ALSA emphasizes the importance of diversity and promotes recruitment of Asian Americans from all parts of the country. Membership is open to all students at the Notre Dame Law School with an interest in the purposes and activities of ALSA.

Black Law Students of Notre Dame
Since 1972 Notre Dame's Black law students have been organized as a chapter of the Black Law Students Association. The purposes of BLSND are to articulate and promote the professional needs and goals of Black American law students; to foster and encourage professional competence; to focus upon the relationship of the Black attorney to the American legal structure; and to instill in the Black attorney and law student a greater awareness of and commitment to the needs of the Black community.

Business Law Forum
The BLF's goal is to promote interest in transactional and business law among members of the Notre Dame Community. Presentations throughout the year are aimed at bringing in speakers to the Law School from the world of both business and law. In the past, speakers have included General Counsels of various corporations, attorneys specializing in transactional work, as well as attorneys whose practices involve sports law. Other goals of the BLF include increasing student awareness of the opportunities that are available to them when business and the law are combined.

Christian Legal Society
The Notre Dame Christian Legal Society (CLS) consists of Notre Dame law students and professors committed to reflecting Christian principles in their lives and in the legal profession. CLS sponsors lectures on topical subjects, from the right-to-life issue to the Christian lawyer's responsibilities in the profession. Other CLS activities include Bible studies, fellowship activities, Christian service projects and seminars sponsored by the national CLS organization.

Client Counseling Competition
Notre Dame participates with other national law schools in the national Client Counseling Competition sponsored by the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association. In this competition students are evaluated on their handling of a simulated interview with a client. The Notre Dame team is selected through an internal competition where a number of teams participate. Notre Dame hosted a regional round of this competition in 1973, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1993, and the National finals from 1974 through 1977. The Notre Dame Law School team won the Midwest Regional competition and participated in the National meet in 1989.

Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity International
Delta Theta Phi is a professional organization concerning itself with the needs of students, the University and community. The Fraternity provides an opportunity for academic, social and spiritual growth in a friendly atmosphere.

The Environmental Law Society
The Environmental Law Society is a group of students focused on increasing awareness of environmental issues in the law school community and learning more about law and the environment. We support talks and programs at the law school and encourage networking with legal professionals who work with the environment. For more information, please visit our website or contact our President, Erik Olson.

The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
The Federalist Society is comprised of law students interested in the current state of the legal order who believe that principles and legal rules strongly influence the direction of societal development, and in doing so, can secure or impede individual rights and liberties. The Society is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that the province and duty of the judiciary is to say what the law is, not what it should be.

The Society seeks to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities. These activities include national symposia, a speaker's bureau highlighted by the John M. Olin lectures in law, public interest research and litigation, and publishing newsletters. The national journal of the Federalist Society is the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Members receive subscriptions to this journal and the Society new-letter and are also eligible for scholarship money to attend conferences. For more information, please visit our website or contact our President, John Ross.

The Hispanic American Law Association
The Hispanic American Law Association promotes the professional needs and goals of the Hispanic law student. It serves as a support group to discuss the role of the Hispanic attorney, both in the legal profession and in the Hispanic community.

Membership includes some students who are bilingual and bicultural. The group is racially mixed: White, Mestizo and Black. The membership considers diversity an asset, instilling values of cultural and racial sensitivity and allowing service as a bridge between Hispanic Americans and non-Hispanic Americans. For these reasons, the purpose of the organization is not to isolate Hispanic students, but to organize activities within the Law School community to apprise other students about Hispanic issues.

The Hispanic American Law Association hosts several events throughout the year, including: The Graciela Olivares Award, practice mid-term Q&A, Mexican-food cookouts or restaurant outings and excursions for Latin dancing. For more information, please contact one of our officers: Steve Marquez, President; Liz Padilla, Vice President; Emmanuel Ubinas, Secretary; Adriana Montes de Oca, Treasurer; Abe Munoz, Organizational Chairperson.

Intellectual Property Law Society
Intellectual Property (IP) law issues can affect virtually anyone or any organization, including business entities, artists, inventors, programmers, researchers, and web designers. Major areas of IP law include copyright, patent, and trademark, and touch science and technology, the arts and literature, and small and large businesses. The reach of IP law is expanding in a global economy, and the creation, management, and transfer of IP assets are growing more complex. Such growth is accompanied by a considerable need for Notre Dame to become more active in the education, research, and practice of IP law. IPLS aims to foster leadership in, promote intellectual curiosity about, and encourage dialogue on IP law by providing a forum for intellectual inquiry. The Society challenges its members to engage educators and practitioners as well as each other in learning about the various areas of IP law. By hosting professionals in academia, government, and the private sector at the Law School, the group and its members seek to stay current with IP law developments and learn of available resources that may be valuable both during school and following graduation. For more information, visit the IPLS web site at or e-mail Navid Fanaeian, President.

International Law Society
Notre Dame's Society of International Law, organized in 1971, is an affiliate of the American Society of International Law Societies. The primary objective of the society is to contribute to the development of international law by fostering interest and understanding in the field. The society sponsors a speaker's forum at the Law School for distinguished visitors on international law and affairs which in recent years has included State Department officials and international lawyers. The society also aids students who seek careers as international lawyers. Members of the society participate in the annual Jessup International Moot Court competition.

The Irish Law Society
Founded in 1996, The Irish Law Society is a group of Notre Dame law students dedicated to creating an awareness and interest amongst the greater Notre Dame community in legal issues in Ireland and especially on civil rights issues involved in the ongoing Peace Process.

