Student
Organizations

UC Hastings is home to multiple student organizations, journals, and teams – and they make up the lifeblood of student life on campus. Through their events, mentorship programs, and community engagement, our student organizations help students grow their professional networks and connections, develop skills, explore opportunities on and off campus, and build lifelong friendships. Approximately 50 to 70 student organizations register with the campus annually, and our currently active ones are listed below. In addition, we also have multiple other student engagement opportunities, some of which are listed below as well.

Affinity

Student giving the peace signal, with peace sign mural in the background

Supports Asian/Pacific Islander students at UC Hastings by providing career and academic support, mentorship, and opportunities for networking with peers, alumni, and the larger Asian/Pacific Islander legal community. APALSA also seeks to address the issues and legal needs of the larger Asian/Pacific Islander community through community service and recruiting Asian/Pacific Islander students. Contact: apalsa@uchastings.edu.

Purpose:
1. To articulate and promote the professional needs and goals of Black law students at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
2. To foster professional competence among Black law students at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
3. To provide an environment which will promote unity and camaraderie among Black law students.
4. To influence society as well as the legal community to bring about meaningful change in the legal system to meet the needs of the Black community.
5. To motivate and facilitate successful matriculation through the law school and bar passage process.
6. To create and maintain active relationships between BLSA other student organizations and the larger law school community.
7. To cultivate relationships with Black law students and Black attorneys

Contact: blsa@uchastings.edu

Hastings First Generation Professionals (FGP) is a student-led group that strives to address the transition and integration of first-generation law students into UC Hastings and the legal profession through mentorship, career advising, and social activities. FGP’s goal is to create a diverse community that fosters inclusiveness, well-being, and professional support throughout students’ time at UC Hastings while advocating for the recognition of our lived experiences as the first in our families to pursue a legal education.

Contact: HFGP@uchastings.edu

To provide a community for all UC Hastings students and alumni from, or with ties to, Hawaii, to promote a sense of unity and ‘ohana.
To provide a community for all UC Hastings students and alumni who are interested in learning about Hawaii, its people, history, and culture.
To facilitate the success of all members through the law school, bar passage, and job hunting processes.
To give back to the Hawaii and San Francisco communities and affirmatively affect positive change in both locations.

Welcome to MELS! The Middle Eastern Law Society is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization seeking to support and improve its members’ experiences in their law school career and future legal professions. We host networking and social opportunities for students to connect with past, present, and future MELS(A) and UC Hastings alums of all different backgrounds. MELS ultimate purpose is to create a social platform to encourage Middle Eastern students to meet, interact, and support one another’s academic, professional, and social endeavors.

The Muslim Law Student Association (MLSA) brings together Muslims of diverse sects, backgrounds, and cultures under a unified community. MLSA also seeks to be a community that protects students against Islamophobia and misconceptions about Islam and Muslims at UC Hastings. MLSA is an inclusive, safe space that fosters a sense of community and identity among Muslims and those of Muslim backgrounds.

Contact: hmlsa@uchastings.edu

The purpose of UC Hastings OUTLAW (hereinafter “OUTLAW”) is to promote a positive atmosphere at UC Hastings for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, androgynous, two-spirit, queer, questioning students and their allies. An equally important objective of OUTLAW is to educate the community-at-large about the issues and concerns of the LGBTQIA community in order to alleviate and eradicate homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, and other affronts to the dignity of individuals. OUTLAW also seeks to promote strong ties between the organization and other student organizations through outreach and community-building activities.

Contact: outlaw@uchastings.edu.

The purpose of the South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA) at the University of California, Hastings, College of the Law shall be to provide an organizational framework to address issues of concern to the South Asian Community. SALSA is designed to promote a better understanding and appreciation of South Asian issues legally, politically, and socially. SALA will invite the participation of local South Asian attorneys, judges, scholars, and political figures to educate and inspire SALSA members of UC Hastings. In addition to culturally-inspired events such as the annual UC Hastings Diwali Dinner, SALSA members will be provided with various opportunities to engage in the South Asian community.

Contact: salsa@uchastings.edu.

