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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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SAIL prepares Columbia Law students for a legal profession transformed by AI. We connect students with the practitioners, startups, and founders building AI and legal technology across public and private sectors, and we create hands-on spaces for students to learn AI tools together. Our programming enables students to envision career opportunities in AI and technology law, interact with prominent practitioners from leading technology-focused law firms, and engage critically with the legal and ethical impacts of AI on a changing world.
Contact: [email protected]
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The Society for Chinese Law is for students interested in Chinese legal development, U.S.-China relations, and legal practice in China. Society events provide a great way to meet scholars and practitioners in the field of Chinese law. They are also excellent opportunities for students to network with others hailing from around the world with similar passion in China and those who have a great diversity of experiences working in or with China.
Contact: [email protected]
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Currently Inactive
The Society for Economic Analysis of Law (SEAL) enables students to discuss breaking questions about the impact of economic methodology on the science of law. Students engage in immersive panels and debates with guest lecturers and faculty experts. The Society also provides resources to students interested in current and future opportunities in the field.
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