NOTES FROM THE SBA PRESIDENT

BARRISTERS BALL

Attention Barrister's Ball Attendees!
There has been a request for shag music to go along with the rest of the tunes at this year's Barristers Ball on February 23. If you have a special request or recommendation, please email the name and artist (if you can remember them both) to rhodes.bailey@gmail.com.

SBA BOWLING

Attention Bowlers! Thursday Night Bowling spots are filling up fast. Make sure to get your money in with your team sign up sheet because the team spots will only be available on a first come-first serve basis. The first date is February 15 and festivities will start at 10!

NOTES FROM THE ASSOCIATE DEAN

DO NOT STORE VALUABLES IN THE TOP COMPARTMENT OF YOUR LOCKERS.

Please do not store valuables in the top of your locker. This area is not secure. We have had a number of articles stolen from lockers.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SOCIETY MOVIE SCREENING

Monday, February 5, 5:00, Room 135
We will be showing Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." This event is free to students and is sponsored by Women in Law, Pro Bono, Southeastern Environmental Law Journal and the Federalist Society.

LEXISNEXIS TRAINING

Tuesday, February 6, 12:45, Room 138
Want to learn how LexisNexis can help you get a job?? Come join us for Career Resources training class, free lunch and LOTS of free points... 400 pts!! Plus, as an added bonus, get your Ultimate Rewards Passport stamped. Please sign up on www.lexisnexis.com/myschool.

WOMEN IN LAW MEETING

Tuesday, February 6, 12:50, Room 135
Our guest speaker will be USC Law's own visiting professor, Ms. Eboni Nelson. Professor Nelson, who is visiting from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas, is teaching Sales and Consumer Law this semester. Members and non-members welcome. Lunch will be served.

CAREER SERVICES INTERVIEW DEMONSTRATION

Thursday, February 8, 12:35, Room 135
Janet Hamilton, Recruiting Coordinator and Steve McKelvey, Esq., from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP will demonstrate an interview with a student. They will then discuss the interview and what they were seeking. Pizza will be served. Although this is geared for 1Ls, all students are invited and would benefit from the information provided.

CLS MEETING

Thursday, February 8, 12:45, Room TBA
We will be hosting J.R. Murphy of Murphy & Grantland P.A. Lunch will be served.

FACULTY AUCTION

Thursday, February 8, 7:00, Seawell's on Rosewood
This fun-filled event is hosted by Phi Delta Phi and all proceeds will go to benefit the Public Interest Law Loan Forgiveness Fund. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and will be on sale this week and next in the SBA office and in the law lobby. There will be hors d'oeuvres and an open bar. Cocktail attire please.

SYMPOSIUM ON COMMERCIAL SPEECH

On Friday, February 16th, the South Carolina Law Review, the Law School, and the College of Mass Communications are sponsoring a symposium titled The Future of Commercial Speech in an Age of Emerging Technology and Corporate Scandal. National experts will present their thoughts on a variety of commercial speech topics such as integrated communications strategies, securities compliance, and false advertising. All law students are invited to attend. South Carolina attorneys who register and attend can obtain CLE credit. Please pass the word along to lawyers you know because the CLE credit is available for a bargain compared to other CLEs. For the detailed agenda and speakers' abstracts, please visit www.sclawreview.org/symposium.

SBA ELECTIONS

It's almost time to elect your class representatives. Executive Council Elections are scheduled for Thursday, February 22 and Legislative & Honor Council Elections are scheduled for Tuesday, March 6. More information to come as the elections get closer.

BLOOD DRIVE

On Wednesday, February 21, from 10-4 in the law school lobby, SBA and the American Red Cross will team up for another blood drive. Thanks to all who helped us achieve our goal of forty usable pints at the last blood drive. The American Red Cross is experiencing a critical need for blood, so please sign up to donate! It will only take about 20 minutes of your time. There are two ways to sign up. The first is to simply drop by JoAnne's Office (Room 131-K) anytime through the date of the blood drive to sign up for your preferred donation time. Please provide her with your name, e-mail, and phone number. The other way is to visit www.givelife.org, enter sponsor code "gamecocks," and select the February 21 USC Law drive from the list of choices. Follow the website's simple instructions from there. The Red Cross will not distribute your e-mail or phone number to third parties.

MAYMESTER DATE CHANGE

We learned on Friday that Gray's Inn will be closed on Monday, May 7. The effect of this is that we will move our introductory meeting and tour of legal London from Sunday, May 6 to Monday, May 7. The first day of class will be on Tuesday, May 8. The final day of the course will be Friday, May 25 rather than Thursday, May 24. This of course provides you an extra day to get to London.

The living accommodations will be available from the night of May 6 to the night of May 26.

If you have questions contact Professor McWilliams on mcwillmc@gwm.sc.edu.

NOTES FROM STUDENT SERVICES

GEORGIA/TENNESSEE BASKETBALL BLOCK SEATING TICKETS

Tickets for the above basketball games will be disbursed on Tuesday, February 6, and Wednesday, February 7, from 9a-4p from the Student Services office, Room 131-K.

