The Criminal Law Association has a lot of exciting opportunities for students. I'm sure many of you attended when they hosted Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien. If not, don't worry. There are many other opportunities for people who are interested (or just testing the waters) in criminal law! This year they are excited to host different speakers and engage members by sharing interesting articles or experiences related to criminal law. The group will focus on diversion programs through these events. Keep an eye out:- on November 2nd, the Criminal Law Association will partner with the Children and Family Law Advocates in hosting Ohio State Bar Association liaison and former state representative, Todd Book. Todd Book will discuss legislation, both past and pending, that relates to children, family law, and criminal law. This is going to be a really interesting lecture, so don't miss it! Check your e-mail for more details.
The Criminal Law Association would like to increase contact with an array of professionals in the field. Sam Scherger has compiled a list http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/
of professional criminal law organizations and associations so students know when and where they have monthly meetings. This is an amazing networking opportunity for anyone interested in meeting practicing attorneys or learning more about the practice of criminal law. Sam understands how intimidating it can be for students to attend these meetings alone. That is why the Criminal Law Association tries to send at least one executive board to each of these meetings. Having a friend to help you network makes it that much less stressful and now you have NO excuse not to get out there!
Sam also has some words of wisdom to share with 1Ls and prospective students. She suggests joining a student organization, volunteering pro bono, or just getting involved. She found class to me more interesting and more useful when she had real world experience to reflect on. She especially enjoyed meeting practitioners and getting to know more about their day to day, what drives them, and how to be successful. She says for example "I worked [at] a pro bono clinic with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus two days before a contracts exam. During that clinic, an attorney from Nationwide explained to a client how contracts are interpreted. . . . [W]hen that came up on the midterm, it was solid in my memory."
If you are interested in attending a meeting, going to a professional organization meeting, or just getting to know more about the Criminal Law Association you can reach out to Sam at sscherger@law.capital.edu!
