Starting a New Law Student Organization

  1. Meet with the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs: Contact Hailey Smart at hsmart2@usfca.edu to schedule a meeting with Dean Carlos to discuss your interest and to review the requirements for proposing a new student organization.
  2. New Student Organization Interest Form: This form provides general information about the student group and students’ contact information so that the Office of Student Affairs can verify there is sufficient interest in student leadership and student membership for this organization.
    1. Proposed student organization name
    2. Statement of Purpose: Please describe the mission of this student organization, and the community you hope to foster at the School of Law.  Please also explain why none of the student organizations that are currently active sufficiently addresses the purpose or the mission of your proposed student organization.
    3.  Name of advisor: You are encouraged to find a USF faculty, staff, or alumni member to be your student group advisor since they can provide your student organization with valuable guidance and mentorship.  Please see the attached Guidelines for Student Organization Advisors, which outlines some of the potential responsibilities of an advisor.
    4. Gauging student interest: Please find at least three USF School of Law students who are willing to be officers or leaders of this student organization.  Please also find School of Law students who would be interested in becoming members of this student organization.  If you are a 3L, you should also consider succession planning, so that the student organization remains strong and viable after you graduate.
    5.  Constitution: Write a first draft of your constitution.  A constitution will help you to think about the purpose and structure of your organization.  This constitution can be modified if your proposed student organization is approved, so you need not submit a final document.  Please see the attached constitution template for ideas; you can edit this template to fit your organization’s needs.
  3.  Submit the following documents to the Office of Student Affairs: Please submit the required documents to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, who will review the materials and respond to your new student organization request within two weeks of your submission.