Student-run organizations reflect the myriad interests, political positions, and backgrounds of the Rutgers 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.

American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation’s leading progressive legal organizations. Founded in 2001, ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers, and other concerned individuals. Our mission is to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law.

Art Law Society
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: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36506146929

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 coast 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 the organization of black/African-American law students whose goal is to foster a just and equitable administration of the law. The organization strives to ensure that the fundamental human rights of blacks/African Americans and other oppressed groups are protected. The organization serves as a vehicle of expression for progressive causes in the world politic. ABLS, in essence, seeks to employ judicial and legal processes to increase social, political, and economic resources within black/African American communities in order to promote human dignity. Each year, the Rutgers chapter sponsors a team in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition.

Association of Latin-American Law Students (ALALS)
The Association of Latin-American Law Students’ goals are to:

1. encourage the study of law among Latin-American students by initiating programs of recruitment and information;
2. 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;
3. 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;
4. educate and sensitize the law school community and other interested groups to the pressing problems confronting the Latin-American community; and
5. 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 creates opportunities for students interested in criminal law to interact with faculty, practitioners, judges, and community organizations that work in the field by holding panel discussions, networking events, field trips, career services programs, and volunteer community service.

Entertainment and Sports Law Society
The Entertainment and Sports Law Society is open to all students interested in entertainment and sports law and the practice within those industries. It sponsors “meet-and-greet” sessions with practicing members of the Entertainment and Sports Law Bar and speakers and presentations on current issues in this aspect of the law, and serves as a clearinghouse for information on conferences, symposia, and informal meetings.

Environmental Law Society
This organization is dedicated to the study of environmental law and the advancement of understanding of the field.

Evening Students’ Association
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.

Human Rights Forum
The Human Rights Forum is dedicated to raising awareness of human rights violations on both the international and domestic level. In the last year alone, we have sponsored programs examining human rights law in Zimbabwe, wrongful convictions in the U.S. with special guests from the Innocence Project, and hosted a Live From Death Row event which included live call-ins from death row prisoners from around the country.

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.

Jewish Law Student Association
The Jewish Law Student 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.

The Justinian Law Society
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. As a chapter of the National Italian American Bar Association (www.niaba.org), JLS provides networking opportunities with this and other national and regional Italian-American organizations, provides national networking opportunities with Italian-American judges and lawyers, opens doors to summer internships and scholarships, and sponsors numerous academic and social events throughout the school year.

Law Students for Reproductive Justice
Law Students for Reproductive Justice is dedicated to raising awareness on issues related to contraception, abortion, and sex education. We promote equality for women across all socio-economic levels and racial and ethnic groups.

Moot Court Board
The Moot Court Board assists in the administration of the Appellate Moot Court and Mock Trial programs. The board is selected each spring from among those students demonstrating high achievement in writing briefs and in oral advocacy. Some board members may act as advisers to students participating in Appellate Moot Court courses, and others are responsible for the conduct of the Spring Moot Court Competition. The board also sponsors a team in the annual National Moot Court Competition. In addition, it encourages student participation in specialized competitions; this includes the Wagner Labor Law Competition, the Albert R. Mugel National Moot Court Tax Competition, the American Patent Law Association Competition, the Jerome Prince Evidence Moot Court, the National Mock Trial Competition, the ABA/LSD Client Counseling Competition, and the Negotiations Competition.

Muslim Law Students Association
The Rutgers–Newark Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA) is designed to promote and advance knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic culture in the R-N Law School community and serve the best interests of Muslim students.

O.W.L.S. (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 Delta Phi: Beasley Inn – International Professional Legal Fraternity
Phi Delta Phi, easily identified by our Skull and Bones coat of arms, is an international professional legal organization that was founded in 1869 and chartered at Rutgers in 1950 as the Beasley Inn. Our principal mission is the promotion of legal ethics, academic scholarship, and personal contribution through acts of community service. We are one of the oldest professional fraternities in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. We have an unparalleled list of distinguished alumni — more judges, American presidents, governors, senators, representatives, cabinet members, ambassadors, American Bar Association presidents, Association of American Law School presidents, and law school Deans have come from the ranks of Phi Delta Phi than from any other legal fraternity. Nearly half of the Justices who have served on the United States Supreme Court since our founding have been members of Phi Delta Phi. Among our chapter’s own prominent members is Newark native and U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan (Honorary 1957).

Members of Phi Delta Phi enjoy the benefit of special scholarship, education, leadership, community service and travel opportunities, as well as member mentorship and networking privileges with our accomplished national and international alumni. Contact us at PDPrulaw@pegasus.rutgers.edu.

Pro Bono Service Program
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.

Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF)
PILF, the Public Interest Law Foundation, at Rutgers School of Law–Newark is a unique, student-run, non-profit 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.

Rutgers Air and Space Law Association
The Rutgers Air and Space Law Association is a student-run organization which promotes interest in legal issues surrounding aviation 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 Journal
The Rutgers Business Law Journal is an interdisciplinary, academic journal that publishes scholarly articles in the areas of corporate law, business law, bankruptcy, and insolvency-related topics.

Rutgers Conflict Resolution Law Journal
The Rutgers Conflict Resolution Law Journal is dedicated to the exploration of alternative dispute resolution, such as negotiations, mediations, arbitration, consensus-building, and alternative forms of litigation such as mini-trials. 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 International Law Society
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 ILS can be contacted via email at ruils@pegasus.rutgers.edu.

Rutgers Irish Society
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.

Rutgers Labor and Employment Law Society
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.

Rutgers Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus
The Rutgers Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus was organized in 1976. Its main objectives are to represent the interests of the gay and lesbian students of the school; to encourage the study of law affecting gay and lesbian people; to educate the general school community on important issues relating to the rights of gays and lesbians; and to provide information, leadership, encouragement, and debate on the important issues affecting gays and lesbians, 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.

Rutgers Student Lawyers Guild
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.

Student Bar Association
The Student Bar Association (SBA) is the umbrella organization for all other organizations in 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 a 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.

Women’s Law Forum
The Women’s Law Forum is a collective committed to discussing, promoting, and advocating for women's issues. It provides a forum to explore the diversity of women’s experiences, including differences of race, class, national origin, and sexuality. It challenges — and struggles to eliminate — the inherent gender bias of the legal system. It actively works toward building coalitions with other organizations to advance common goals and encourages the involvement of all women in the law school community.