Spotlight: Law Families The mission of Law Families is to support law students and their partners, spouses, or children during law school and to create a welcoming and inclusive community.

By Law Communications
November 13, 2023

With over 30 students groups spanning an array of co-curricular, public service and recreational functions, W&L Law offers each student a way to get engaged and become an important part of our community. Below, members of Law Families share information about their group.

Tell us a little bit about the organization.

The mission of Law Families is to support the Law Student and his or her partner, spouse, or children during law school and to create a welcoming and inclusive community for our members. We run events throughout the year that are catered towards non-student members of our community, including kid-friendly events. Lexington is a small community, and Law Families can provide additional support and a knowledge base on navigating law school while balancing the outside demands of marriage, long-term relationships, and family. Our organization is available to connect you with resources in our town and support you in any way you may need.

Do you have any events scheduled for this year?

We have had quite a few events in the fall semester and plan to have many more throughout the year! The highlight of the semester was our Fall Festival event at High Five Farms. About 30 members of the organization went to a local farm and spent some time playing with the farm’s animals (feeding the baby goats, a baby highland cow, going on a hike with the herd of goats, playing with their puppies, etc.) and enjoying a lovely fall day.

We are also looking forward to a Thanksgiving Potluck, and hosting a few more local brewery/winery outings, potlucks and other smaller events like game nights, movie nights, or trivia nights at local restaurants.

Can alumni get involved?

While the group is primarily focused on partners and law students here in Lexington, we would always welcome the advice of alumni on navigating the job market with/as a significant other in and around Lexington, or advice on looking for where to live in the area- especially your experience finding childcare or navigating the local school systems too. Although some things may change, word of mouth and connections to the community still carry a lot of weight and could help bridge some gaps for incoming students looking to get situated in the area. Also, advice on how to transition out of Lexington for 3Ls and their partners that are graduating and navigating the job search would also be welcome, as that kind of advice is only something our graduated members can give! If an alum is interested in helping out, please email Cameron at perales.c24@law.wlu.edu.

Are there opportunities for the significant others of law students to get to know each other in this organization?

Yes, and I would say that is one of our main goals if not our primary goal. We aim to make our events spaces for significant others to come and meet each other and make friends with other law students and partners in the community. We also started a group chat for significant others to be able to reach out to each other and are looking into planning events specifically for SOs as well. While our status as a student organization means that law students primarily run the organization, we prioritize having significant others on the leadership team helping to run and plan our events and make sure the group is meeting the needs of all parts of our membership.

How many law students are currently involved?  How has the law school community supported students in this organization?

We currently have about 40 law students involved with their significant other/partner or family, making our total around 80 members of the community. We are grateful for the ways in which the law school has helped us grow our ability to put on events and allowed us to play a small part in Orientation. We also have a great community of students, in general, who are always open to and looking to bring in significant others into the social groups and events that are going on formally on and off campus. Whether those events are the more formal Student Bar Association Events like the Halloween Party, 1L Cocktail Party, or Barrister’s Ball, or the less formal like coming to watch the Law School Football League, significant others are welcome and valued members of the community.

Is there anything else to share about the organization?

If you are a current or incoming student and you have a partner or family and want to join the group, please reach out to us, and we’re more than happy to get you on the email list and have you come hang out with us at future events. It’s never too late to join. We are always excited to welcome other folks that aren’t going through the day-to-day of Law School but are going through the day-to-day of life in Lexington!