Through the following student organizations and activities, the law school offers many opportunities for students to pursue their academic and intellectual interests, develop leadership skills, and socialize. Two law reviews and our Moot Court Program are also available; for more information, see the special courses section of this bulletin.
Amnesty International
The IU School of Law—Indianapolis section of Amnesty International Student Chapter assists Amnesty International in efforts to free all prisoners of conscience. It hosts human rights seminars and colloquia, organizes letter-writing campaigns to governments, and sponsors and participates in other international human rights law activities.
Asian Law Students Association
The Asian Law Students Association provides a forum for matters of interest and concern to Asian law students.
Black Law Students Association
The IU School of Law—Indianapolis chapter of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) provides a support network for African American law students and sponsors educational, career development, student recruitment, and community service activities.
Christian Legal Society
The Christian Legal Society (CLS) provides a forum for study about the ways in which the Christian faith relates to the legal profession.
Criminal Law Association
The Criminal Law Association (CLA) is for students who want to be defense or prosecuting attorneys or who are otherwise interested in criminal law. The CLA sponsors speakers and other events relating to criminal law at the law school.
Dean's Tutorial Society
The Dean's Tutorial Society is an honorary student organization of second- and third-year students who have achieved academic distinction. It offers to fellow students a variety of services that help improve academic performance, including case-briefing workshops for first-year students, exam preparation assistance, and help with library research skills. Members also offer individual tutoring to students who need special academic assistance and are identified by the assistant dean for student affairs.
Democratic Law Society
The Democratic Law Society seeks to develop, promote, and further enhance Democratic party philosophy and ideology through academic, social, and political activities within the law school and Indiana. The society provides educational information about Democratic party views and policies and serves as a liaison between the party and the law school.
Environmental Law Society
The Environmental Law Society exists to inform the law school community and help students understand developing knowledge about environmental law issues. Society activities have included speakers, panel discussions, and participation in community awareness programs.
Federalist Society
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom; that the separation of governmental powers is central to the U.S. Constitution; and that it is the province of the judiciary to say what the law is, rather than what it should be. Through its activities, the society seeks to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application.
Feminist Law Society
The Feminist Law Society seeks to promote the theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.
Health Law Society
The Health Law Society provides a forum in which students and faculty can become informed about medical and legal issues. Activities of the Health Law Society include panel discussions and colloquia, sponsored in cooperation with the school's Center for Law and Health.
Hispanic Law Society
The Hispanic Law Society was formed to expand awareness of issues facing Hispanic people and to offer students the opportunity to learn more about Hispanic culture and language. The society also provides opportunities for networking within the Indianapolis Hispanic business and law community.
Horizon House Alliance
Horizon House Alliance is a group of students mobilized to assist homeless people at Indianapolis' Horizon House day shelter. Students volunteer their time to provide Horizon House clients with various forms of assistance.
Indiana Civil Liberties Union
The student section of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union at the law school assists the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, in activities designed to further the cause of civil liberties and the protection of constitutional rights in Indiana.
International Human Rights Law Society
The International Human Rights Law Society (IHRLS) was formed to promote global justice and basic fundamental freedoms. The IHRLS provides a number of domestic and overseas services and programs intended to give students immediate access to the challenging world of international human rights law.
IU Association for Public Interest Law
The IU Association for Public Interest Law seeks to serve the public interest and provide educational and practical experience to law students. The organization sponsors programs related to public interest law and funds fellowships for first-, second-, and third-year law students who are interested in working for public interest organizations.
Lambda Law Society
The IU School of Law—Indianapolis chapter of the Lambda Law Society is an organization for law students who share a vision of equality in all endeavors, regardless of sexual orientation. The society's goals include developing a social structure where gay, lesbian, and bisexual students feel comfortable being themselves; offering education opportunities at the law school on gay, lesbian, and bisexual interests; providing service to the legal community in areas of interest to the homosexual community; and offering charitable assistance to the Indiana community in areas of gay, lesbian, and bisexual concerns.
