s | b | a CHICAGO-KENT STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

March 14, 2022

Announcements

SBA Elections!

Students: Are you interested in being a part of the Student Bar Association (SBA)? SBA is a great way to become involved at Chicago-Kent! Elections are coming up and all positions are open! Any full-time student is eligible to run for an SBA position. You do not have to already be in SBA to run for a position.

Positions up for election include: President, Vice President, Evening Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, American Bar Association Representative, Chicago Bar Association Representative, Illinois State Bar Association Representative, Cook County Bar Association Representative, 2L Class Representative (4 positions), 2L Evening Class Representative (2 positions), 3L Class Representative (4 positions), and 3L Evening Class Representative (2 positions).

Attached is a list of all positions and their descriptions. We highly encourage any interested students to reach out to current SBA members in positions you are interested in. A current list of our membership with positions is linked here.

The election timeline (subject to change) is listed here:

• Monday, March 7: Election petitions are released @ 8:00 am

• Monday, March 21: Election Petitions and candidate statements are due @ 5:00 pm

• Thursday, March 24 Campaigning begins @ 8:00 am

• Monday, March 28: Campaigning ends @ 11:59 am

• Monday, March 28: Voting begins @ 12:00 pm

• Wednesday, March 30: Voting closes @ 12:00 pm

Election Petition Information

• On Monday, March 7th, We will send out a google doc of the blank petitions. The file is not able to be edited. You must go to "File" and then "Make a Copy" to make it your own Google Doc.

• All signatures must be signed by individuals on their own computers and on their own gmail account. You must share links, not computers, for signatures.

• You can send these petitions through individual email and other electronic means, but not over email listservs.

• BCCing is not allowed when emailing.

• The number of signatures required for your petitions will be shared with you on Monday, March 7th.

• When submitting the petitions, you must include a candidate statement. (Sample is attached).

• The petition should be downloaded as a PDF, saved, and sent to the Election Chair, Emily Richter at erichter1.

• Petitions and Candidate Statements are due on March 21 at 5:00 pm CST.

No solicitation of petition signatures is allowed until the petitions are "released" on March 7th at 8:00 am. No campaigning for any position is allowed until campaigning opens on March 24 at 8:00 am.

Official rules regarding campaigning will be sent out on March 7th. Further, we are attaching our bylaws that govern elections for your consideration. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or jokes, please contact Emily Richter.

Public lecture featuring the 2022 Centennial Visitor, Vince Warren will be held on March 23, 2022 at 3 pm at the Conviser Law Center.

Mr. Warren is the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

He is a leading expert on racial injustice and discriminatory policing, and oversees the CCR’s litigation and advocacy work, using international and domestic law to challenge human rights abuses, including racial, gender and LGBTQIA injustice. Under his leadership, the Center for Constitutional Rights successfully challenged the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy and profiling of Muslims, ended long-term solitary confinement in California’s Pelican Bay Prison, and established the persecution of LGBTQIA people as a crime against humanity. The Center for Constitutional Rights is currently challenging the abuse of migrants at the U.S. Southern Border, the Muslim Ban, the torture of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, and the criminalization of transgender people, as well as providing legal and policy support to Black, Brown, and Native organizers across the country.

Those wishing to register for the event should do so here. Note that Dean Krug strongly encourages in-person attendance. Please attend remotely only if there is a specific reason that you are unable to attend in-person.

Composite / Professional Headshot Photos for Graduating 3Ls: Photographers will be on campus taking composite photos on the dates listed below. Digital images of both your individual portrait and the composite photo will be provided free of charge, courtesy of the Alumni Association.

1. Thursday, March 31 – Friday, April 1 | 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. If you are interested, please sign up here.

Tech Guide: Attached to this email is SBA’s Tech Guide. Please reference it for any technology-related problems you might encounter this semester.

Legal Externship Program: Fall 2022 Judicial Externship Program Applications Now Available and due on March 11, 2022: The application packet for the Fall 2022 Judicial Externship Program is available on the sblaz on or before the end of day on Friday, March 11, 2022.

Secured your own externship?

If you secured an externship independently of this program with a judge for Summer and/or Fall, please complete the short forms available on the externship website. Summer applications are due on or before Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Fall applications must be turned in no later than Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

The Domestic Relations division, Criminal Law division, and some other judges not included in the Chicago-Kent program post directly on Symplicity, so please check there for additional opportunities.

Civil Rights Litigation Conference: Please join us for the 38th Annual Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation Conference on April 20-21, 2022. This two-day virtual conference will provide up-to-date information on the latest cases, trends, and strategies affecting §1983 litigation.

As a student of Chicago-Kent you are entitled to complimentary registration for the conference. To receive this discount, click here to register and enter the discount code: CKCLE1 at checkout.

We hope that you are able to join us this year!

PLI Patent Office Exam Presentation

Come hear Mark Dighton, PLI’s Director of Law School Relations and Administrative Director of their Patent Office Exam Course, talk about patent careers and the Patent Office exam that is a gateway to most of those careers. Topics for discussion include:

• The latest info on the Patent Office Exam,

• Who can take it,

• How it works (it’s on computer and “on demand”),

• When you should take it (you don’t need to…and probably shouldn’t…wait until you graduate), and

• Recommendations on when and how to study for this very difficult Exam.