The La Raza Law Students Association (“La Raza”) is an interethnic and multicultural group at UC Hastings College of the Law (“Hastings”) dedicated to promoting diversity in the law school classroom and the legal profession. As the largest organization on campus, La Raza finds its strength in the diversity and dedication of its members. Though, individually, we have different backgrounds and perspectives, collectively, we share the same vision of success for all of our members as they navigate law school and transition into the practice of law.

Contact: LaRaza@uchastings.edu.

It shall be the purpose of the SVO:

To articulate and promote the professional needs and goals of United States Veterans who are current and former students at the University of California Hastings;
To foster professional competence among United States Veteran law students at the University of California Hastings College of the Law;
To provide an environment that will promote unity and camaraderie among United States Veterans who are current and former law students.
To influence society as well as the legal community to bring about meaningful change in the legal system to meet the needs of the United States Veteran community.
To cultivate relationships with United States military Veteran law students and United States Veteran attorneys.
To provide San Francisco bay area veterans assistance in order to facilitate reintegration and to improve veteran’s overall access and availability to federal, state and private support programs.

Women’s Law Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the success of women in law school and the legal profession. Women’s Law Society seeks to support and improve the experiences of women law students and lawyers. Obstacles to equal participation hinder not only women in the law, but also their colleagues, clients, children, and communities. Women’s Law Society consequently strives to give voice to why it matters that women continue to overcome barriers to achieve gender parity in the legal profession. In doing so, Women’s Law Society spreads the word: women’s victories are everyone’s victories. Contact wls@uchastings.edu.

Athletic & Healthy Living

Advocacy & Volunteer

The purpose of HAYA is to raise awareness of youth law (including dependency, juvenile justice and education) as legal fields and provide a community for law students interested in legal work with youth. The goals of HAYA are as follows: to train students in dependency, education, and juvenile justice law to support their success in advocating for minor clients in various areas of youth law; promote outreach and pro bono opportunities in youth advocacy both independently and in partnership with other legal organizations that serve our common purpose; and advocate for better programming, funding, and faculty for child- and youth-related law at UC Hastings.

The Hastings to Haiti Partnership (HHP) advances the rule of law and promotes human rights in Haiti by supporting the country’s legal education and engaging in human rights advocacy. HHP represents a collaboration of UC Hastings and École Supérieure Catholique de Droit de Jérémie (ESCDROJ), the only law school in Haiti dedicated to preparing students to serve the public interest. Since 1999, HHP has sent annual delegations of UC Hastings faculty and students to our sister school in Haiti, and we have also hosted several delegations of Haitian lawyers and students in San Francisco.

To keep the partnership open to all UC Hastings and ESCDROJ students, HHP solicits donations that help defray the costs of travel. Donations will also provide much needed resources to support the launch of the first Criminal Justice Clinic at the law school in Haiti. We also welcome in-kind donations such as laptop computers and airline miles and provide opportunities for lawyers and other advocates in the Bay Area to mentor Haitian law students.

Contact: hhp@uchastings.edu

The mission of Hastings Students for Immigrants’ Rights is to help students translate an immigration law interest to an immigration law career. Our purpose is to provide our members opportunities to engage directly with the immigration community and gain experience as advocates themselves. We hope to educate our members, and the broader Hastings community, about the immigration field and to connect our members with attorneys active in the field.

Contact: HSIR@uchastings.edu.

K-JD (Kindergarten to Juris Doctorate) is a student-led organization focused on providing support for younger students who have only recently graduated from undergraduate universities. K-JD is a space for us to prioritize our studies while not missing out on the other aspects of our young adult lives. Any student who may find themselves needing extra guidance in their transition to law school is welcome to join K-JD where we foster a non-judgmental and inclusive environment among peers.

Journals

The Journals at UC Hastings publish scholarly articles, essays, and student Notes on a broad range of legal topics. UC Hastings journals publish primarily open access online. The files are downloadable, and searchable, and can be shared between readers. First-year students who wish to participate on a journal during their second year are required to enter the Inter-Journal Writing Competition, which occurs in the Spring of the 1L year. Current students can learn more about participating in a journal on MyHastings.

