UC Law Student Bar Association

Hello Everyone,

Sorry to send out another e-mail, but a reminder needed to be sent that all budget requests are due to lane.a.blake@gmail.com by August 13th at midnight. That is only two days away and as of right now I have only received requests from a handful of organizations.

Any request received after August 13th will not be considered.

Please get your budget requests in asap. Also please use the budget template and refer to the example sent by Scott Brenner in the previous e-mail.

If you do not have the files, they can be downloaded from uclawsba.com.

If there are any comments or concerns please direct them either to myself or Scott Brenner before the August 13th deadline.

Thanks,

Lane Blake
SBA Treasurer

Attachments:
Sample Group Budget
Sample Group Description
Budget Template

The law school has published the Fall 2008 booklist on their website. As always, upperclassmen that have settled on their schedule can take this opportunity to find some bargain priced textbooks online instead of paying whatever may be charged on campus (half.com and the Amazon Marketplace seem to be favorites).

Of course, the biggest gripe incoming 1Ls will soon have is that they don’t get their class schedule until it is too late to get online bargains on books. That’s where your SBA is coming in. We’ve looked through the booklist and found the books you will have no matter your schedule. It’s not all of the books, but it’ll get you started.

Required 1L Books

• Civil Procedure: A Modern Approach / Marcus / Updated 4th Edition / ISBN 0314191011
  Note: Two sections don’t specify the updated 4th Edition, yet list the 2008 date. These two may or may not require the updated edition.
• Problems in Contract Law: Cases & Materials / Knapp / 6th Edition / ISBN 0735562555
  Note: One section has nothing listed on the book list, but UC has this book listed for the bookstore.
• Basic Legal Research: Tools And Strategies / Sloan / 3rd Edition / ISBN 0735556539
• The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation / Harvard Law Rev. / 18th Edition / ISBN 600014329X
• Legal Writing and Analysis / Edwards / 2nd Edition / ISBN 0735562296
• *OPTIONAL* Just Writing / Enquist / 2nd Edition / ISBN 0735549559

As always, the booklist is subject to (and most likely will) change.

The full booklist can be found at http://www.law.uc.edu/students/docs/booklistf08.pdf.

Student group leaders,

Requests for SBA funding are due by email to Lane Blake (lane.a.blake@gmail.com) by August 13th. To request SBA funding each group must submit a detailed budget and a short description of the group’s plans for the ‘08-’09 year. Only SBA chartered groups are likely to receive funding at this time. Chartered, unchartered and yet-to-be chartered groups may request funding from the contingency fund after the budget is approved.

The budget must specify how the money will be spent. The budget must be accompanied by an explanation of the group, the number of members, its plans for the year, and any other sources of funds such as membership dues paid and/or fund raising efforts.

Please take the time to create a realistic and detailed request. Last year 25 groups requested about a total $61,000. But annually the SBA has only ~$14,000 to allocate. This averages out to about $650 per group. Some groups received more others received less based on the factors spelled out in the by-laws.

In evaluating proposed budget requests the following factors are considered by the budget committee (not necessarily listed in order of importance or weight, and the budget committee may use additional factors in consideration):

—Educational value of the programs;
—Number of students in the organization;
—Number of students who will benefit from the programs;
—Benefit of the programs to the law school and the community as a whole;
—Past performance and use of allocated funds by the group;
—Merits of the programs.

The following expenses are not eligible for SBA funding:
—Any expenditure in violation of the rules promulgated by the University of Cincinnati;

—Any activities of an organization that discriminates on the basis of race, nationality, sex, religion, or sexual preference;

—Individual memberships in any organization except in accordance with these By-laws; and

—Alcohol.

A sample budget and explanation are attached to illustrate. Please use the attached template to prepare your group’s request. The more detail provided, the more likely the budget committee will be able to see how a group satisfies the factors. Budgets received after the due date or not in compliance with these requests will NOT be considered.

On August 25th at 10am in room 302 the Budget Committee will meet to recommend a budget. The recommended budget will be submitted to the SBA for approval.

Students are free to observe the August 25th meeting but no comments are permitted. Students interested in commenting may email comments to any member of the Budget Committee. Comments will help the Budget Committee but the Committee will primarily rely upon the budget request and accompanying description—these are a group’s best opportunity to persuade the Committee. The Budget Committee members are Kelley Brandstetter, Lane Blake, Zachary McCune, Scott Brenner and an incoming 1L to be determined.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.

Scott Brenner

SBA Budget Committee Chair-Person
(513) 885-1072

Attachments:
Sample Group Budget
Sample Group Description
Budget Template

Class of 2011, welcome to The University of Cincinnati College of Law!