Date: Wednesday, March 9th

Time: 5 pm

Place: Room 590

Student Organizations

SBA’s Social Committee: The paint n sip event is officially back Wednesday, March 30th 7-9pm with a Hybrid option to participate either in the Pinot’s Palette studio located at 2768 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL or Virtually in the comfort of your own home on Zoom. For only $5 you get everything you need to paint a masterpiece!

Please click this link to sign up by March 23rd:

https://www.pinotspalette.com/logansquare/event/605716

Petition to start the Slavic Law Student Association: Hello! Several students have decided to try to start a new organization on campus – the Slavic Law Student Association. Our goal is to create a space for Slavic students on campus and to also engage others in the unique and rich cultures of the various Slavic countries. We would first like to gauge interest for this kind of organization by sending around a petition. If you are interested in this group or would like to see it established, please sign our petition which can be found ppiaskowski.

APALSA: Have You Eaten? Join APALSA on March 23 at 3:00 pm in Room 590 for some food and conversation to celebrate Diversity Month. Sharing food is a common way to care for people in numerous Asian, as well as many other, communities.

We want to welcome everyone to bring and share their favorite snacks and ideas for conversation topics. Please let us know what food you are bringing and if you have any conversation topics ideas on this spreadsheet.

American Bar Association (ABA):

If you would like to be more involved in the ABA or make the most out of your free membership, register for an account here and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions! Some benefits of that account include:

• ABA Discounts

• Free Membership in up to 5 Sections, Divisions, and Forums

• Access to ABA Advantage Programs

• Free content

And if you go for the premium $25/year membership, you also get:

• ABA Career Forward Powered by Korn Ferry Advance

• After the Bar digital publication

• ABA Bar Bundle Prep (discounts to various prep services)

• ABA Legal Ethics Bundle (MPRE Prep)

• 90 Day Free Trial of Quimbee Gold Plan with up to 50 case briefs

• Free JD Advising 1L sheets, discounts on tutoring and law school resources

• Access to leadership opportunities and national competition

Don’t want to miss out on ABA news or events? Make sure to get your copy of the ABA Journal! It’s totally free for ABA Members. And if you want to get it straight to your phone, you can download the free ABA Journal app from iTunes, Google Play or Amazon.

Legal Tech Fictional Writing Competition

Science fiction story telling allows us to imagine possibilities outside of what exists today and re-imagine new possibilities in the law, legal access, and racial justice.

The ABA’s Young Lawyers Division and the Access to Justice Tech Fellows are hosting the Legal Tech Fictional Writing Competition for law students. The goal is to get law students to think critically about how technology will impact the future practice of law, and access to justice in a fun engaging way. The resulting stories will prompt conversations in the legal field about the upcoming changes in a new and creative way.

Think you can write a compelling short story in 1,500 words or less? Enter the Legal Tech Fictional Writing Competition for your chance to win $1,000 in cash, and get published in the American Bar Association magazine. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, March 1st, 202

Chicago Bar Association (CBA): Are you looking to expand your professional network? Maybe you’re searching for a mentor or just want to be more involved and get your name out there. Through the Chicago Bar Association, you can establish yourself and develop professional relationships throughout the Chicago legal community. Law students can become members for just $12/year. Memberships include entry to networking events (galas, holiday parties, outings, and more), access to fascinating educational events and materials developed by top attorneys, and the opportunity to make new friends with other law students and professionals. Learn more and sign up for your membership here.

For any questions or for help organizing a group to attend a CBA event, reach out to our school’s CBA representative, Rana Salem (rsalem).

Chicago-Kent Golf Association: Do you love to golf or want to learn how to golf? Join the Chicago-Kent Golf Association to connect with classmates and build your professional network through the game of golf! This organization is open to all students at all skill levels. If you are interested please fill out the google form to be added to the Chicago-Kent Golf Association email list. Golf outings and events will be announced soon. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtUXJuT8eRSAUbWejZjJpMCMLj3ETOhuUQg-N0ChAvW1dF8A/viewform

ELS Annual Bake Sale: The ELS Annual Bake Sale is back! Stop by the 3rd floor table outside the SPAK between 9 AM – 4 PM on Wednesday, March 30th to buy some delicious baked goods and meet the Environmental Law Society. All proceeds go to the ELS Summer Fellowship – supporting students pursuing public interest environmental law summer position. To submit a direct donation to the ELS Summer Fellowship Fund, please email els.

Kent Justice Foundation: KJF is raffling off prizes from Themis, Barbri, and local businesses to support our summer fellowship! Stop by the Spak between 11:30-1:30pm Monday through Thursday this week to purchase raffle tickets. We’ll be pulling the winners live at a happy hour event on Thursday, March 24 from 5-7pm! Join our email list (kjf) for more information and options to virtually purchase tickets.

