rutgers Business Law Review (RBLR) has been in existence for nearly a decade. Initially focused on bankruptcy law, RBLR has evolved into a broad-based, interdisciplinary business law journal that provides an academic forum for serious research, analysis, and exploration of current legal trends affecting business. Past issues have featured articles covering antitrust, bankruptcy, corporate, contract, real estate, securities, tax, and administrative law, among other topics. RBLR holds itself to a high standard of excellence and strives to be one of the nation's premier academic legal journals covering business law topics.

The Rutgers Conflict Resolution Law Journal (RCRLJ) is dedicated to the exploration of alternative dispute resolution, such as negotiations, mediations, arbitration, consensus-building, and alternative forms of litigation such as minitrials. The journal features writings relevant to lawyers, practitioners of ADR, and scholars in diverse disciplines who are concerned with alternate forms of resolving conflict. The RCRLJ encourages those interested in alternative conflict resolution to find effective means of settlement of issues ranging from neighborhood disputes to international conflict. The RCRLJ can be contacted via email at rcrlj@pegasus.rutgers.edu.

Rutgers Immigrants Rights Collective, was created by Rutgers-Newark law students in 2003 because of the growing need to address immigration issues in our community. RUIRC's mission is to educate the Rutgers-Newark community about immigration policy and law, as well as to actively participate in immigration policy discussions by lobbying representatives and working with immigration policy groups in New York and New Jersey. RUIRC is dedicated to promoting immigrants' rights and empowering immigrants.

The Rutgers International Law Society (ILS) is the catalyst for students interested in international law. Members' interests are broad, and include international business, human rights, and environmental law, among many others. ILS provides a forum for students wishing to develop an awareness of international legal issues and for those wishing to pursue careers in international law. The society plans presentations on international law, sponsors speakers, coordinates with other student organizations, and promotes international law programs and courses at the law school in order to integrate an international law perspective. 

The Rutgers Labor and Employment Law Society (LELS) is a student-run organization devoted to promoting educational and career-oriented activities for students interested in the practice of labor and employment law. LELS creates networking opportunities for students by facilitating contact with potential employers, assists in hosting an ICLE event each year, and organizes a speaker series that addresses substantive and practical issues in the field.

The Rutgers Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus was organized in 1976. Its main objectives are to represent the interests of the gay, lesbian, bisexua,l and transgender students of the school; to encourage the study of law affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people; to educate the general school community on important issues relating to the rights of gay, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people; and to provide information, leadership, encouragement, and debate on the important issues affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people such as the right to marry and divorce, the right to privacy, the right to be free from employment and public accommodations discrimination, the right to child custody, and criminal law reform. The organization coordinates efforts with all schools in the metropolitan area and with national professional organizations such as Lesbians in Law and others.

The Rutgers Student Lawyers Guild is a chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, an association dedicated to the need for change in the structure of our political and economic systems. The Rutgers chapter sponsors progressive programs on such social and legal topics as the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, capital punishment, and immigrants' rights. It also works to ensure that the school is sensitive to the needs of minorities, women, and working-class students.

The purpose of the Student Publishing Initiative is to further student publications at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. This initiative is designed to streamline the process by increasing the options students have for submission through services such as ExpressO, holding seminars to explain the process of submission, and creating specialized lists to determine the optimal journals to which students should be submitting their papers to.

The Tax Law Journal is a student-run journal staffed by law students of Rutgers School of Law-Newark. As a publication, the journal seeks to contribute to the development of tax jurisprudence by publishing articles and notes focused on issues of international, federal, state, and local/municipal tax.The founding members of the editorial board include members of the Rutgers Law Review and other Rutgers journals, many of whom are pursuing a career in tax law and all of whom share a profound interest in the field of taxation. The founding members believe that the creation of the Rutgers Tax Society, Rutgers' recent hiring of professors interested in tax, the continued success of the well-established Federal Tax Law Clinic, and the growing interest within the student body concerning issues of tax have created the ideal environment for launching this publication.

The Women's Law Forum (WLF) is a student organization dedicated to increasing the voice of female students at the law school. The goal of WLF is to educate and increase awareness of legal and social issues affecting women in the legal profession and in society as a whole. WLF members contribute to Rutgers School of Law-Newark and the greater community in a variety of ways, including but not limited to: speaker panels, networking opportunities, a mentoring program with the alumni association, and through public service. Some of our annual events include Ladies Day, International Women's Day, and Take Back the Night. WLF events are open to all students and people from the community, and membership is open to all interested students.

The Student Bar Association (SBA) is the umbrella organization for all other organizations at the school. Extracurricular affairs of the school are governed by the SBA, which consists of elected representatives from each class, chosen on a proportional basis; these representatives elect officers to govern the association. The SBA is governed by a constitution and bylaws, and has at its disposal funds received from student activity fees. These funds are allocated by the association to the various student organizations in the school. Other activities planned by the organization include student-faculty coffee hours, parties, and speakers. The SBA also plans for the discussion of contemporary problems.The SBA is the representative body of law school students acting as a vehicle for the expression of student concerns and the promotion of student participation in the affairs of the law school, the Rutgers University system, the legal community, and the community in general. A major function of the SBA is appointment of student members to most of the faculty standing committees. These appointments are open to all members of the student body. They provide an opportunity for students to work face-to-face with faculty in developing and directing school policy, programs, and functions. Appointments to these committees are made by the SBA Executive Committee with the advice and consent of the SBA membership.The SBA also maintains many of its own committees, comprised exclusively of students to help develop and advocate constructive changes in the law school and the community at large. Participation of all students is highly encouraged. The SBA needs the participation of the study body. Please join it; the work will be enjoyable, educational, and rewarding.