Student Organizations
American Bar Association - Law Student Division (ABA/LSD)
The ABA is a voluntary membership association of attorneys. Cleveland-Marshall students are eligible for membership in the Law Student Division of the ABA. The ABA/LSD memberships offers many benefits such as the Student Lawyer magazine, low cost health insurance, discount car rental from Hertz, and free or low cost publications that will help you in law school and in planning your legal career.
Perhaps the most valuable benefit offered by the ABA/LSD is an opportunity to participate in one or more of the specialized ABA sections. A Law Student Division member may sit as a voting counsel member of a section, a position that may take a practicing attorney years to achieve.
Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Association (APILSA)
The APILSA was formed to address the concerns of Asian students as well as to provide support to its members. APILSA welcomes and encourages all students to participate in the many events sponsored by APILSA through the year. Many of these events are aimed at educating persons to the many issues facing Asian Americans. APILSA also offers a forum for its members to meet Asian American lawyers working in the Cleveland area through its guest speaker series and through its close ties with the Asian American Bar Association of Ohio.
Association for Environmental Law and Sustainability (AELS)
The Association for Environmental Law and Sustainability (AELS) at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law is a center of information and education for students, faculty, alumni and the community. Members are dedicated to being fully informed of the issues of a school in an urban environment and the challenges not only of co-existing with nature but of improving the world in which they live.
Black Law Student Association (BLSA)
BLSA is a national organization with chapters at law schools across the country. The C-M chapter of BLSA sponsors and co-sponsors various educational and social events throughout the year. Our biggest event is the BLSA Scholarship Banquet, which is held every year in April. Although BLSA's primary purpose is to provide assistance in preparation and retention of African-American law students, BLSA membership is open to all students.
Christian Legal Society (CLS)
The Christian Legal Society provides law students with an opportunity for fellowship and spiritual growth through prayer, Bible study, mutual support, get-togethers, speaker events, and volunteer work. Our purpose is to integrate our faith with our life as law students, and ultimately, our faith with our future profession. "Don't lose Christ in the footnotes" is our motto.
Cleveland State Law Review [website]
The Cleveland State Law Review is a journal with a proud tradition. Four times each year, the Law Review publishes articles of both local and national significance. Students may be invited to join the Law Review as an Associate member at the end of their first year by either class ranking in the top ten percent or by successfully competing in a writing contest during the summer following their first year. Students in the evening division may choose to wait until the summer following their second year to enter the writing competition.
During the first year of Law Review participation, Associate members take part in the editorial work of the Law Review and produce a comprehensive Note on a topic of their choice. A select number of Notes are published in the Law Review the following year. Successful completion of the Note may also satisfy the upper level writing requirement.
Criminal Law Society
The Criminal Law Society consists of students and recent graduates who are interested in both the prosecutorial and defense aspects of the criminal justice system. The Criminal Law Society is a fairly new organization and has sponsored guest speakers as well as the ride-along program with the Cleveland Police Department.
Delta Theta Phi
The Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity is an international professional law fraternity with over 100,000 members. Delta Theta Phi bridges the gap between law school and the successful practice of law. Through networking at fraternity functions, mutual benefits are derived for both students and alumni. Many attorneys that utilize law clerks look to the Fraternity first when hiring. In general, the Fraternity provides a framework for its student members to substantially further their range of personal contacts and professional opportunities.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The C-M EFF encourages awareness of both current, forthcoming, and proposed communications and information technology and the impact such technology has upon civil liberties, political organization, political identity and process, social interaction and community, economics, state sovereignty, and national security.
No technical skills are necessary. We are open to all who have an interest.
Employment and Labor Law Association (ELLA)
Employment and Labor Law Association (ELLA) is a student organization formed to meet the strong interest in employment and labor issues at Cleveland-Marshall. Founded in 2004, this group is supplementary to the ongoing success of the faculty’s Employment and Labor Law Group, which hosts a stimulating lecture series each year. ELLA sponsors employment and labor law themed “movie nights,” wherein a movie or documentary is viewed followed by a discussion of the issues presented. ELLA annually contributes to Multiple Sclerosis, and other such degenerative diseases that bring rise to ADA related claims. ELLA also offers specialized networking opportunities through its participation with the labor and employment section of the Cleveland Bar Association. ELLA is a non-partisan organization and respects both the labor and management perspective.
Entertainment & Sports Law Association
Our mission shall be to help promote the concept of entertainment & sports law for student's desirable of a concentration and better understanding of these areas of study.
