Student Organizations

We promote social and academic interaction among Lewis &Clark Law School students interested in the various aspects of business, corporate and financial law. The BLS sponsors social activities, speakers, panel discussions, and other events that encourage members to interact with various legal practitioners in the community, faculty and staff, and local corporate counsel. Our goal is to enhance the legal education of our members and promote an inter-disciplinary curriculum in business, corporate and financial law.

The Crime Victims’ Rights Alliance (CVRA) exists to raise awareness and educate future attorneys about issues relating to crime victim advocacy by exploring current dilemmas in the field, offering solutions, promoting discussion, and encouraging collaboration amongst legal groups in acknowledging and/or furthering the rights of crime victims. The group will sponsor and enpanel speakers from all areas of criminal law, as well as victims’ rights organizations, in order to advance awareness of this burgeoning field of law. The CVRA is greatly enriched by both the centrality of Lewis and Clark’s affiliate, the National Crime Victim Law Institute, and our faculty advisors, Margaret Garvin and Douglas Beloof, who are two of the most prominent victims’ rights attorneys in the country. If one is interested in crime victims’ rights, this is the student group to join. Central group discussion will revolve around criminal law and victims’ rights enforcement, but students interested in civil litigation of victims’ rights are encouraged to participate, as well.

The Federalist Society of Lewis & Clark Law School seeks to contribute political balance to legal education by providing a forum for legal experts of opposing views to interact with law students. The federalist society is one of the most influential student groups in the country. The group sponsors speakers who support judicial restraint (from activism), federalism, and the constitution generally, and sponsors free lunches for speeches and debates specifically. The group is apolitical and open to all legal topics for discussion.

NEDC provides valuable hands-on experience for students seeking to enhance their education in environmental law. The NEDC staff is comprised of an Executive Director, Staff Attorney, two Student Directors, ten Project Coordinators, and a Law Clerk who manage the daily obligations of the organization. The strength of the organization is the student volunteers. NEDC students work as members of one or more of the five project groups, including: Public Lands, Air & Climate, Clean Water, Food & Agriculture, and Environmental Justice. NEDC is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that is neither a clinic nor a class. However, law students are an integral part of the organization. NEDC empowers law students to tackle environmental advocacy projects, to fill leadership roles within the organization, and to launch public interest environmental careers.

The Oregon Arab Iranian Law Student Association (OAILSA) is the student chapter of the Oregon Arab Iranian Bar Association, whose mission is to strengthen the rapidly growing Arab and Iranian legal communities with a recognized and trusted forum for professional growth and advancement, and to promote the civil rights and access to justice for Oregon’s Arab and Iranian communities

OutLaw provides a forum for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning Lewis & Clark law students and their allies to meet, exchange ideas, share experiences, build community, and bring pertinent legal and political issues of the LGBTQ+ community to the L&C law campus via panels, social events, lectures, trainings, and forums.

Phi Alpha Delta is the largest law fraternity with over 330,000 sisters and brothers worldwide, and is noted as the first law fraternity in the country to extend membership to all genders, races, creeds, and national origins. The Llewellyn Chapter at Lewis & Clark continues the fraternity’s tradition of advancing justice and inclusivity in the legal system by developing impactful community service projects and committing to our core values: Compassion, Courage, Diversity, Innovation, Integrity, Professionalism, and Service.

The Lewis & Clark South Asian Law Students Association (L&C SALSA) provides its members with tools and support to excel academically and professionally. This organization works closely with the South Asian Bar Association of Oregon (SABA OR), primarily to build a strong and well-connected community of South Asian lawyers and students in Oregon.

The purpose of the Tax Law Society is to expose students to both the basic and niche areas of the tax code and introduce students to practicing tax attorneys. Our group is not solely for those interested in practicing as a tax attorney, we also wish show students how understanding the basics of the tax code is useful in every practice area and how one can use the tax code as a tool for legal advocacy.  To achieve our goals we are dedicated to enhancing the experience of law students at Lewis and Clark through group discussions lead by tax practitioners and networking events.