Law school is better when you have good people around you. The J. Reuben Clark Law Society helps students build community, connect with mentors, and serve others. I have experienced this firsthand at Gonzaga University School of Law, where I found a home and formed what I’m sure will be lifelong friendships through our student chapter.
A chapter does not have to be large or complicated to be successful. Whether you are starting a new chapter, trying to strengthen an existing one, or hoping it will continue after you graduate, here are some practical ideas and resources to help.
Starting a chapter is actually very simple. You need at least five interested students—remember, the Law Society is open to students of all faiths—a Chapter Chair and Chair-Elect, and approval from your law school. That approval usually comes through your Student Bar Association, which likely has a process for starting a new student organization.
There are several key online resources to help you get started. You can follow the step-by-step guide for organizing a new chapter, then register your chapter with JRCLS. You can also reference JRCLS’s sample chapter constitution as you get organized.
For questions or additional support, contact Amy Parker, JRCLS Student Chapters Manager, at amy.parker@law.byu.edu. As the Society’s dedicated contact for student chapters, she provides continuity and support as chapter leadership changes from year to year. The Student Board, which I currently chair, is another resource for sharing ideas and helping students start, strengthen, or revive chapters.
What Do Student Chapters Do?
There’s no formula here—what your chapter does should depend on your law school and the needs and interests of your members.
At Gonzaga, our chapter has roughly 50 active members, and we have hosted opening socials, hikes, chili cook-offs at our faculty advisor’s home, pickleball tournaments, lunch speaker events, an outline review for first-year law students, and a closing social. We also work with the Washington Spokane Attorney Chapter on joint events and a mentorship program that pairs law students with local attorneys.
At Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, Mason Cook described his student chapter’s activities:
“We normally hold a ‘Billion Graves’ event once a semester. This is a grave cataloging app that works in tandem with FamilySearch. Essentially, you’re indexing gravestones with pictures. We’ve been trying to catalog all the cemeteries in the surrounding area, and Ohio has a few dozen just within 5 miles of the school because every church has its own. We do it in the snow and rain sometimes, and it’s fun to get out of the school mindset and just enjoy doing a service project. We actually get a good turnout for it too, which is pretty awesome!
Last year we held a virtual Religious Freedom event with a member of the Religious Freedom committee. We combined with the University of Akron and Syracuse University chapters for it. It was great!”
It’s especially beneficial to students when you collaborate with the JRCLS attorney chapter in your area through joint events, by inviting attorneys to speak, or through other programs. These collaborations provide valuable networking and mentorship opportunities for your members. Also, don’t feel pressure to fill the calendar—a couple of worthwhile events a year can make for a great chapter!
How to Sustain a Chapter
Keeping a chapter going after its student leaders graduate can be a real challenge. One of the most important things you can do is fill the Chair-Elect position with a 1L or 2L who is ready to step in as Chair the next year. It also helps to keep a simple record of important contacts, successful events, and other useful information, and to rely on your faculty advisor and local attorney chapter for continuity as students graduate.
This advice is especially important for smaller chapters, where there might only be a handful of JRCLS students at a time. Mason Cook has navigated exactly that at Ohio Northern. He explained that there are typically only 2–3 active members at a time, “so the more senior student is the Chair and the junior is the Chair-Elect. We typically have a succession on the 1st of January of the Chair’s 3L year so there can still be some oversight for 6 months before they leave the school.”
For more thoughts on these topics, listen to the Humble Jurist podcast episode "Student Chapters” with Amy Parker and former Student Board Chair Jenna Crowther on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The J. Reuben Clark Law Society has been one of the best parts of my law school experience, and I hope you find friendship, growth, and opportunity through your student chapter too!
