Maryland Bar
Bulletin
Publications :
Bar Bulletin |
August, 2004 |
Law Links Opens Professional Doors
to Disadvantaged Youth
~Now a decade-old, the summer internship program is stronger than ever~
By Tom Breihan
Ten years after its first
successful session, the Law Links summer internship program continues to
thrive. The Citizenship Law-Related Education Program for the Schools of
Maryland (CLREP) launched the program in the summer of 1994 in Baltimore
City, and it is still going strong with programs in Baltimore City, Prince
George’s County and the lower Eastern Shore.
The Law Links program
places economically disadvantaged high school students in law-related
internships at law firms, nonprofit agencies and court offices, where they
learn about legal careers and earn money. In addition, students take part
in the Law Leadership Institute, an educational program in which they
learn about legal careers and professional environments.
“Law Leadership is a
60-hour educational program that talks to them about professional decorum,
professional language in the workplace, timeliness and what it means to be
on time at work,” says CLREP Assistant Director Shelly Wojciechowski. “We
have already covered criminal law; we’re going to be looking at civil law
and juvenile justice. We have [State] Senator Lisa Gladden come in each
year to discuss the aspect of lobbying and lawmaking …We have a lot of
good things planned.”
This summer, 44 student
participated in the program. “We interviewed 59 in Baltimore City, and 29
are accepted, so it’s pretty competitive,” says Wojciechowski.
“We have had very, very
good luck with these Law Links students,” says Lynn Cain, Circuit
Administrator of the First Circuit of Maryland. “They meet our
expectations.”
Cain runs the program in
the Lower Shore. The Lower Shore’s Department of Education had conducted a
judicial intern program for several years before merging its program with
Law Links, which has changed the way the program is run. “They get to see
what we do in the judiciary from lots of different perspectives,” says
Cain. “The absolute most positive thing is that they get to meet with the
Chief Judge of the state. He spends a tremendous amount of time with these
kids when they go up there. Many people don’t get that type of
opportunity.”
The program benefits both
the interns and the agencies that employ them. “It’s no holds barred,”
adds Wojciechowski. “[The firms] know they’re high school interns, but at
the same time they’re employees, and they expect a certain work quality
out of them, and they’re getting it. The kids are taking it seriously, and
the employers are getting what they hope to get out of the program as
well.
“About thirty percent of
the kids at the end of the summer are retained in some capacity by their
law firms or agencies,” Wojciechowski continues. “A lot of them are
volunteers.”
Some, however, are rehired
by their employers after the program ends. The law firm of Ferguson,
Schetelich & Ballew, P.A., for example, opted to hire Christopher Bilal,
who had been a Law Links intern with the firm during the summer 2003
program. “[Chris Bilal] is a very bright young man, and we were very
fortunate to get him through the Law Link program,” says firm partner
Robert Ferguson. Bilal now works for the firm part-time during the school
year and full-time during the summer.
“I think it’s an excellent
program; it’s very helpful to the interns that take part in it,” adds
Ferguson. “It’s a good program for the law firms as well. I think it’s a
good thing for the lawyers to do and for the Maryland State Bar
Association to support, mentoring young students.”
“It’s a good experience,”
agrees Ebony Beverly, one of this summer’s interns. Beverly is an incoming
junior at Western High School in Baltimore City, and she is presently
interning at the firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering LLP.
“Most interns are college
students, and I’m a high school student, so I like it,” says Beverly. “And
I want to be an attorney, so I get to talk to different attorneys.”
