NMLSA.org

If you would like to start a Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA) chapter at your school, here are some suggestions as to the best means of going about this endeavor.

Meet with your Dean of Students and Student Bar Association (SBA)

Have a meeting scheduled with your Dean of Students and SBA Rep to determine the requirements of starting a student organization. There may be requirements such as a certain quota of signatures that indicate the people will support such an organization, a mission statement and even preliminary By-Laws. Each school will have their own requirements and it is best to speak to the appropriate person in determining these requirements. Generally they will also be approving/rejecting your application for incorporation and as such complying with their rules is essential.

Interest and Support for a MLSA

The first thing you need to do is garnered the support for a MLSA at your school. While of course generally this may be the local Muslim law student community at your school, it need not be exclusively Muslims. Generally all students are expected to be able to join a law school students organization, regardless of race, religion, nationality, etc. Basically assess interest and support in the way of commitments of membership, contribution of future dues and work in executive/committee/member roles.

Resources NMLSA Provides
NMLSA has a number of MLSA Constitutions and By-Laws from law schools that currently have MLSAs or did previously have MLSAs. These documents will outline the MLSA’s committee structure, election procedures and other relevant issues. We also have mission statements available however also approve usage of our own Mission statement and Purposes and Goals.

Should you require these, please email the current NMLSA President. Please visit out Contact Us page for details: http://www.nmlsa.org/contactus.htm

Additional Guidance

Activities and Events: In regards to activities and events, this depends on the resources available at your school and within your local area. Your MLSA can have speakers, fundraisers, dinners/iftars, community-out reach projects, etc. Most schools have speakers come in and discuss various topics that relate to issues affecting the Muslim community. For this, it is suggested that you begin compiling a list of speakers and their contact information. It may be helpful for you to contact your local Muslim Bar Association (MBA). A number of MBAs have been established throughout the U.S. and are a great resource of knowledge and advice. For a list of MBAs, please visit NMLSA’s Resources Page: http://www.nmlsa.org/resources.htm

Prayer Area: Some law schools have been able to have a prayer room or an inter-faith room allocated to their MLSA. This is not always an easy task and depends on your membership numbers, availability of space in your law school and student/administrative receptivity. We suggest you assess the possibility with your Dean of Students and also other religious student organization on campus. It may be more effective if your MLSA works in conjunction with the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) to gain support and then later devise a timetable such that neither group intrudes upon one another’s worship. 

Your new MLSA

Once your MLSA has been approved and a committee has been selected, please contact NMLSA.

First: We would like to ensure that your MLSA is listed amongst the MLSA chapters on our website. By having you MLSA listed on our website, Muslim students will be able to factor in the Muslim presence at your law school when deciding on which school to apply. Further this will increase your membership.

We would like you to both email the current NMLSA President about your chapter as well as fill out our form available at: http://www.nmlsa.org/addachapter.htm

Information required includes:

-         Your Law School

-         Name of Your MLSA President or a contact person

-         Contact person’s email address

-         General MLSA email address (if available)

-         Website address or listing as stated on your law schools Student Organization page (if available)

-         Any additional information

Second: Please either advise your members to sign up to NMLSA’s list-serve or alternatively submit a membership list and contact emails to the NMLSA President to have invites sent out. Currently there is no membership fee for NMLSA, however one may be elicited in the near future.

Finally: Ensure that at least one committee member is a member on the NMLSA list-serve as this is another means for you to advertise your events to the Muslim law student community, particularly those attending schools locally in your area.