Our goal is to promote these ideals through guest-speaker lectures, fundraising events, community service, volunteer opportunities, and the institution of sports & entertainment internships and networking opportunities.
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order. It is founded on the principals 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 principals and to further their application through its activities.
The Gavel [website]
The Gavel is the student publication of the College of Law. Its purpose is to inform, entertain, and comment on the law school, the legal community, and related topics of interest. Students become staff members after having two articles or equivalent contributions printed in the publications. Staff members participate in editorial elections at the end of the year. Three editorial positions provide a full tuition stipend.
Hispanic Law Student Association
The Hispanic Law Student Association is dedicated to the advancement of Hispanics within the legal profession. The organization provides a support network for all Hispanic law students. It seeks to establish and maintain mutual cooperation with the larger Hispanic legal community.
Jewish Law Student Association (JLSA)
The purpose of the JLSA is to provide social, cultural and religious information and events for Jewish law students. The Association strives to establish forums for law students to discuss current Jewish legal issues. In addition, the Association forms and maintains partnerships with Jewish organizations and legal professionals in the community.
Journal of Law and Health [website]
The Journal is a law review devoted to publishing timely and informative articles in the area of health and the law. Two issues of the Journal are published each year. Students are not eligible to become members of the Journal until they complete their first year. Students ranking in the top twenty percent of their class in terms of grade point averages are automatically extended invitations to join the Journal as Associate Members. Students not scoring in the top twenty percent are invited to join the staff upon successfully competing in the annual Summer Writing Competition.
Students who satisfactorily complete their Associate year attain the rank of Editor, assuming supervisory duties over the Associates and becoming more involved in both the editorial and policy-making functions.
The Justinian Forum
The Justinian Forum is a bar association representing 250 attorneys and 14 judges of Italian American descent in Cuyahoga County. The organization here at Cleveland-Marshall was developed in conjunction with the bar association to promote and foster understanding of the roles of Italian Americans in the legal system and to encourage advocacy of Italian Americans in matters involving social justice issues. As an auxiliary chapter to the bar association we are invited to attend and be involved in all functions of the bar association. The auxiliary chapter works to elevate and maintain the standards of integrity and honor among the student body of the law school, while promoting legal, cultural and social activities.
LesBiGay Law Students Association
The fourfold purpose of LesBiGay is to encourage the development of professional expertise of lawyers addressing lesbian, bi-sexual, and gay legal issues; to provide legal-educational alternatives to heterosexist, homophobic, or mysognistic educational experiences; to foster and facilitate a socially supportive legal-educational environment for lesbian, bi-sexual, or gay law students, faculty, and staff; and to advance the cause of civil rights for all lesbians, bi- sexual, and gay men through efforts to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation. Membership is open to all students.
Moot Court
The Moot Court Board of Governors is a student organization and program designed to develop and refine brief writing and oral advocacy skills. Students in the program are members of the Moot Court Board of Governors and participate in interscholastic competitions which are judges on the quality of written briefs and oral arguments. Any student may become a member of the Moot Court (thereby becoming eligible to compete in national level competitions) by completing Advance Brief Writing, and successfully competing in the upper division spring intramural competition. Any positions still available after the upper division selection are filled by first year students selected through the first year intramural competition which is a part of the Legal Writing program. These qualified first year students compete inter-scholastically during their second year with the advice and assistance of the Board.
Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA)
Membership in the OSBA provides many benefits to the student member. Members receive the OSBA weekly publication of recent Ohio court decisions, the Ohio Student Lawyer Journal, and the student newsletter. Members also have the opportunity to attend local conferences on various current issues within the legal field. The OSBA provides members with valuable connections and opportunities that will help you throughout law school and your career.
Student Bar Association (SBA) [website]
The SBA is the student governing body of the college. Four officers are elected each spring and each class of students has its own senators. First year elections for both day and evening students will be held soon after classes start. The SBA's primary responsibilities are to be the voice of the student body, oversee student organizations, and maintain programs and opportunities.
Student Public Interest Law Organization (SPILO) [website]
SPILO is an organization of students, faculty, and staff which recognizes the inequities that exist in our legal system and is dedicated to developing a more just society. SPILO serves as a resource center for students seeking employment or volunteer opportunities which focus on public service. The groups sponsors summer interns in public interest law, guest speakers, fund-raisers, workshops, and social functions.
Women's Law Students Association (WLSA)
The Women's Law Students Association provides a forum for discussion and debate to promote an awareness of women's and societal issues. WLSA sponsors the annual Mock Trial and Silent Auction which are both held in the fall. It is a member of the National Association of Women Law Students and is open to all students.