As the sun blazed and a breeze wafted through the summer air, sophomore Sarina Harjani had an idea: Law Club at South. This past summer, Harjani gathered a group of friends and together they became the founders of a new club dedicated to students interested in studying law. The club began at the beginning of this second semester and has now come to life with over 40 members in Room 2183 every other Tuesday morning.  

The idea for Law Club sparked because South lacked a club focused on introducing students to the law field, Vice President sophomore Aleksa Kiperovic said. While several of the board members are involved in Mock Trial, Model United Nations, and Debate, the students created Law Club to provide exposure to different fields and aspects of law that are not showcased in these other three activities, Kiperovic explained.

“Those [activities] are all pretty competitive teams,” Kiperovic said. “[In Law Club], you get a broad overview of the entire [field of law], and it’s not a huge commitment.” 

The meetings consist of student-led presentations on a new topic each week followed by a fun activity that the board discusses in advance, Activities Director sophomore Iris Do explained. In a recent meeting, the club brought in a federal magistrate as a guest speaker, Do said. She explained that as the board members conduct more meetings, the activities will become more tailored to the club members. 

“Since we are a new club, we’re not sure how much information the club members already know,” Do said. “Once we get that information, we want to explore more specific types of law and have more activities based on those types.” 

Along with more specific activities during the meetings, Law Club hopes to extend the exposure of law beyond just facts, Harjani mentioned. Harjani plans to incorporate community service within Law Club by partnering with Legal Aid Chicago, an organization that raises money for people who cannot afford attorneys. The combination of informational meetings and service activities will help the board create an environment for inquisitive students, whether they already plan to enter the law field or not, Harjani noted. 

“[Law Club] allows students to engage in a profession that they may have not known about or taken into consideration before,” Harjani said. 

For Sponsor Gwen Quigley, her goal for Law Club is to show students that law is not black and white. Many concepts lie in a gray area that most people are unfamiliar with and Law Club strives to shine light upon them, Quigley explained. 

“It is important for students to go out in the world understanding that [law is] not a perfect process, and so you need to be ready to navigate the language of law,” Quigley said.