SBA PRESIDENT

Candidate: Terry Steen ('07)

PRESIDENTIAL GOALS:

--Open the lines of communication between SBA and the Student Body

• You deserve to know how YOUR money is being spent
• Keep you apprised of SBA activities through regular meetings and postings while providing a forum for you to share your ideas
• Provide opportunities for you to voice your concerns and actively pursue desired outcomes

--Proactively address issues with administration that affect current and future USC Law students

--Develop programming for the school as a whole

• Coordinate a variety of on- and off-campus social events
• Encourage more interaction between alumni and students so we can take better advantage of the famed Trojan network

--Continue efforts with GPSS

• Advocating for more of our student fees being returned to the law school

LEADERSHIP ROLES:

--GPSS Senator

• Finance Committee – I’ve helped secure GPSS funding for every law school org that requested it
• Judiciary Committee – pushed to have ALL grad students pay fees so we can get more of OUR $ back at the law school

--MESALA Co-Social Chair

• Organized several events open to all and raised funds so they would be free

--APALSA Mentor & Section C 2L Representative

OTHER INVOLVEMENT:
I have consistently been involved even when I haven’t had a title. I believe in fostering a sense of community at USC Law and toward that end, I have 1) always tried to support all of the student organizations by attending their events (often volunteering) and participating in their fundraisers, 2) shared outlines and prior exam answers with my classmates as they are made available to me, and shared my own outlines whenever asked, 3) addressed concerns with the administration, which has ranged from schedule conflicts (mentor lunch scheduled when ½ the 1L class was in Con Law) to sanitation issues (more janitorial services during finals studying).

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Candidate: Yem Mai ('07)

First off, I would like to thank everyone for allowing me to serve the last two years on the SBA. It has been a pleasure.

For those of you who are interested in my qualifications (otherwise skip this §):

• 2005-2006 SBA Vice-President
• 2005-2006 APALSA President
• 2005-2006 GPSS Senator
• 2004-2005 SBA 1L Representative (A-D)

I have also been President of Sigma Pi and an Order of Omega President.

WHY I WANT TO RUN:
I serve the student body because I am dedicated to it. During my 1st year, I organized a sweatshirt fundraiser that raised enough money for the 1Ls to have the 1L End-of-the-Pear party at the swanky Pearl and doubled the funds available to the 2L Class of 2007 for its End-of-the-Year Party. Also for this party, Pearl required a $3500 bar tab guarantee. The school refused to do this, so I personally guaranteed it because I wanted the 1L year to end with a bang. Imagine what I will do as SBA President.

MORE THINGS I HAVE DONE:
Organized the Students’ Activities Fair -- Organized the Pre-PILF Auction Mixer -- Organized Community Week with the different student organizations and came up with the Dunk Tank idea -- Assisted in securing funding for KLAP from GPSS -- Obtained funding for the 3L Class Dinner from GPSS -- Assisted in obtaining funding for JLSA’s Conference from GPSS -- Organized the SBA Softball Tournament -- Organized the APALSA Bone Marrow Donor Drive -- Organized the APALSA/BLSA/LA RAZA/MESALA/PAD Homecoming Tailgate -- Organized the APALSA/BLSA/LA RAZA Back to School Beach Party

WHAT I WILL DO:

• Bar Reviews from the South Bay to Silverlake – not just the Westside & West Hollywood
• A Kegger @ the Law School Every Other Week
• More Transparency from the SBA
• Know Where Your Money is Going
• Giving Back More Money to the Student Organizations
• Cheaper Law Prom Tickets
• More Inter-Student Organization Events
• I am currently working with JLSA, Christian Legal Society, and J. Reuben Clark Law Society to put together a Community Day community service event.

Law School is my life. You’ll find me at bar reviews, law prom, and all the big student organization events like the PILF Auction.

Lastly, I’m a friendly guy and accessible (I check my e-mail constantly) -- easy to say hi to and easy to get in touch with. Please feel free to contact me at ymai@usc.edu if you have any further questions.

SBA VICE PRESIDENT

Candidate: Bobby Roshan ('08)

WHY?

The S.B.A. Vice President needs to be on the Graduate and Professional Schools Senate (GPSS). As GPSS Senator, I am already familiar with the ins and outs of the GPSS, and will make for a very effective go-between the law school and the GPSS at large. How?

JUST A FEW IDEAS:

• I will create greater alumni networking opportunities, such as an alumni mixer and more alumni mentoring lunches. It’s time we took greater advantage of the Trojan family.

• I will do everything in my power to bring better food and drinks to our cafeteria. Anyone who’s been in the business school cafeteria knows what the law school cafeteria needs to be like.

• I will organize more brownbag lunches with professors. Shouldn’t we be able to get to know all our professors, not just the ones from our first semester of our first year?