Since 1976, Hastings Communications and Entertainment Journal (COMM/ENT) is one of the nation’s first law journals dedicated to the field of Entertainment and Media law. Now, nearly forty years later, COMM/ENT has expanded its scope to other areas, such as communications and entertainment in the midst of technology and disruptive innovation, including, but not limited to, Intellectual Property, Data Privacy, Licensing, Employment and Labor Law, Constitutional Rights, and International and Comparative Law. The Washington and Lee University School of Law Library, which publishes the most widely-followed law review rankings, lists COMM/ENT as the nation’s fifth best law journal in Communications Law, Media, and Journalism; and seventh best in Arts, Entertainment, and Sports law.

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The goal of Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly (CLQ) is to be a nationwide leader in the publication of legal scholarship on contemporary constitutional issues. Publishing for four issues annually and hosting several events and symposia, CLQ endeavors to engage a variety of thought leaders and a wide audience in the exploration of some of today’s most pressing legal debates.

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Founded in 1976, the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review (“HICLR”) was one of the first law journals in the country dedicated exclusively to legal discourse on the most pressing international and comparative legal issues. As a resource for both academics and practitioners, HICLR provides a forum for exchanging ideas on public and private international law. The journal is published two times a year and welcomes submissions from around the world. Recent topics of discussion in the journal include Religious Rights and Women’s Rights in Africa, the burden of proof in International commercial arbitration, international trade, and refugee rights.

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The Hastings Journal of Crime & Punishment is a forum in which meaningful debate can occur on issues of criminal law, incarceration and the legal system. Our intention is to establish a cross-disciplinary and critical platform in which scholars and practitioners analyze criminal law and the carceral state. In order to ensure a thorough interrogation of these issues, a diversity of viewpoints is necessary. Therefore, we prioritize the written analysis of those who have traditionally been excluded from legal scholarship, including incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. Ultimately, we believe that through the critical study of criminal law, HJCP can contribute to a broad discourse about American society, justice, and the status quo.

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The Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal is committed to promoting and inspiring discourse in the legal community regarding issues of race, poverty, social justice and the law. This Journal is committed to addressing disparities in the legal system. We will create an avenue for compelling dialogue on the subject of the growing marginalization of racial minorities and the economically disadvantaged. It is our hope that the legal theories address in this Journal will prove useful in remedying the structural inequalities facing our communities.

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The Hastings Science & Technology Law Journal (“STLJ”) is a multidisciplinary journal created to enrich the discourse at the nexus of science, technology, and the law. Specifically, STLJ focuses on the exciting legal issues surrounding startups, intellectual property, data privacy, biotechnology, clean technology, and health policy, while exploring the implications of technological advances on traditional legal fields, such as contracts, antitrust, and tax. STLJ is dedicated to publishing a bi-annual volume of legal scholarship of the highest quality and of the greatest use of scholars, judges, policy-makers, scientists, practitioners, and law students.

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Since 1989, the Hastings Women’s Law Journal has provided a forum for voices outside the traditional scope of legal academic scholarship. We offer and maintain an inclusive space for feminism, race theory, queer theory, multi-culturalism, animal rights, disability rights, language rights, international human rights, criminal defendants’ rights and human rights of people in prison, among others. HWLJ takes the road less travelled in regard to the law. This perspective embraces difference and celebrates diversity.

Staffed entirely by students and volunteers, HWLJ publishes twice a year — giving its subscribers access to discussions on cutting edge issues which many law journals either avoid or ignore. We are a progressive, diverse, open, and forward-looking collective of individuals working together to widen the scope of legal scholarship. To this end, HWLJ publishes works of literature, poems, book reviews, personal pieces, and, of course, legal analysis. We strongly believe that the law is a solution for the ills of the human condition, not merely a means of gaining and preserving privilege and position.

