Student Bar Association senators unanimously voted Tuesday to continue a professional development fund after tabling the bill during their last meeting.
SBA Sen. Nigel Walton sponsored the legislation, which will set the professional development fund — created by SBA President Shallum Atkinson this fall to finance law students’ attendance at pre-professional events for career development — at a minimum of $10,000 for all future SBA administrations, with students requesting up to $500. Walton said the decision to set a minimum baseline, as opposed to capping the fund, was intentional to create room for future growth.
“With the caveat of not less than 10,000, putting that room there can give the opportunity, not only for the executive, but for us to say, ‘We’re going to give an extra amount of money because we have more money this year to give proper professional development,’” Walton said.
SBA senators also unanimously approved GW Law Students for Justice in Palestine as a new law student organization. A representative from the organization, who did not share their name, said the organization underscores principles of justice, liberation and universal rights which are “fundamental” in the legal profession.
“As future legal professionals, it is imperative that we engage with these pressing matters,” the representative said. “LSJP will provide a vital space for education, dialogue and action and supporting LSJP, you will not just be endorsing an organization, you will be affirming our commitment as law students to justice and human rights.”
SBA Sens. Elan Reisner and Elya Nassaj reintroduced a bill which aims to destigmatize mental health issues in law by calling for an amendment on the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ mental health question and a change for the D.C. Bar Examination, which asks students if their mental state could impact their ability to practice law. The senators initially introduced the bill in their Feb. 20 meeting, but Atkinson vetoed the bill because he felt its target should be the D.C. Bar Association, not the NCBE.
“The American Psychological Association came out strictly against this and anecdotes and statistics show that this question, from the statistics perspective, it shows that 40 percent of students do not seek help because of this question,” said Reisner.
Senators unanimously approved two ad hoc bills, including one dedicating funding towards a plaque for the Law Association of Women’s alumni luncheon. SBA Sen. Delaney Gatine, who spoke on behalf of the organization, said that the association’s funding had been cut from their original request, along with other student organizations, and the only funding they required would be for the plaque, whose recipient the organization had already chosen.
Senators also voted on an ad hoc bill for funding the Music Law Association’s upcoming networking and panel event. The organization had originally requested $753.25, but SBA Sen. Akhil Kambhammettu, who chairs the SBA Finance Committee, recommended an allocation of $517.55 to reflect the cost for turnout of the Music Law Association’s previous event. SBA Sen. Yolanda Heman-Ackah motioned to approve the entire amount of funding requested and the vote passed unanimously.
SBA Senators also voted on a resolution sponsored by Gatine to request an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court regarding whether the SBA is able to fund undergraduate law-related events. The resolution was spurred by a request by an undergraduate pre-law student at GW who contacted Atkinson about receiving funding from SBA for a conference.
The senate voted unanimously to change the final meeting of the current SBA administration and the meeting devoted to swearing in the new administration’s leadership at Atkinson’s recommendation. SBA Sen. Charlie Schmidt drafted a resolution to change these meeting dates to both occur on April 2nd, instead of having their final meeting April 16, the last day of law school classes.
Senators unanimously voted to add a Transfer-at-Large Senate position in the SBA bylaws. Heman-Ackah drafted the bill and SBA Sen. Matthew Rein introduced it to the senate floor.
Senators will hold the next SBA Senate meeting April 2 at 9:15 p.m. in LLC 009.
Hannah Marr contributed reporting.