• I will organize more intra-school and inter-graduate school sporting competitions. Nothing like a healthy body to compliment our healthy minds.

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Candidate: Marc Berman ('08)

ADVOCATE

• As a 1L Rep I worked with the administration to get benches in the downstairs bathrooms to make changing easier for OCI and other interviews.
• I procured $2,200 for APALSA and the KLAP trip at a recent GPSS meeting.
• I introduced the idea of professors emailing students the first homework assignments of the semester so we don’t have to come to school over our summer and winter breaks just to write them down.

INNOVATIVE

• I am currently working with the administration and the PILF groups of UCLA and USC to create an annual USC vs. UCLA law school basketball game to raise thousands of dollars for the PILF organizations of both schools.

ACCESSIBLE

• Have a question about a social event or student group? Not sure when that meeting is? There’s a good chance I don’t know either, but I promise to find out and get back to you quickly. I will be accessible via either e-mail or phone.

FRIENDLY

• Having a rough week? Want me to make an ass of myself in class…again? If that’s what it will take to put a smile on your face, consider it done. We’re all in this mess together, and I promise to take seriously my responsibility to make life as easy for you as possible so that you can focus on school…and having fun.

ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE
REPRESENTATIVE

Candidate: Elizabeth Kimmelman ('07)

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Kimmelman and I am running to be your SBA Admissions Committee Representative. I would like to be your admissions committee rep for three reasons. First, I feel that USC Law is the best place to go to law school and want to make sure that the next class of students contributes to our warm and friendly environment. Second, I have enthusiasm for and experience in the admissions process. Third, I would be a great member of the SBA.

Coming to law school from Philadelphia and not having any family or friends in Los Angeles, the law school really became my home away from home. One of the main reasons that I decided to come to USC is that when I visited I was struck by how friendly and happy the students were. I really think that the student body is what makes USC such a special place and I hope to help admit students who will contribute to our fun (for law school) and comfortable environment. I also hope to work towards convincing these students to attend USC once admitted.

Furthermore, I have a lot of experience in the admissions process, both as an undergrad at Penn and at USC. At Penn, I gave tours for three years, was a tour guide coordinator, and spent a summer working in the Admissions office where I led information sessions and talked on the phone to nervous applicants and their parents. At USC I gave tours last year and will do it again this year and attended lunches with admitted students. I really love the admissions process and feel that I would be very happy working in admissions one day.

Finally, I am an enthusiastic, dedicated, reliable and organized person and I think I would be a great addition to the SBA. I have already worked with the SBA this year in my position as JLSA President and PAD VP of Academics and have a good idea of how the organization operates. I know that along with my own duties I will support other members of the SBA with their projects.

Please vote for me as your SBA Admissions Committee Representative! I would be honored to serve the student body in this position!

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Candidate: Aanand Mehtani ('07)
2Ls- check your mail boxes before you vote.

1Ls- vote for me even though I didnt bribe you.

I didnt really want to win because I payed more than my opponent for candy, so what I did for the 2Ls is write them a personal note. I dont know many of you, so all I could have said to you in my personal note is read what I have to say.

Here is what I have to say - -

A couple people have told me that If I expect to have a fighting chance in this election, I have to show that I can be serious. I am not really sure what that means. Should I copy and paste my resume?

I am a second year juris doctor candidate at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Currently, I am about two hundred thousand dollars in debt, and I a pray everyday that after I graduate I can reconcile paying off that debt, so I can support my family, and at the same time do something which doesnt give me nightmares. I can be serious. We can all be serious. If you cant be serious, get the hell out of this law school and forget about this profession. Make room for someone who deserves to be here.

Some people that apply to law school next year will break the upper 160s on their LSATs and have 3.7s or above. Those people are going to get in unless they write something completely inappropriate in their personal statements. Others will have really low scores, and will have to have cured cancer or something close to it to have a chance. There is nothing I can do about either of these situations, and there is nothing I want to do about them.

What I want to do -- what I want you to vote for me to do is to read the applications of the people in the middle again and again and again until I can remember every theme, every emotion, every plea, every contention, every indication of intellectual curiousity, compassion, and promise. I want you to vote for me because after I do that, I want to take these thoughts I have gathered about these people and share them with others on the admissions committee who are generations older than us. I want them to hear what our generation has to say about these applicatants.

But this is all general bullshit in a sense, so what else would I look for?

Well-

1. Diversity
What does this mean? Does diversity mean that we have different shades of skin? Different ways that our bodies pee, experience erotic pleasure, and contribute to procreation? Different sexual orientations? Maybe different national origins? Hell, maybe different international origins? We're raised to believe in The Bible, or the Koran, or maybe the Bhagavad Gita, or maybe all of the above, or none of the above?
Yes. It means all of these things.
But thats not all it means.
Diversity entails celebrated difference.
I celebrate difference in opinion, difference in ideology, difference in aspirations, difference in experiences, difference in lifestyle.
All these differences are what make this country, this state, this city, and this school what it is.

