| Bar Bulletin |
September,
2003
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| MSBA News |
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MSBA’s
Law Links Provides Teens With A “Foot In The Door”
By Tom Breihan
“I
had an interest in law, and during the summer I wanted a chance to have a
learning experience in a law firm,” says Kelly Hicks, an incoming senior
at Western High School in Baltimore. By participating in the Maryland State
Bar Association’s Law Links student internship program, Kelly got her
wish. She had the opportunity to intern at the law firm of Shawe &
Rosenthal and take classes with the program’s educational Law and Leadership
Institute.
“[The
participating students are] coming to us pretty green in terms of not having
a whole lot of professional work experience,” says Shelley Wojciechowski,
the Assistant Director of the Citizenship Law Related Education Program for
the Schools of Maryland (CLREP), which administers the program. “They’re
learning a great deal about the professional world, and by the end of the
summer they’re getting that there’s a different set of expectations
when you walk into a professional setting.”
The
Maryland State Bar Association founded the Law Links internship program in
1994 in Baltimore. The program was expanded to Prince George’s County
two years later and then to the lower Eastern Shore. Students involved in
the program earn six dollars an hour to work in a law firm or agency for
the summer. They are also given time off to take classes and listen to speakers
with the Law and Leadership Institute.
The
program targets primarily students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Some of the schools we’re recruiting from in Baltimore City have
12 percent graduation rates,” says Wojciechowski. “For them to
be motivated and to have an opportunity to get out there and meet people in
the professional world and the legal system is really critical.”
Many
of the students who have participated cite the Law Links program as a valuable
experience for their future careers and a positive life influence. “I
think it’s a good opportunity,” says Christopher Bilal, an incoming
junior at Southwestern High School who interned this summer at the law firm
of Ferguson, Schetelich & Ballew. “I’m planning on pursuing
a career in law, so I was interested in getting my foot in the door a little
bit.”
“Even
if they don’t go into a law-related profession, many of [the participating
students] come back and say, ‘If it wasn’t for this program,
I’m not sure I would have gotten my act together,’” says
Wojciechowski.
“We had a kid, Troy Brown, who went to Morgan, graduated Summa Cum Laude,
went to Harvard, graduated this past year from law school, and he relates that
back to Law Links.”
Though
the program is focused on law-related professions, it also strives to introduce
participating students to the professional world in general.
“We weigh the professional arena just as much during the Law Links program
as we do the legal system,” says Wojciechowski. “We spend an inordinate
amount of time during the summer talking to them about professionalism, workplace
etiquette, appropriate dress, appropriate language, because there’s just
a completely different set of expectations in the schools and in the homes
of these students compared to the expectations in the law firms and agencies
where they’re going to be working.”
In
choosing among its student applicants, the Law Links program is very selective. “This
year we recruited more than 80 student applicants in Baltimore City,” says
Wojciechowski. “We interviewed 79, and out of that 79 selected 29,
so it’s very competitive.” Applicants must submit grade transcripts,
attendance records and essays; after reviewing the applications, CLREP picks
students to interview. “We really look for kids who are well-rounded,” says
Wojciechowski, “and honestly we look for kids who have good attendance
rather than good grades.”
Besides
attending training sessions and doing office work in law firms and agencies,
participating students have the privilege of hearing a number of speakers
every year. This year’s speakers have included Chief Judge Robert M.
Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals, University of Maryland School of Law
Director of Admissions Patricia Scott and Maryland State Senator Lisa Gladden.
The program is always looking for speakers as well as professionals in the
legal field to offer internships.
The
program is primarily funded by grants from various foundations and agencies,
including the Maryland State Bar Association, the Will and Jada Smith Family
Foundation, the Baltimore Bar Foundation, the Bar Association Insurance Trust,
Prince George’s County Bar Foundation and the Office of Employment
Development. “It’s like everything grant-driven out there,”
says Wojciechowski. “There’s so much competition for so many good
programs that we really have to get creative in terms of seeking funding.”
“It
really takes the cooperation of a lot of people working together from the
school systems to the staff of CLREP to MSBA to all of the funders,”
adds Wojciechowski. “It’s just an immense network that comes together
every year to make it happen. Without the law firms and agencies that are willing
to mentor and coach the kids and in many situations pay the wages that they
make. It really is a pretty phenomenal program when you look at the amount
of investment that everyone has put into the program.”
“I’ve
enjoyed it a lot,” adds Hicks. “I’ve learned about law
and how stressful it can be, but also about the success and the advantages
and disadvantages of being a lawyer. I’ve learned a lot, just from
seeing what [lawyers] do day in and day out.”
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