The Red Velvet Lawyer

The Executive Branch of the  Student Bar Association  of the  Appalachian School of Law The Student Bar Council (SBC) of the Student Bar Association (SBA) consists of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. I discuss the Honor Court - the Judicial branch --  here .  I discuss the Legislative branch here . Representatives of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches must be in good standing as defined by the law school, including the ASL Academic Standards and the Honor Code. Failure to meet this standard results in immediate removal from office and replacement according to the SBA Constitution. Voting and non-voting members of the SBC must attend all meetings, except for good cause. Absences in excess of four meetings per semester or two consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, without good cause, allows a majority vote of the Senate to remove the member. Executive Branch of the SBA The Executive branch of the SBA consists of the President, V

Creating a New Student Organization at the Appalachian School of Law Section 4.I. of the Bylaws of the Appalachian School of Law nicely state the reason to create and support student organizations. The Appalachian School of Law encourages and supports the creation of student organizations. Student organizations contribute to the educational experience at the Law School by providing social and professional interaction outside the classroom. The SBA Senate will recognize qualifying groups as official organizations. Official recognition allows the SBA to assist the organization in such ways as funding activities through student activity fees and locating office or meeting space on the law school campus.  A student organization may establish criteria for membership provided that the organization’s policies are consistent with the anti-discrimination policy of the Appalachian School of Law. Specifically, no officially recognized student organization may establish membership po

The Appalachian School of Law Running Club In 2013, students and faculty members created an ad hoc running club that meets on Thursday evenings to run or walk.  The group encourages better health, stress management through exercise, and social interaction.   For more information, contact Assistant Professor Maryann Herman.  For more information about ASL student well-being, see my posting about the ASL Happiness Project  here .

The Lions Club ASL students serve in the local Lions Club in many ways to fulfill the mission of the national organization . The World's Largest Service Club Organization The national organization identifies 46,000 clubs and 1.35 million members as affiliated with it, thus making it the world's largest service club organization.  It also asserts that it is "one of the most effective." Our members do whatever is needed to help their local communities. Everywhere we work, we make friends. With children who need eyeglasses, with seniors who don’t have enough to eat, and with people we may never meet. The Lions Club Vision Statement To be the global leader in community and humanitarian service. The Lions Club Mission Statement To empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs. Activities and Events Sponsored by ASL Students and Other Local

"The Rhetoricals" Toastmasters Club of the Appalachian School of Law In 2012, ASL students created a local chapter of Toastmasters International, a public speaking and leadership educational group.  The club -- The Rhetoricals -- meets monthly and posts meeting dates and its program on TWEN. The International Organization The website  for Toastmasters International explains that it is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations.  It has more than 292,000 memberships in more than 14,350 clubs in 122 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people of all backgrounds become more confident in front of an audience. It also publishes a monthly magazine supporting the professional growth of members.  The national organization explains: The educational program is the heart of every Toastmasters club. It provides members with a proven c

The Appalachian School of Law Jug Band ASL has its very own house band that plays at Heritage Hall, the local nursing home, at least once a month. This community service opportunity brightens the lives of band members, the nursing home's patients, and its staff.  The performance provides a much anticipated and appreciated social event for the residents, many of whom are wheel-chair bound, frail, or suffering with mental disabilities.  The band also provides entertainment at law school events, including the annual pig roast, the BLSA Apollo Night , and "Jugs Over Grundy."  It also appears at local venues like the Serendipity Cafe (The Dip). Help Needed! The Jug Band experienced almost a 100 percent turnover in personnel after the graduation of the 2013 class.  Accordingly, it needs new members who sing, play an instrument (any kind), would like to learn an instrument (the band has quite a selection of percussion items), or would other

The Appalachian School of Law's Innocence Project The Appalachian School of Law established a local chapter of the Innocence Project in 2012.   Mission Statement The website of the national organization explains its mission: The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University to assist prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing. To date, more than 300 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 18 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 13 years in prison before exoneration and release.  The Innocence Project’s full-time staff attorneys and Cardozo clinic students provide direct representation or critical assistance in most of these cases. The Innocence Project’s groundbreaking use of DNA technology to free innocent people has provided irrefutable proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated or