STUDENT/FACULTY COFFEE

The monthly Student Faculty coffee will be held on Wednesday, February 7 at 9:45a-10:30a in the law lobby. We will be welcoming our full-time Legal Writing Instructors, Jan Baker, John Luthy and Michael Virzi. Please come to meet them and join in the social interaction of meeting other faculty members and students. Bagels, doughnuts, and juice will be served.

NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION

Ben Crosby, Erin Bailey, Matt Schonfeld, and Luke Umstetter will be participating in the National Constitutional Moot Court Competition at Virginia Beach on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10. We wish them well.

TYLA MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION

JoJo Delaney, Priya Sarathy, Robert Sansbury, Eddie Hunter, Chris Corley, Chris Epting, Joshua Barr, Tracy Pinnock, and Ricardo Bunge will be participating in the TYLA Mock Trial Competition in Decatur, GA, this coming weekend. Professor John Delgado, faculty advisor and coach, will travel with them. We wish them well.

BLSA SOUTHERN REGIONAL CONFERENCE POSITIONS

Congratulations to Mark McLawhorn, 1L, who was elected Director of the Sub region 5 and to Troy Causey, 1L, who was elected Regional Vice Chairman at the BLSA Southern Regional Conference in Miami in January.

UPDATE ON DYLAN GOFF

Dylan Goff, 3L will be leaving for Fort Riley, Kansas on February 8. He will be undergoing training there until May when he will leave for Afghanistan. He appreciates all the warm wishes from students and faculty. His email address is dylanwgoff@hotmail.com.

REGALIA AND INVITATIONS FOR MAY GRADS

Grads will be able to order these on Wednesday, February 28 from 10a-2p. Regalia measuring will take place in the law school canteen. You will need 2 checks for the ordering of your regalia: one check is for $50 (this check will be returned to you when you return your regalia on Graduation Day). The amount of the other check is $56.50 (rental). This is professional regalia and must be returned. Balfour will be in the law lobby on the same day to take your order for graduation announcements. You will need a third check for this if you are going to order announcements (cost depending on how many you order).

BRIDGE THE GAP APPLICATIONS

Bridge the Gap applications are available in the Student Services office, Room 131-K. If you are planning to take the 6-day PMBR course, you are asked to sign up for the Spring Break Bridge the Gap (March 12-14). For more information, including additional BTG dates, please see Joanne in Room 131-K.

MARCH 3RD MPRE REVIEW COURSE FOR MARCH 10TH EXAM

Registration for the MPRE Review course will begin on Monday, February 19th in the Student Services office, Room 131-K.

CONGRATULATIONS

Beth and Ron Eritano welcomed their daughter, Sofia Grace, on December 21. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 11 oz.

NOTES FROM PRO BONO

VOLUNTEERING

Do you have a story about volunteering you want to tell? This is your opportunity to go on record with the Library of Congress! StoryCorps rolls into Columbia from Feb. 8-22nd. You can reserve a time slot for recording your story by going to www.StoryCorps.net. Let's tell the whole country about USC School of Law Pro Bono efforts! Make a little history.

GUARDIAN AD LITEM

Congratulations to the many law students who have completed GAL training! Several of them already are hard at work with cases! As soon as they are sworn in (Family Court Judge Donna Strom will swear them in on Thursday!) we will post a list of names; be prepared to be impressed!! These dedicated volunteers join over 20 other law students who are already making a difference for the neediest members of our community--neglected and abused children.

Law school volunteer GAL's have a new resource! A virtual meeting room! Sign up on TWEN for the CASA/ GAL Support Group. This is a place to share successes and information and to ask questions.

TEAM ADVOCACY

Seeking volunteers interested in helping fighting abuse and neglect in out nursing homes and community care facilities. TEAM ADVOCACY is a project developed by SC Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities (P&A) that pairs a P&A staff member and a trained volunteer. Using a checklist of questions the team visits a facility, interviews staff and patients, observes the operation and compile a report. This report is sent to DHEC as part of a comprehensive check on these facilities and they care they provide to our states vulnerable adults. Training can be individual or if we assemble a small group of students they will provide a special training just for us. The good news is that the investigations take place all over the state so if you go to Charleston on Thursday, you can volunteer at home on Friday.

Applications and more information are available in the Pro Bono Program office. This is a wonderful opportunity to hone your interviewing and investigation skills while making the world a bit better for all.

THIS WEEK - BREAKDOWN

MON, FEB 5

5:00

Environmental Law Society Movie Screening, Room 135

7:00

SBA Meeting, Room 236

TUE, FEB 6

12:45

LexisNexis Training, Room 138

12:50

Women in Law Meeting, Room 135

WED, FEB 7

9:45

Faculty Coffee, Law Lobby

THU, FEB 8

12:35

Career Services Interview Demonstration, Room 135

12:45

Black Law Students Association Meeting, Room 344

Christian Legal Society Meeting, Room TBA

1:00

Public Interest Law Society Career Panel, Room 236

7:00

Faculty Auction, Seawell's on Rosewood

FRI, FEB 9

SAT, FEB 10