Students, volunteers, and other participants at Mitchell Hamline at the conclusion of Latino Lawyer Camp.
Mitchell Hamline was pleased to host a recent program that introduced nearly two dozen ninth graders to the intricacies of the legal system.
A major aim of the weeklong Latino Lawyer Camp is to inspire Latino teenagers to at least consider joining a legal profession that currently is underrepresented by Latino attorneys. Just five percent of lawyers are Latino, compared to 19 percent of the national population, according to the American Bar Association.
The camp, which returned this year after a six-year hiatus with the hope of being an annual event, is led by Jorge Saavadrea F ’97, an assistant Ramsey County attorney.
“It’s to demystify the legal profession,” he told the Sahan Journal. “To pull back the curtain and show these kids that lawyers are normal people, that the work we do is something that they can understand.” As also noted in the Sahan Journal:
Saavedra’s goal: to reach Latino kids at the beginning of high school so they understand how to begin preparing themselves for college, whether they become a lawyer or choose a different career path. The camp recruits students through teachers and counselors, aiming to find students with potential who may not be the highest achievers. That is, kids who might especially benefit from the opportunity to see themselves in a future career.
The week is spent taking field trips–to meet St. Paul police officers and corporate attorneys at Best Buy, and to watch proceedings in a Ramsey County courtroom–while also preparing for a mock trial held at Mitchell Hamline.
Isabella Skidmore, 14, who will soon be a student at Two Rivers High School in Mendota Heights, told Sahan Journal she came into the camp thinking lawyers only worked in courtrooms all day. “I learned that there are way more types of lawyers than I ever thought there would be,” she added.
By hosting ninth graders in the camp, organizers hope students who might have their interests piqued will start thinking about the kinds of electives to take or activities to participate in high school, regardless of whether they want to one day attend law school.
“Turning these kids one-minded about a career in law, that’s not the goal here,” Saavedra told Sahan Journal. “If we inspire a kid to go to law school, that would be amazing. But everything we teach them is going to transfer.”
But for those whose interest in law school is piqued, Erica Davis of Davis & Egberg–another program organizer–told Minnesota Lawyer that ninth grade was a “key moment to help them on the right path to a legal career.
“They needed to know that working hard in high school was important so they could get into a good college and then a good law school. It was too late to hear about law school in undergrad or even later in high school.”
The event ended with the students taking on different roles in a mock trial, then holding the proceeding. There was also a graduation ceremony for the students upon completion.
Further reading
Sahan Journal: Motion in the court: Latino teens explore legal careers at summer “lawyer camp”
Minnesota Lawyer: Next generation of Latino lawyers