Appalachian School of Law Students  Help Build the Great Eastern Trail Students at the Appalachian School of Law organized to help with the title work associated with building the Great Eastern Trail Project . In August of 2007, the trail groups involved in the effort incorporated as the Great Eastern Trail Association and held an organizational meeting in Virginia in November of 2007. Project organizers intend to establish an organizational structure that will encompass the entire length of the trail and to begin filling in the gaps in the trail. About the GET Project The Great Eastern Trail (GET) Association, working with American Hiking Society and local trail partners, is creating America's newest long-distance hiking trail.  This path runs for 1800 miles across nine states.  It runs roughly parallel to the Appalachian Trail, but follows the ridges on the Western side of the Appalachian Mountains.  Its path takes it close to Buchanan County and the la

The ADR Society of the  Appalachian School of Law The Appalachian School of Law is the only law school in the U.S. founded with a focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).  Beginning in 2006, the school placed increasing emphasis on its ADR curriculum, as I described here .   The ADR Society is a student organization dedicated to the advancement and awareness of ADR practices, to the exploration of career opportunities in ADR, and to equipping students with the knowledge and skills necessary to represent their future clients effectively in negotiation, mediation, and arbitration forums.   Students created this organization in 2012. Thus, it joins the other offerings falling generally under our Lawyer as Problem certificate program. Its Constitutional Preamble provides: The ADR Society exists to provide Appalachian School of Law students with opportunities to learn about Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, utility, and technique. It does th

The Patent Law Association of the  Appalachian School of Law The Patent Law Association serves as a source of knowledge in patent law, intellectual property law, copyright law, and as a network for Appalachian School of Law students, alumni, faculty, and staff. If anyone has more information about this student organization, please let me know.  

The Appalachian Natural Resources Law Journal  of the Appalachian School of Law The Appalachian School of Law offers two scholarly writing journals edited by students.  I profile the first journal -- the Appalachian Journal of Law --  here . The ANRLJ published its first issue in September 2007.  It has published articles from lawyers, business leaders, coal, oil, and natural gas industry participants, and students.     The Mission Statement of the ANRLJ  The By-Laws of this journal provide: Our mission is to promote excellence in natural resources law through education, analysis, and publication of natural resource related issues, and any issues that may bear a relation to the field of natural resources.   We will endeavor to demonstrate, through our members, an ethical commitment to illuminate all facets of current natural resources issues pertinent to the community at large, with emphasis on the Appalachian community [and] to promote a

The Appalachian Journal of Law of the Appalachian School of Law The Appalachian School of Law offers two scholarly writing journals edited by students.  I profile the second journal -- the Appalachian Natural Resources Law Journal -- here .  In 2000, the students and faculty began operating the Appalachian Journal of Law.  It has published articles from prominent academicians, judges, lawyers, and business leaders.  It also publishes student notes and comments.  The Law Journal published its first issue in September 2002 and published one issue each year from that time until 2005.  It then began publishing a second issue focusing on ADR.    The ADR issue has gotten notice in the ADR field because the Editorial Board has solicited articles by contacting the leading dispute resolution LL.M. programs and by communicating through list serves that reach over 10,000 ADR practitioners and scholars.  To ensure that all students have an opportunity to join, the

The Beltway Bar Association of the Appalachian School of Law This student organization provides information about bar exam rules and application processes for D.C., Virginia, and Maryland on its dedicated TWEN site. Formed in 2011, it also provides information about bar passage rates in those jurisdictions and posts jobs offered in those communities.   The TWEN site needs updating.  

The North Carolina/South Carolina [Student] Bar Association of the Appalachian School of Law ASL has two student organizations focused on geographic locations:  The North Carolina/South Carolina Bar Association and the Beltway Bar Association.   Students formed the NC/SC Bar Association in 2008.  It represents students who intend to return to those states to practice law.  ASL draws a number of students from both states as part of its mission to serve the Appalachian region. The Purpose Statement This organization exists to "promote awareness, educate, and empower law students interested in obtaining information about the bar exams in North Carolina and South Carolina."   Membership is open to any interested ASL students.     

ASL C.A.R.E.S.  of the  Appalachian School of Law ASL C.A.R.E.S. functions, in part, as the Buchanan County Humane Society.   Its members:  host several pet adoption events through the year,  provide food to sheltered animals,  help keep local animals vaccinated,  offer services at the shelter,  foster animals that might otherwise be euthanized,  transport animals to breed-devoted adoption services, and work diligently to make the local animal shelter a no-kill shelter. Purpose Statement This student group intends: [T]o bring greater awareness to the ASL community about animal rights and welfare in current events. While spreading awareness, we also hope to benefit the well-being of animals in both the local and national level though fundraising events and public speeches, as well as other various events. Membership is open to all ASL students, and the Constitution of ASL C.A.R.E.S. contains a non-discrimination c