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Political

The American Constitution Society (ACS) believes that law should be a force to improve the lives of all people. ACS works for positive change by shaping debate on vitally important legal and constitutional issues through development and promotion of high-impact ideas to opinion leaders and the media; by building networks of lawyers, law students, judges and policymakers dedicated to those ideas; and by countering the activist conservative legal movement that has sought to erode our enduring constitutional values. By bringing together powerful, relevant ideas and passionate, talented people, ACS makes a difference in the constitutional, legal and public policy debates that shape our democracy. Contact: acs@uchastings.edu.

Hastings Democrats shall advance all Democratic Party principles, with sensitivity to the issues and demands particular to law students and the generation of citizens 35 years old and younger. It shall further shall seek to be inclusive towards those who share left-of-center political philosophies, be they unaffiliated or otherwise such to provide room for conversation and promote new membership and voices within the Democratic Party.

Contact: democrats@uchastings.edu.

The purpose of the Hastings Federalist Society is to foster critical thought and debate about the application of conservative and libertarian principles to the law. The Hastings Federalist Society embraces the principles that: the state exists to preserve freedom, the separation of governmental powers is central to the integrity of our Constitution, and it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be. The Hastings Federalist Society seeks both to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities. This entails reordering priorities within the legal system to place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law. It also entails restoring recognition of the importance of these norms among lawyers, judges, law students and professors.

In working to achieve these goals, the Federalist Society has created a conservative and libertarian intellectual network that extends to all levels of the legal community.

Contact: fedsoc@uchastings.edu

Topic-Based

Two women, back-to-back, holding up pink Lyft moustaches

The purpose of CASOH is to uphold an open forum for those interesting in pursing a career in the fields of personal injury and employment law on the plaintiff’s side. We promote progressive policies that advocate plaintiffs’ rights in the judicial system and we align our ideals in accordance to the Consumer Attorneys of California. Activities include issue advocacy, interacting and networking with local and statewide PI affiliated organizations, and holding panels and debates on current issues important to plaintiffs in the judicial system.

The mission of the Hastings Business Law Society (HBLS) is to serve as a forum to connect all students at Hastings College of the Law with the business law field. HBLS’ goal is to provide students with access to information concerning the study and practice of business law, courses, scholarships, and careers. Furthermore, students will have opportunities to network with alumni who are working in the various areas of business law.

Contact: hbls@uchastings.edu.

The Environmental Law Association exists to:

Create a forum for all students to be involved in a range of environmental activities.
Encourage environmental awareness and activism among Hastings students.
Influence campus policies relating to environmental responsibility.
Support students in pursuing careers in environmental law and making contacts with professionals in the field.
Establish and maintain working relationships with other law schools, local and national environmental groups, and environmentally focused businesses and law firms.

HELA’s primary objective is to network with students, alumni, and professionals concerned about the environment and find career opportunities for those students who are interested in pursuing environmental law.

Contact: hela@uchastings.edu.

HPILF supports students at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (“Hastings”) who are pursuing careers in the public interest. HPILF primarily raises funds to provide grants to Hastings students who devote their summer to working in the public interest. HPILF also helps promote public interest opportunities within and outside Hastings. HPILF will comply with the policies and regulations applying to college activities, organizations and students.

Contact: hpilf@uchastings.edu

Hastings Technology and Law Society is an organization designed to attract and service that part of the student body that seeks to integrate technological innovation with their legal practice. Programming is focused on enabling students to realize their full potential and on strengthening the role of UC Hastings as a leader in preparing students for careers at the intersection of law and technology.

Contact: techlaw@uchastings.edu

Trial Advocacy & Competition

The purpose of the UC Hastings Moot Court Team is to provide students the opportunity to work in teams to increase their practical skills and knowledge of research, brief-writing, oral argument and appellate rules, standards and practice. The team is coached by appellate specialists, practitioners, alumni, and students and the cases are typically cutting-edge legal issues on appeal to the Supreme Court. The students work intensely on their advocacy skills to develop and polish their style and substance. Students complete an appellate brief and oral argument and observe their teammates’ appellate arguments.

Learn more

Resources for Current Students

Current Student Organization leaders should consult the Student Organization Handbook and the Student Organization MyHastings page for information regarding student organizations and the most common issues that arise.

Go to MyHastings