Membership to the New Jersey State Bar Association is free for students! That’s a price that can’t be beat.
So, what is the value?
For one, despite the fact that it’s only October, many of you are starting to think about what you will be doing next summer (i.e. where will you be working). Membership in the NJSBA gives you access to the thousands of other members, which includes both Rutgers and non-Rutgers alumni, among other valuable resources.
One of those resources is Fastcase, a legal database used by many practitioners. Membership with the NJSBA gives you access to the New Jersey Law Libraries on Fastcase. (A small annual fee gives you access to all Fastcase Law Libraries.) The Fastcase system is best known for their search results: search results are highly relevant and also offered on an interactive timeline to better picture the relevancy of each result. For students and faculty interested in learning more about Fastcase, a representative will be on campus on Thursday, November 19 to offer a demonstration of this system. (This event will also be open to members of the NJ Bar, so it will be an excellent networking opportunity for students!)
Additionally, your membership entitles you to the NJSBA’s Daily Briefing. This email push-service provides you with the previous days’ news summaries and decision summaries, both published and unpublished.
Totally worth it. Go ahead and get signed up.
(P.S. if you want to get started using Fastcase without a membership to the NJSBA, visit our A-Z List of Research Databases, click on Fastcase and you’re in! Enjoy!)
