Student Organizations

UT Law students operate a chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS), which believes 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 the 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 conservative legal opinion.

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President: Andres Lozano

UT Law students operate a chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), dedicated to providing a forum for education, advocacy, and scholarship aimed at protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system, while raising the profile of the field of animal law.

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President: Ashley Burlesci-Niukannan

The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA)’s UT chapter is the Marilyn Yarbrough Chapter. NBLSA is a professional organization committed to articulating and promoting the educational, professional, political, and social needs and goals of black law students. Founded in 1968, NBLSA has more than 6,000 members. Organized into six geographical regions, NBLSA boasts more than 200 chapters, including chapters and affiliates in six other countries. Though headquartered in Washington, DC, NBLSA hosts an annual convention in one its US chapters’ cities.

Named for the first African American law school dean at UT and in the Southeast, the Marilyn Yarbrough Chapter promotes NBLSA’s goals through a variety of initiatives, including academic and professional workshops, mentoring programs, the annual Blackshear Scholarship Gala, a charity ball, the BLSA buddy program, and the College Student Division.

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President: Olu Aboaba, oaboaba@vols.utk.edu

As the University of Tennessee chapter for the Christian Legal Society, our missions and goals include the following:

- Cultivate spiritual growth among its members through communal prayer, fellowship, and worship; learning to share one’s faith; and devotional study of the Bible and classic Christian works

- Show the love of Christ to the campus community and community at large by proclaiming the gospel in word and in deed, such as through a life of integrity and charitable good works; as Martin Luther put it, “to be as Christ to our neighbor.”

- Address the question, “What does it mean to a Christian in law?” that is, learning to submit every aspect of one’s calling in the legal profession to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

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President: Julia Slagle

The Environmental Law Organization seeks to connect its members to the broader environmental law community, inform them of the environmental law and policy issues they are likely to encounter during their careers, and empower them to confront those issues thoughtfully and practically.

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President: Emily Poole, epoole6@vols.utk.edu

The Federalist Society is a non-partisan group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the law and legal system. The society’s principles are that “the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.” The society seeks to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities.

President: Gunner Garner

The mission of the Health Law Society is to provide a venue for students interested in health law to discuss current health law issues and to generate greater awareness of those issues among the College of Law community. In addition, the Health Law Society seeks to link the college community to learning opportunities on campus and in the community.

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President: Stefan Kostas

Lambda Law is a student organization dedicated to promoting diversity education and awareness, fellowship, and discussion in the UT Law community and the Knoxville area.

The purposes of the Lambda Legal Society of the University of Tennessee College of Law are:

1. To promote an understanding of LGBTQ+ legal concerns within the academic and legal communities and in the public.

2. To organize academic programs concerning LGBTQ+ legal issues and to facilitate discussion about those issues within the academic and legal communities and in the public.

3. To foster an inclusive university environment where members of the LGBTQ+ community can live, learn, and work free from discrimination, bias, hostility, oppression, and fear of violence.

4. To work toward the extension of basic human and civil rights to LGBTQ+ persons through pro bono research for attorneys handling cases regarding LGBTQ+ legal issues and through research and writing for publication in legal journals and periodicals.

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President: Zee Peterson

The mission of the Latino Law Student Association of UT Law is to prepare its members for their professional roles in society and to promote awareness of Latino interests and issues in the legal community and within the College of Law. The organization provides its members with a strong academic and social support system by advancing the interests and welfare of members and the overall law school community.

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President: Kayla Moran, kmoran9@vols.utk.edu

Law Women is made up of students of all genders that care about women's equality in the legal field. Meetings include helpful panels on how to study and ace exams, land summer jobs, and navigate some of the more difficult law school challenges like writing onto journals and signing up for classes. Our mentorship program offers 1Ls support and friendship as they navigate law school, especially in the first semester. In 2020, we started a scholarship to support members who accept unpaid public interest internships over the summer, and four members have now received the scholarship!

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President: Hannah Benjamin, hbenjami@vols.utk.edu

The Moot Court Board is comprised of second- and third-year students who have demonstrated excellence in trial and appellate advocacy. The board sponsors two annual intramural competitions: the Ray H. Jenkins Trial Competition and the Advocates’ Prize Moot Court Competition. Any UT Law 2L or 3L may participate in these intramural competitions. The board also coordinates several competitive traveling teams. 

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President: Andres Lozano

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The mission of the Native American Law Students Association at UT Law (NALSA) is to promote knowledge of American Indian law and issues in the legal profession. In order to do this, NALSA hosts events to provide information to interested persons. NALSA also strives to encourage American Indians to enter the legal profession.

President: Alex Parsons

The Phi Alpha Delta Law fraternity strives to form a strong bond uniting students and teachers of the law with members of the bench and bar in a fraternal fellowship designed to advance the ideals of liberty and equal justice under law, to stimulate excellence in scholarship, to inspire the virtues of compassion and courage, to foster integrity and professional competence, to promote the welfare of its members, and to encourage their moral, intellectual, and cultural advancement so that each member may enjoy a lifetime of honorable professional or public service.

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President: Courtney Harton

UT Pro Bono is a community service organization with significant student leadership and staff direction at the College of Law. The program strives to connect law students with area attorneys representing indigent clients. Working in cooperation with attorneys and local legal aid societies, UT Pro Bono serves as a resource by providing law students for research, educational, and investigatory assistance.

President: Olivia Kennedy

The Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender and Social Justice is published twice a year by UT Law students. 

The journal provides an interdisciplinary academic platform that focuses on legal issues affecting people of different races, genders, and other societal forces. By focusing on legal developments in these areas, the journal allows scholars, students, and practitioners to improve racial, gender, and social relations through scholarly works, to foster research involving the subjects, and to provide an intelligent publication that strives towards the pursuit of social justice.

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Editor in Chief: Mackenzie Hobbs

The purpose of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society is to promote an interest in and understanding of the issues and new developments associated with the sports and entertainment law fields and to aid in networking between students and alumni who have an interest in the sports and entertainment law fields.

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President: Raven Morris

Editor in Chief:

The Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy is a student-produced journal that is published two times per year and explores issue at the intersection of law and public policy.

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Editor in Chief: Abby Lydens

Editor in Chief: James Miller

Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law is published semiannually in association with the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law by UT Law students.

The journal focuses on legal developments and scholarship in business law. Articles serve both the academic community and practitioners and address issues of national and regional interest.

Responsibilities for students vary each semester: writing of case synopsis, writing of article, and/or performing other assigned duties related to operation. Members of Transactions who are not on senior editorial board receive one hour of course credit for successfully completing two consecutive semesters of service. Members of senior editorial board receive two hours of course credit for each full year of satisfactory service.

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Editor in Chief: Sam Rule

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Vols for Veterans is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in April 2017 by students committed to offering assistance to veterans in the Knoxville community. The organization introduces law students to career opportunities in military service through JAG careers, assists veterans through pro bono work, and annually awards the Gen. Clifton Cates Leadership Scholarship to two law student veterans or dependents of veterans. In 2018, the organization received the Charles R. Burchett Extraordinary Contributions to Campus Life Award.

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President: Matt Arent