From State Bar Section to Yosemite: How One Student Earned a Free Trip to an Environmental Law Conference

by Catherine Rucker

Cathy Rucker is a fourth-year law student at Golden Gate University School of Law. She plans to take the February 2015 Bar Exam and to earn an LLM in Environmental Law.  

The California Bar “sections” are professional groups that are linked to the California State Bar. There are 16 sections in a variety of practice areas, such as Business Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Intellectual Property, and Labor & Employment. Each section has an annual fee, ranging from $75 to $95. However, through the enrollment form, law students can access “up to three free one-year memberships.”

After I joined the Environmental Law Section and entered the members-only website, I read about the section’s annual conference in Yosemite. I noticed that the Remy Moose Manley LLP environmental law firm in Sacramento offers several scholarships for the conference. Most of the scholarships cover the cost of the registration. However, the firm offers five full scholarships that cover registration, three nights at the Tenaya Lodge, and travel expenses.

In my scholarship application, I explained that I had served as a Student Writer for the GGU Environmental Law Journal and that I had worked at the GGU Environmental Law and Justice Clinic. Because I had participated in these environmental law activities, I was selected to receive one of the five full scholarships.

At the ELS conference, I observed that the practicing attorneys were excited to include law students. I realized that if students make the effort to join a section and to attend its events, then the attorney members are very willing to be supportive and to provide guidance. The students who avail themselves will get the benefits.