Not Without Merit

~Elkridge attorney helps Boy Scouts fulfill Law Merit Badge requirements~

By Jason Zeisloft

"I don't think there's any organization in the world, certainly not in the United States, that better prepares young men for leadership in this country than the Boy Scouts of America—in teaching leadership skills, in teaching values, in teaching importance of standing up for what's right," said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who also serves as president of the National Eagle Scout Association (www.nesa.org).

From a basketball-player-turned-politician (Bill Bradley) to a movie director (Steven Spielberg) to a wealthy would-be politician renowned for his charts (H. Ross Perot), these men are a part of a fellowship of men who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest distinction the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) awards its members. Other notable Eagle Scouts include astronauts Neil Armstrong and James Lovell, President Gerald Ford and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

While BSA has influenced many different people since its beginnings in 1910, only about five percent become Eagle Scouts; translated, of the approximately 3 million current scouts, only 150,000 will achieve the Eagle Scout status.

To earn the rank of Eagle Scout, each Boy Scout must meet the organization's established requirements by the age of 18. Among those requirements is the completion of 21 separate merit badges. With 12 merit badges set by the BSA, nine remain to be chosen by the scout. To this end, Kathleen Tabor, a solo practitioner from Elkridge, Maryland, has helped make completing the Law Merit Badge an informative, yet fun, experience for the scouts.

Tabor's involvement as a merit badge counselor over the last several years stems from family interest; she was entering law school at the same time that her youngest son was entering scouting. She felt the need to find some way to become more involved with her son's life.

"It is important to have adults [involved as scout leaders]," Tabor explains, "and this was my way to stay involved."

The Law Merit Badge is constructed with 11 requirements, from discussing what law is to attending courtroom procedures. The merit badge discusses how to become a lawyer as well as alternate careers in the legal profession by having the boys list 15 different careers.

Tabor works with the scouts in groups as it is "easier to work with groups," she notes. She also takes them to the courthouse, with help from the Honorable Diane O. Leasure, who does a "great job," Tabor explains, in giving an overall representation of the going on in the courthouse. Leasure discusses all of the proceedings with the boys, as well as giving them tours of her chambers.

"I am most impressed with how prepared [the scouts] are," says Leasure, noting that the boys are always well prepared and able to ask wonderful questions that other student groups are not always prepared to do. Of Tabor she adds: "Her dedication is incredible."

The group also visits the Howard County Police Department to learn how their procedures are handled. The scouts are walked through the entire building and shown every aspect of the department, from the desk jobs to the patrolmen. "[The police] do a marvelous job," Tabor says. "The boys really get into the fingerprinting."

After each "field trip," the boys are required to write an essay, explaining what they have learned.

"I love working with the boys, to see them, from the beginning to the end," admits Tabor. "It is rewarding to see the looks on their faces. It is worth the time and effort. Being a merit badge counselor reminds me why I went into law."

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Publications : Bar Bulletin: January 2007