2. Intellectual Curiousity.
If an applicant can demonstrate that he or she has a real interest in learning the law, be it a practical or purely academic interest, that applicant gets in over someone with similar scores who cannot demonstrate this.

3. Passion
A friend of mine has a quote on her profile - more or less it goes something like this--

"The Ancient Greeks didnt write obituaries. When a man died, they asked only one question- did this man have passion?!?"

I will be looking for passion in personal statements. I want the statements to reach out, grab me by the chest, and suck me into the stories they represent through the passion inherent in those stories. Perhaps much of this passion will have roots in youthful idealogy, but I firmly believe that it is that youthful idealogy that separates us from the rocks and the trees.

Please consider giving me your support for admissions chair. Much love and respect to anyone who is running against me, but I dont give a flying blank about my resume in an SBA context, I dont care about the popularity contest. I want to do this because USC has changed my life, and I feel like whoever does this has to take it very seriously, and do his or her job very passionately. I am ready to do that.

Aanand

3L VICE PRESIDENT

Candidate: Reed Glyer ('07)

I would like to take this opportunity to announce my candidacy for the position of 3L Vice-President. I believe I am qualified for this position and would like your support because:

• I have had several leadership responsibilities in the past
• I know the 3L class well enough to represent your interests both as a class and as unique individuals
• I have good relations with everybody running for leadership positions, so I will be able to work smoothly and efficiently with the other officers and the administration
• I will have a lot of free time next year to help the president plan graduation and social events

I would like to thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to a riveting campaign with catchy slogans and intense debate on the issues.

ACADEMIC CHAIR

Candidate: Marc F. Bauer ('07)

"I Make it Happen."

FACULTY SELECTION COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE

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Candidate: Regan Forester ('08)

Hi everybody! Just wanted to let you know I feel I am uniquely qualified to represent our law school as the faculty selection representative because of my background and my goals. I spent my last 2 years in an involved leadership position -one which put me in charge of 125 women and a quarter-million dollar budget. As executive vice president of a sorority, I was responsible for the hiring and firing of not only appointed positions within the house, but also of the eight salaried members of the house staff. My skills as an interviewer were critical in picking the best candidate for each spot, and I honed those skills by carefully refining the criteria for each individual position. I plan to do the same for law faculty candidates by looking at open positions, then refining questions for each candidate (while still concentrating on their commitment to us and the university). I want to hear your concerns and comments so I can pass them along to the candidates, letting you know their responses to your questions. As for my goals, I want to practice labor law. I plan to spend a lot of my time and energy developing skills in the business of hirings and firings - this interest and commitment can only serve to make me more effective as faculty rep.

I know many of the election choices you make will be difficult, but I hope one of your choices will be for me!

Best,
Regan Forester

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Candidate: An-Yen Hu (‘07)

I would like to represent you on the Faculty Selection Committee. Having a student on the Committee is vitally important to insure that student interests are considered when hiring their professors. A representative should be in touch with and receptive of the sentiments of the student body. I can accomplish these goals because for the first two years at law school, I have not only developed and maintained relationships with students through class, but I have extended my student interactions through my involvement with PILF (Vice-President and 1L Representative), APALSA, and the 2L Mentor Program. The relationships I have cultivated with fellow students and student organizations will allow me to better represent their preferences in the Faculty Selection Committee.

However, more importantly, the Faculty Selection Committee Representative cannot be afraid to speak up to other professors and administrators on the committee to fight for the concerns of the students. This can be a very daunting challenge for any student, however, working as the PILF Vice-President this year, I have had ample practice at interacting with professors and administrators. I have learned the delicate balance between being firm yet respectful to administrators and professors in order to get my point across while maintaining a friendly relationship.

If I am elected as the Faculty Selection Committee Representative, I will look for professors that will fit in well in the USC community. I will advocate for professors who not only excel in their research, but who are engaging teachers that students will want to go to class and listen to. I will have no problem going to the weekly 8:00 am faculty selection meetings as evidenced by my attendance at 8:00 classes three days a week this semester.

I have been involved with the law school during my time here, and would very much like to continue to do so in my third year as your SBA Faculty Committee Representative. I know I will be able to represent your interests effectively in the very important process of finding qualified professors to join our community.

Thank you for your support.

With the upcoming USC Law SBA Executive Board elections, the Law School Blog has invited the candidates to put up statements about their candidacy.

