All Student Organizations and Journals

New England Law Students Association (NELSA)

Currently Inactive

The New England Law Students Association is an organization for students who hail from New England, plan to practice there after law school, or are otherwise interested in the region’s unique legal community. We sponsor a variety of professional and social events. Membership is open to everyone in the Columbia Law School community, regardless of your home state or Major League Baseball team allegiance.

Contact: [email protected]

NHK: Japanese Legal Studies Association

Nihon Houritsu Kenkyuukai, or the Japanese Legal Studies Association, serves the legal community by organizing social, cultural, and educational events related to Japan, as well as providing information on the many opportunities available at Columbia and in New York for people with Japanese interests. In addition, it strives to facilitate interaction between Japanese members of the Law School community and those interested in Japan or Japanese law.

Contact: [email protected]

Outdoors Club

The Outdoors Club brings together members of the Columbia Law School community who share an appreciation for the outdoors. The club also raises awareness about the advantages of engaging with the outdoors—benefits that include inspiring a greater appreciation for nature and a desire to protect the environment, developing leadership and problem-solving skills, and finding a means to relieve stress. The club facilitates access to activities inside and outside the city, including hiking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, climbing, and cycling.

Contact: [email protected] and [email protected]

Outlaws

OutLaws is Columbia’s LGBTQ and ally law student organization, providing programming that spans the gamut from advocacy and policy work to academic mentoring to professional development to social events. It aims to create a strong LBGTQ and allied community at Columbia.

Contact: [email protected]

Parole Advocacy Project

The Parole Advocacy Project collaborates with attorneys to help incarcerated clients prepare for their parole hearings. Student advocates work in teams to compile parole packets, develop reentry plans and help their clients prepare for parole interviews. The project will also organize mutual aid campaigns and facilitate other abolition-centered advocacy.

Contact: [email protected]

Prison Healthcare Initiative

Prison Healthcare Initiative is an advocacy group working to help people who are incarcerated access healthcare while in prison. Student volunteers will review files, conduct prison advocacy, and complete research tasks as needed. For more information and to get involved, please

Contact: [email protected]

Progressive Jewish Law Society

The Progressive Jewish Law Society (PJLS) exists to provide a home and a voice for Jewish law students who hold progressive values, rooted in the rich history and tradition of Jewish engagement in movements for social justice, labor rights, LGBTQ+ equality, women’s rights, racial justice, and human rights in Israel/Palestine. PJLS aims to build Jewish community and interfaith connections through social, holiday, and academic events; to be a home for progressive Jewish students at Columbia Law School; and to provide support to each other and to all of our peers.

Contact: [email protected]

Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF)

The Public Interest Law Foundation is an organization devoted to the public interest. It is an independent, not-for-profit corporation that raises money and uses it to support public interest pursuits at Columbia Law School and beyond. The foundation helps to enable students to pursue unpaid public interest internships through the annual PILF auction, and provides grants to nonprofit organizations around the country, donating approximately $80,000 to $100,000 each year.

Contact: [email protected]

Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC)

Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) serves as a safe space and an empowerment resource for QTPOC and QTPOC allies at Columbia Law School. This group recognizes that identity is intersectional and creates spaces where folks can embrace and celebrate gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Contact: [email protected]

Racial Literacy for Racial Justice (RLRJ)

Racial Literacy for Racial Justice (RLRJ) aims to foster racial literacy at CLS through curricular reform and extracurricular engagement. We believe that every law student should graduate with the racial literacy they need to effectively combat systemic injustice, deconstruct social hierarchies, and reconstruct a more just and equitable society.

Contact: [email protected]