Past events include: Several Guest-Speakers including Congressman Peter King, R-NY, Award winning Author and Journalist Don Mullen, Human Rights lawyer Eamonn MacMenamin, NPR Reporter MaryAnn Maguire. Open Forums including a forum on The Good Friday Agreement with a panel of prominent Irish-American Judges and Attorneys, Belfast Attorneys from Madden and Finucane, and Peace Activists. Social/Fundraising events including several social nights at Club 23 with traditional Irish Music by Kennedy's Kitchen.

Planned events for 2001-2002 include: Further Guest Speakers including a potential talk by Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams and further Social nights at Club 23 with traditional Irish Music.

For further information on the Irish Law Society and its 120 members, contact the President, John O. Murphy or Vice-President, Michael O'Shaughnessy. Click here to visit their website.

Jus Vitae of Notre Dame
Jus Vitae is a nonprofit organization committed to the principle that the right to life is inherent and inalienable in every innocent human being and cannot be abridged by any action of government or any group of citizens. Its members are united by a dedication to promoting, upholding and defending the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to the point of a natural death. Its members pursue this end by means of public education and community service.

Among the events and activities our members will be participating in this year are: sponsoring pro-life speeches, conducting legal research on pro-life issues, publishing a newsletter for the law school community, volunteering at the local care center for women, praying outside the local abortion clinic,
maintaining a small library of pro-life literature, cassettes, and videos, and attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C. For more information, contact our President, Colleen Mary Sullivan.

The Notre Dame American Civil Liberties Union
The Notre Dame American Civil Liberties Union (ND ACLU) is the student chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Since its founding in 1920, the ACLU, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, has been the guardian of the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States through direct advocacy efforts in the nation's courts, legislatures, and communities. The ND ACLU seeks to further the civil libertarian efforts of the ACLU through advocacy, dialogue, and education, staying ever respectful of the religious nature of the University of Notre Dame. For more information, contact our President, Rory Patrick McManama.

The Notre Dame Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
The Notre Dame Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is committed to opposing the application of capital punishment in the United States and around the world. In pursuit of this goal, we seek to network with attorneys and organizers who work on death penalty issues as well as promote dialogue and education on death penalty issues within the Notre Dame Law School community. Please contact our President, Sean Flynn if you would like more infomation.

Phi Alpha Delta
Notre Dame has an organized chapter in Phi Alpha Delta, a professional fraternity which concerns itself with presenting law students varying opportunities to complement law school education.

Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF)
PILF aims to promote awareness of and interest in public interest law. PILF defines "public interest law" broadly in recognition of the wide variety of career opportunities typically encompassed within the category of "public interest law," including careers as legal services providers, criminal defenders and prosecutors, government attorneys, judicial clerks, and attorneys for non-governmental and non-profit organizations.

In pursuit of its goals, PILF is working with the NDLS administration to establish a self-sustaining loan forgiveness program so that working in a public interest law career after graduation is economically feasible for NDLS graduates. NDLS currently does not offer a loan forgiveness program to its graduates. PILF also conducts fundraisers to raise money for the loan forgiveness program and for "Student-Funded Fellowships," which allow NDLS students to intern during the summer for public interest agencies that cannot afford to pay interns. Finally, PILF organizes talks and discussions by professors, NDLS graduates, and others on public interest law topics.

PILF membership is open to all NDLS students and faculty. President and Vice-President elections are held in the spring, and Secretary and Treasurer elections are held in the fall. Meetings are held bi-monthly, and member responsibilities and time commitment depend on interest level.

Social Justice Forum
Established in 1983, the Social Justice Forum exists to promote and encourage social responsibility within the Notre Dame Law School and to create and maintain a network of concerned individuals who are willing to work toward social justice. To these ends, students and faculty members have sponsored speakers and community service projects, proposed changes in curriculum structure and placement programs, and helped to establish the Notre Dame Law Student Sponsored Fellowship.

St. Thomas More Society
The mission of the St. Thomas More Society of Notre Dame is to foster full integration of our Catholic faith into the daily practice of law, and thereby to emulate St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers. We strive to fulfill this mission by:

* Facilitating access to the sacraments of the Church
* Providing a forum for Christian fellowship, prayer, and growth
* Regularly offering lectures and discussion opportunities on matters of faith and morals, especially as they pertain to our vocations in the law
* Offering opportunities for public service
* By living lives worthy of the title Christian and by holding fast to and proclaiming, in season and out of season, the teachings of the Gospels and the Magisterium of the Church, in the likeness of our patron, St. Thomas More, under the protection of Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, and for the Glory of Christ our King

Our activities are open to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. We hope that participation in these activities will make us better equipped to bring Christ's light to the world through our vocation to the legal profession. For more information, please contact us via email.

Student Bar Association
The Student Bar Association is the student government at the Law School; all students are considered members. The association performs various tasks related to student life, both social and academic, such as orientation, appointment of students to various faculty committees, intramural athletics and several social functions throughout the year. More generally, the officers attempt to represent student interests in any matter of sufficient importance. At the national level, the association is a member of the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association.

Women's Legal Forum
The Women's Legal Forum includes not only current Notre Dame law students, but practicing attorneys and professors as well. The forum endeavors to address both the academic and social needs of the students, with particular focus on women in the law. The forum hosts panel discussions on current topics regarding women attorneys, calling upon diverse women graduates in various fields. The Women's Legal Forum
welcomes all interested Notre Dame students to join its organization.