Labor & Employment Law Society:

ABPA emPOWER Network Event: The Arab-American Business and Professional Association is hosting its inaugural emPOWER Networking Event on March 31st at 5:30 p.m. Portions of event proceeds will go towards the creation of a grant program for young aspiring women entrepreneurs who need financial assistance to start their business. More information can be found on the ABPA website and on the Facebook event page.

Phi Alpha Delta March Madness Fundraiser: PAD is hosting the Second Annual March Madness Bracket Challenge Fundraiser! Brackets cost $5 each and there is no limit to the number of brackets you can buy. There will be prizes awarded to the top three brackets and a raffle prize awarded to one random player! To join, send your payment via Venmo to @chloekatherine3 and include your email and the number of brackets – you will then be sent the link to join our bracket challenge! Entries close at 11:59 PM on Saturday, March 12th.

Upcoming Events

More events may be found on the SBA calendar. Please make sure you are accessing via your Kent email address.

Resources

Writing Competitions: Interested in submitting a paper to a competition? The law library has created a guide to student legal writing competitions. For more information, please see the library blog post about the guide.

From ASP: 1Ls: Listen from students and faculty on what strategies they used for academic success: https://youtu.be/wQquU7OyoTI

Commercial Bar Exam Preparation Courses:

Chicago-Kent 3Ls – BARBRI is here to help as graduation and the bar exam approach! Each of BARBRI’s three course options (Mallory.guerreso or by phone/text at 815-791-3485.

Helix Bar Review by AccessLexSM offers comprehensive online courses for the entire Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) portion of all bar examinations, and the Multistate Professional Responsibility (MPRE) examination. Our new and innovative course platform is designed to keep you focused and engaged while ensuring you cover each testable substantive area of law on the exam. We incorporate workshops and webinars designed to teach you skills and strategies necessary to perform well on each part of the exam and at your peak on exam day. Engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness of study as the key elements for your bar preparation period and Helix Bar Review. When you study with Helix you surround yourself with a Team of bar examination experts, all licensed attorneys with years of bar preparation experience, at no additional cost to you. AccessLex Institute, for over 40 years, is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting law students from admission to law school to admission to the legal profession. For more information – including at-cost pricing and FAQs, visit Helixbarreview.org or drop us a line at Connect@Helixbarreview.org.

Kaplan Bar Review offers both live and on demand course options for bar seekers all in one package. With Kaplan Bar Review you receive a full-service bar course that contains over 4,500 MBE questions including NCBE released questions, unlimited essay grading + an essay bank, a pass guarantee or your money back if you do 75% of the course and so many other great features. You can do 100% of Kaplan Bar Review On Demand; or you can attend live streaming lectures at no charge. The lectures are recorded and available on-demand as well. For more information about course options for Chicago Kent students please reach out to Victor.Piemonte. Our books ship when you enroll for the summer course and our best pricing goes thru February 24th, 2022 for 2L’s and 3Ls. Thank you.

Themis Bar Review is designed to help you pass the bar exam. Using the most current research on memory retention and comprehension, we have built an online, on-demand lecture-based program. Our course offers innovative tools, including an Adaptive Calendar and Study Pacer that, together, help keep your study schedule on track. Pair those with a dedicated Personal Success Team, unlimited essay grading, and dynamic illustrations to reinforce rules and rationales, and you have resources that work for every type of student and every learning style. However you plan to study, you can trust that our transparent, expertly developed methods will help you walk into the bar exam with confidence."

Important Events:

March – Women’s History Month

This month we celebrate Women’s History. In the Latina community, we affirm that judicial positions are ours to aspire to, attain, and win. Diana López, Araceli De La Cruz, Ruth Gudino, Viviana Martínez, and Iris Chavira are part of a larger collective that reminds us of our right to dream and run for judicial roles in Illinois. Their leadership, and that of those before them, showcase that we are limitless and strengthen our communities. Our mere existence as Latina lawyers in the legal field speaks for itself and we must aim to increase the 1.4% percent of practicing lawyers that are Latinas. We are worthy, we are bright, and multi-dimensional individuals. May we continue to build our communities, contribute our unique skills, share our experiences, and build a strong foundation for all who come after us. “It is important for all of us to appreciate where we come from and how that history has really shaped us in ways that we might not understand.” – Sotomayor

Birthdays & Special Days – March

February 29	Anna Ylitalo, 1L
March 2	Callie Folke, 2L
March 3	Edward Messmer, 2L
March 4	Ashley Morris, 2L
March 6	Patrick Bovie, 3L
March 16	Emily Jarrette, 2L
March 17	Annora Alfonso, 2L
March 21	Alyssa Ritterhoff, 2L
March 21	Spencer Davidson, 3L
March 25	Elizabeth Cannon, 3L
March 30	Saynyenoh Warner, 2L
March 30	Angelica Jalasco, 2L
March 31	Aaron Weiss, 2L

*if you wish to share your special date with the student body, click here

Zoom Paint and Sip spring 2022.pdf
SBA Zoom_Hybrid Problem Help Guide.pdf