SBA TREASURER

Candidate: Larisa Mortazavi ('07)

POSITIONS I HAVE HELD & ACTIVITIES I HAVE BEEN A PART OF:

SBA Communications Chair
My position included acting as the liaison between the student organizations and the student body through weekly (often more frequent) emails. I also helped plan and run various SBA events, including the Student Activities Fair, Community Week, and Bagels during Finals for the 1L’s. I’ve also participated in weekly meetings and budgeting meetings.

MESALA President
I helped plan and run the Outlining Workshop for 1L’s, the Finals Preparation Panel for 1L’s, the Bar Review pre-party, finals dinner in the library, and hookah night. I have also assisted in providing our 1L’s with outlines and advice/guidance throughout the year.

WLA Speaker Co-chair
I helped plan the speaker panels, and been a WLA Mentor to a number of our 1L members.

2L Advisor
Along with the other advisors, I’ve just had fun getting to know Section C and hanging out with them.

WHAT I THINK SBA NEEDS TO DO:

There should be more communication between SBA and the students. There could be more accountability for what SBA members are doing, and this could be done through more frequent general meetings and more disclosure. Students should know how their money is being spent.

As SBA Treasurer, I would take everything I learned from a year of working with (and running) student organizations, and apply it to properly allocating funds to student organizations and advising SBA on the best way to spend our funds.

Having served on SBA, I have seen what the current treasurer does, and I’m well prepared to take over.

OUTLINES

I'm starting to build up an online outline database -- if you need some outlines, click on the link above or click here.

Also, if you have any outlines that you made or updated last semester for ANY class, please e-mail them to me at bleiweis@usc.edu so I can keep the database up-to-date.

So You Want To Be A JD/MBA?
by Marc F. Bauer ('07)
[marcbaue@usc.edu]

THINGS TO CONSIDER

The following is a list of reasons that motivate some people to pursue the program. In my opinion, some reasons are better than others:

Somewhere down the line, you want to get into business.
There is a glass ceiling in business that people without an MBA will not rise above. If you want to be a C-level (CEO, CFO, etc.) in the future, you will need an MBA.

You know you want an MBA but you want to take as little time as possible to get it.
As a JD/MBA, you will only need to get 45 units of business instead of the 63 full-time MBA students. It will be only one additional year instead of two.

You get a 3^rd Summer.
Being a summer associate at a law firm is awesome. If you play your cards right, you can do it 3 times. This also gives you the opportunity to try a non law internship for one of the summers. However, this does mean you'll have to do four years of school instead of three. So, if you're eager to graduate and get out into the working world, being a 4L may not be the best way to do that.

You hate the law and never want to practice in your life
Business School offers a wide variety of opportunities in finance, business, retail, real estate, etc. that you would not be able to qualify for with only a JD. There are many opportunities for lawyers in the business world and business school is a great way to discover them.

You want “a year off” from Law School
Business School is no doubt easier than Law School, but by no means is it a year off. It's not like you spend your entire day yebbing it up; rather, I would even contend that it is busier than Law School. There are group projects all the time. There are midterms and tests that occur about once every 3 weeks. For example, this semester I had a string of 5 weeks where I had a test in each week. They require much less preparation for than law school exams, but they still require time and attention. All these little things definitely add up

You just want to learn business
In my opinion, it’s really easy to learn business, and it may be more effective to learn it “on the job.” There is no need to pay an extra $30K plus and take an extra year in school, just to learn business. However,

It will help you get a better law job
The majority of the big firms do not care about whether you have an MBA to go with your JD. This is especially true if you want to do litigation, where the MBA adds very little value. If you are interested in transactional work, it may add value to the firm because you have a deeper understanding of business transactions. Also, you bring along your own network of potential clients consisting of your Business School classmates. If you’re looking to work for a small firm, the JD/MBA may add more value to them. There is a lot of value in being the “business know how” person at a small firm.

GETTING IN

In order to get in to Business School, you need to apply separately to Marshall and meet all its requirements. But, there is a huge advantage to being a Law Student and applying for the JD/MBA program. While I had work experience before entering Law School, there are others in the JD/MBA program that did not, and they still got in even though work experience is highly encouraged for applicants to the MBA program.

GMAT: You need to take it if you want to get into the Business School. The median score for the Class of 2007 is 680. I don’t know what percentile that is, but if you test well enough to get into the Law School, then you probably will test well enough to get into the Business School.

Information about applying to Marshall can be found at HERE.

ADVICE

It is probably best to seek advice from those of us who are currently in the JD/MBA program. Also, professors can be a great resource in sharing their thoughs about the JD/MBA program. Professor Chasalow’s advice really helped me decide whether or not the program would be right for me.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel free to contact Marc at marcbaue@usc.edu . Also, please encourage Marc to run for SBA Treasurer next year, making him the only person in existence to (a) hold the office for three consecutive years and (b) hold the office as a 4L.