| O'Connor to be Keynote at ASU Conference |
| Retired Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor will be the keynote speaker at the JRCLS Conference to be held at the Arizona State University College of Law February 15-16, 2008. For more information about the conference please visit the official website. |
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| GW National Religious Freedom Moot Court |
| By MARC BOHN, George Washington |
On January 26-27, 2007, the George Washington University J. Reuben Clark Law Society Student Chapter successfully inaugurated the first annual GW National Religious Freedom Moot Court.
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| Malibu Conference in Review |
| By SEAN NOBMANN, Duke |
Between the stunning scenery, perfect weather, and all-star cast of presenters, the JRCLS Conference in Malibu, California set the standard for all future JRCLS conferences. One student recounts his experience and provides an inside preview of next year’s conference to be held at Arizona State University.
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| Finding a Good Fit |
| By ADAM HOLLAND, Wisconsin |
| A frustrating experience with a leader from the Christian Legal Society led one student to establish a student chapter at the University of Wisconsin, an accomplishment that ultimately helped him find a job. Read more ... |
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| Integrating at South Texas |
| By JAMES URE, South Texas |
| A student at South Texas has taken the initiative by working with his admissions office to integrate new LDS students into the JRCLS as soon as possible. Read more ... |
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| Thoughts on Joseph Smith and the Constitution |
| By JOHN W. WELCH, Professor of Law at Brigham Young University |
| In a follow-up to his excellent presentation during the Jan. 11 SCIB conference call, Professor Welch discusses how Joseph Smith's revelations, his 1844 presidential campaign, and some of his letters and talks give us much to contemplate as the nation prepares to once again select the next president of the United States. Read more ... |
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| Message from the Outgoing SCIB Chair |
| By SEAN NOBMANN, Student Chapters International Board Chairman |
One of the purposes of this last edition of The Thread for this school year is to create a store of institutional knowledge. The law school pace is at best fast and furious--time is always in short supply. Often the transition in leadership occurs at a time when law students have the least amount of time to focus on the JRCLS. The result is that many chapters reinvent the wheel each year. To this end I would like to leave behind two thoughts to future generations of JRCLS student chapters, and future iterations of the Student Chapters International Board (SCIB). One of these thoughts is procedural, and the other aspirational. First I will discuss the benefits of JRCLS chapters that focus on facilitating the success of 1Ls and second I will compare JRCLS participation with the role of member missionaries in the Church.
First, nearly all the problems confronted by JRCLS student chapter leadership can be avoided by focusing our efforts on making the JRCLS relevant to LDS 1Ls. To the extent that our chapters can truly add value to the 1L experience, nearly all the goals of the JRCLS will be met. I am not talking about social activities; those will take care of themselves. Instead, I refer to training. Chapter presidents will find other students, LDS or otherwise, who excel at one or more of the following: taking notes, preparing for exams, writing resumes and cover letters, writing memos and briefs, and interviewing. Competent individuals like this are usually more than willing to put together highly effective, worthwhile training sessions. These sessions can be done in groups, or even individually.
If student chapters can add value to the 1L experience, it will be easier for chapters to increase membership and maintain participation. One of the missions of the JRCLS is professional excellence. For many LDS law students, the incessant demands on time by family, church, and school are so great that it can be hard to justify time spent on the other parts of the JRCLS mission. However, once relationships have been developed naturally out of effective training and mentorship programs, the other elements of the JRCLS mission will be within reach. Through these relationships, it will be possible to work together “through public service … to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of law.” Even LDS law students who have distanced themselves from the Church will often attend helpful trainings, and are more than flattered to be asked to conduct such trainings.
The second point is that the position of JRCLS student chapter chair is perhaps most like the calling of ward mission leader (though it is clearly not an ecclesiastical calling). Ward mission leaders help facilitate missionary work, but they do not oversee all the member missionary efforts in the ward. Members are free to share the gospel with their friends and family members, invite the missionaries over personally, and otherwise engage in missionary efforts independently of the ward mission leader. Law students who have the values espoused by the JRCLS should be anxiously engaged in good causes at the law school. Such participation need not be confined to the JRCLS.
If JRCLS members have an idea of something that could be done to for the betterment of their law school community, or to generate goodwill toward the Church, they should feel free to act much like a member missionary. Just like every member of the Church is a missionary, every member of the JRCLS is an agent unto himself or herself for good and virtue. We should never put off a virtuous endeavor because it is not on the docket of current JRCLS leadership. Our local chapter leadership would love nothing more than to see its membership bringing about much good with little to no oversight. Of course, one of the great strengths of having an organized society with capable leaders is that it provides a structure and resources to bring to fruition the ideas of its members.
I believe that student chapters that take care of 1Ls, and that create an environment where people feel free to get involved and participate, even instigate, will always fulfill the mission of the JRCLS. Like the Church itself, the JRCLS is a large and rich tapestry. If we will each take the time to find ourselves within that tapestry, we will see the myriad ways we can bless the lives of others, and the rich experiences and joys that await us. We are all threads in this tapestry. |
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| Message from the Incoming SCIB Chair |
| By MATT SQUIRES, New York University |
| In many law schools, the balance of student groups and law school activities seriously underrepresents Christian values that many students share. Through its official student chapters, the JRCLS has the opportunity to develop events and provide resources that strengthen values of the entire law school community Read more ... |
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| The Future of the SCIB |
| By MADELINE KOMEN, Case Western Reserve |
| I see the future of the Student Chapters International Board (SCIB) being a forum for the JRCLS presidents to exchange ideas and information…. Knowing what other chapters were doing helped spark more creativity in my chapter’s activities. Read more ... |
| New Lecture Series at Gonzaga Builds Bridges |
| By BRIAN BOWEN, Gonzaga |
In its inaugural year, the Gonzaga student chapter instituted a highly successful lecture series entitled “Religion and the Law.” According to one professor, this was the first time she had ever felt she could openly discuss her religious beliefs at school and not be ridiculed.
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Jun. 4, 2007 -