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October 31, 2014

Law Students Committee Sets Goals

During our Spring Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, the Section’s leadership voted to create a new Law Students Committee. The committee’s focus will be on recruiting law students into the Section, serving the needs and interests of the Section’s law students, and exposing students to the many practice areas and career paths in the area of state and local government. The committee will be co-chaired by a law student and a practicing attorney.

The law student co-chair is Michael Dumas. A rising 2L at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland, Maine, Michael also is our Section’s liaison to the ABA Law Students Division. Before enrolling in law school, Michael worked in a number of fields, including finance, IT, and health care. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in criminal prosecution. Michael also will serve as editor of the Section’s Law Student eNews, a publication aimed solely at law students, which will launch in the coming weeks.

The attorney co-chair is Miriam Van Heukelem of Ahlers & Cooney P.C. in Des Moines, Iowa. A graduate of Drake University Law School, Miriam is an associate in the firm’s K-12 Education practice group, which provides public schools in Iowa with comprehensive legal representation. Miriam has worked on claims involving numerous kinds of discrimination and harassment under state and federal law.

The committee has adopted a mission statement that it will use as a guide in setting the committee’s goals and driving its activities. The mission statement is as follows:

The mission of the Law Students Committee is to connect law students with the unique practice areas and career paths of the members of the State & Local Government Section. We will strive to educate and recruit new law student members by speaking to law students about topics that are relevant to them. We will provide a forum for user-driven content through our State & Local Government for Students eNews, programming, panels, and forums at ABA meetings, and other electronic content that is delivered in cutting-edge ways. We seek to assist law students in pursuing their professional goals by engaging them in a two-way dialogue and treating their voices with respect and consideration.

The co-chairs can be reached via email at Michael.Dumas1@maine.edu and [email protected].