"Discover Law Day"

New York, March 27, 2013—Columbia Law School students, alumni, and faculty members met with local minority high school students on campus recently to teach them about the legal profession and to encourage them to pursue legal careers.

 

The Discover Law Day program included a law graduate panel, remarks from the Office of Admissions, a mock law school class, a student panel, and dinner. Students from the Bronx Lab School; Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice; Brooklyn Technical High School; Democracy Prep Charter High School; and Flushing High School attended the March 10th event.

The law school graduate panel featured practitioners from the public and private sector: Ezra Corral ’12, Antonio Peguero Jr. ’94, Kristine A. Saul ’11, Professor Ted Shaw ’79, and Robert P. Watkins III ’08. The panelists explained their work in the law, provided advice on navigating the road to law school, and discussed the importance of the law in their daily lives. 

 

Danielle Flores, assistant director of the Office of Admissions, then described how the students could prepare to be a part of the Columbia Law School community. Flores was followed by a mock law school class. William David Williams ’14 engaged the students in the Socratic Method after several  teaching assistants worked with the participants in small groups. The teaching assistants were:  Mariel Fernández ’13, Lizzie Gomez ’14, Thomas Hou ’13, Todd Leverette ’13, Tony Ortega ’14, Arielle Reid ’15, and Reggie Snipes ’14.

The final panel of the day featured Columbia Law School first-, second-, and third-year students Gabriella Barbosa ’13, Tony Ortega ’14, Wyatt Littles ’15, and Arielle Reid ’15. Each panelist explained why he or she chose Columbia Law School and offered tips for succeeding in the legal profession.

 

Discover Law Day concluded with a dinner in which the participants were able to continue their conversations with Columbia Law School students.

 

The Discover Law Day initiative was developed by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC), which encourages law schools to sponsor outreach events to help ensure that the legal profession continues to attract members of racial minority groups. Columbia Law School's Discover Law Day was organized by co-chairs Reggie Snipes ’14 and William David Williams ’14 of the Black Law Students Association. Additional help came from Lizzie Gomez ’14 and Miguel Gradilla ’14, of the Latino/a Law Students Association, a co-sponsor of the event, and from Flores and the Office of Admissions.

 

"Discover Law Day provides an important opportunity for participants to connect with students and scholars engaged in different points of their legal studies and careers to gain a real sense of the profession and the possibilities of a law degree,” Flores said. “This program is a much anticipated event each year."

 

Co-chair Williams said he is pleased the Law School participated in the event.

 

"The 2013 Discover Law Day program inspired participants to believe that attending law school, particularly top law schools, is an attainable goal,” Wililams said.