This is the beginning of three years of long nights, a lot of reading, and buying highlighters in bulk. But it is also the beginning of three years during which you will meet incredibly talented and interesting people, have great experiences involving speakers, events, and maybe even traveling, and gain a significant knowledge of the law which will help you in whatever future endeavors you dream of undertaking. You will be pushed hard, but you will have fun. And your Student Bar Association is here to ensure that you not only have the tools to succeed during your three years here, but also the tools and opportunities to have fun and to have incredible experiences.

On behalf of all of SBA and the student body at the College of Law, welcome. We’re excited to meet you. If you have any questions, please contact us. Feel free to check the “About Us” section of the website so you know what we’re all about.

Hello All,

 Now that we are winding down on the finals… and the end of the year is upon us, I need all the outstanding receipts for your organization purchases. At this point all the spending should be done, so I need all the reimbursement requests by Thursday morning (5/15).

 I am leaving town in the evening on 5/15 and will not be back to Cincinnati until 5/24. This means that if you have anything outstanding and want to get reimbursed on it… it needs to get in my mailbox, or in the bin on the front of Patrick’s office sooner rather than later.

 If you have any questions please let me know. For those that have turned in stuff… I am submitting a bunch of them today (sorry about the delay — I’m going to blame it on finals.)

Thanks,
Lane Blake

All,

You are invited to the 3L Sendoff Party (aka After Exams Party) this Thursday, 5/15 at Longworth’s in Mt. Adams.

The party begins at 9pm with free beer (hopefully it will last all night).

We have the upstairs room to ourselves all night and karaoke begins downstairs at 10pm.

Let me know if there are any questions.

Good luck with the rest of exams!

Sincerely,
Jenny Lewis
Class of 2008 Hooding Chair

As announced in the last two SBA meetings, the Secured Party will be held this Wednesday, April 30, from 4:30-7:30 on the lawn next to the law school.

For those who don’t know what the Secured Party is, it’s just like the lawn party held in the fall. There will be a cookout, drinks, cornhole, and, of course, the superlatives. You did get your nominations in, right?

Be sure to come out and have a good time before you start studying for finals. And if this doesn’t sound like enough fun for you, there will be an after party across the street at Woody’s where you can continue to delay responsibility for a few more hours.

Link to the Minutes (MS Word):
SBA Meeting Minutes for April 28th, 2008

The Don Blair Softball Jam is fastly approaching and so many people have expressed interest in both playing and enjoying in the festivities. Looks like this could be an event not worth missing. It will be Salway field, located on spring grove ave across from the Spring Grove Cementary. Games will start around 1:00pm but teams are welcome to arrive at 12:30pm to start warming up.

The signup list for the non-softball attendees is on the board by room 100A&B. Please make sure to give your name and email information if you plan on attending. If you are bringing a guest you do not need to place their name on the list also, but you do need to pay for them ($3).

If you are playing softball please pick up a form from the S&E mailbox in the lower righthand corner of the club mailboxes located across the hall from the 2L and 3L mailboxes. The form requires a team captain’s name and a list of the rest of the team members.

Remember you may play on one team as a team member. If you already have a team together please email me or Ryan Mabry (mabryrm@email.uc.edu) so that we can set up the games. If you would like to play but don’t have a team, email me and I will let the team captains know about the wonderful free agents available. Each team member must pay $5 but payments can be made as one payment or individually.

For the sake or no confusion and to alleviate some of the problems from the Bracket Tournament, please pay in cash. Additionally, anyone paying at the door will have to pay $8, so I suggest signing up now and paying your money early. Money will be collected next week up till friday morning at 12:00pm. If you do not think you will be able to pay by friday please contact me right away, but otherwise you will be charged the rate at the door of $8.

For those who did not read some rule restrictions in the first email, hear they are again. “In order to make the teams more competitive, there are some restrictions placed on the games. Each team must be coed. The games will go for 5 innings with a 15 run rule after the second and a 10 run rule after each inning following. Additionally, no member of a lineup may bat more than twice in an inning. All other rules will follow closely with the standard rules of softball.”

In addition to the well loved Don Blair umpiring the games, there will be a mystery umpire who I am sure will give some flair to the games. So faculty, we would love to see you out there giving the students a run for their money. And students, there is nothing like a good, clean softball game to determine who the champions truly are. With that being said….

Lets Play Ball

The Indigent Defense Clinic is accepting rising 3L applicants for the 2008-2009 academic year. If you are interested in criminal law or litigation, the Clinic provides outstanding practical skills training and experience. Learn more at an informational meeting 12:30 PM Tuesday, April 22 in Room 114. Space in the Clinic is limited. To apply for a spot in the Clinic, email a copy of your resume, references, transcript, and a writing sample to Clinic Director Janet Moore: jmoore@ohiojpc.org.