Law Fraternities
Students can join one of two national law service fraternities that have chapters at the law school: Hamill Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity International and the Wendell Willkie Inn of Phi Delta Phi.
Phi Alpha Delta
Through a balanced program of social and professional functions, Phi Alpha Delta (PAD) Law Fraternity International, Hamill Chapter, assures its members of a legal education more meaningful than that provided by the academic experience alone. PAD is a service-oriented legal fraternity, emphasizing service to the student, the school, the profession, and the community.
Phi Delta Phi
The Willkie Inn of Phi Delta Phi is an international legal fraternity with more than 120,000 initiated members. Phi Delta Phi endeavors to maintain and strengthen a tradition of excellence as a charter member of the world's oldest and largest legal fraternity. Benefits of membership include contact with eminent jurists, professors, and practicing attorneys; development of close friendships, both professional and personal; intellectual and academic stimulation through the debate of divergent ideas and theories; and involvement in activities that help develop the service and leadership qualities that a law student is expected to bring to the bar.
Law and Technology Society
The Law and Technology Society encourages the exploration of the interface between legal issues and technological advances.
Law Students Against Capital Punishment
Law Students Against Capital Punishment is an organization committed to providing a forum for the honest discussion of the cruel and discriminatory realities of capital punishment—as it is used in the United States—and working toward its abolition.
Mediation Society
The Mediation Society promotes awareness of the use of mediation as a means of alternative dispute resolution.
Republican Law Coalition
The Republican Law Coalition is dedicated to helping the Republican party elect Republican candidates to government offices. The organization also generates interest in the party by sponsoring speakers, debates, and panel discussions.
Second Amendment Society
The Second Amendment Society promotes the original understanding of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Society to Promote the Availability of Legal Services to Students
The Society to Promote the Availability of Legal Services to Students (SPALSS) exists to promote the provision of legal services to students on the IUPUI campus. SPALSS seeks members who will be active in various campus organizations in order to make a wide range of students aware of the need for legal services on campus.
Sports and Entertainment Law Society
The Sports and Entertainment Law Society explores legal issues arising from professional and amateur sports and entertainment activities.
St. Thomas More Association
The St. Thomas More Association is an organization of Catholic law students that is committed to providing a supportive, faith-oriented environment for its members, discussing legal and ethical topics of particular interest to Catholic law students, and furthering Catholic beliefs and values in the study and practice of law.
Student Bar Association
The Student Bar Association (SBA) serves as the educational and extracurricular activities coordinator for the law school. Student problems are also handled and resolved through this student organization. Students automatically become members of the SBA when they pay student activity fees, and they are encouraged to participate in SBA board of directors' meetings.
The SBA represents student interests within the law school academic committee structure and is responsible, in conjunction with the dean of the law school, for selecting students to serve on those committees. Student representatives are also involved in the activities of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Law Student Division of the American Bar Association.
A student-run and produced newspaper, The Dictum, is organized under the auspices of the SBA. The publication carries news and opinions, announcements, and creative writing of students and other members of the law school community.
A variety of distinguished national and local speakers are presented to the students and faculty through SBA forums. Each year's activities are capped with the Spring Awards Banquet and Barrister's Ball, honoring both students and faculty.
Wendell L. Willkie Society of International Law
Membership in the Wendell L. Willkie Society of International Law is open to students, members of the bar, and the judiciary. The society arranges visits to the law school by distinguished international judges and specialists, organizes participation in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, and sponsors symposia on topics in public and private international law. It is a member of the Association of Student International Law Societies.
Women's Caucus
The Women's Caucus is devoted to the needs and concerns of female law students. Membership is open to both female and male students. The caucus has sponsored delegates to the annual national Women in the Law Conference, hosted receptions for graduating senior women, conducted final examination forums for first-year students, and presented a statewide conference on women's legal rights.
The caucus also holds an annual auction, offering services donated by faculty, staff, and various student organizations at the law school. The funds raised by this function provide three scholarships for students and also have been donated to causes such as the Spouse Abuse Shelter in Indianapolis and the Indiana Women's Prison.
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