The Advocate, Winter Edition 2022, Vol. 31, No. 2. Copyright.

Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter. Used with Permission.

Full Article: http://nofba.org/wp-content/uploads/INCLUSION-IN-ACTION-final.pdf

The Advocate is excited to introduce Inclusion in Action—a new column featuring diversity initiatives led by members of the Federal Bar. Through Inclusion in Action, we hope to showcase projects that can serve as models for readers working to create a more diverse and inclusive profession. Our inaugural article features the Louisiana State Bar Association’s (“LSBA”) Suit Up for the Future High School Summer Legal Institute and Internship Program, originally created by Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby and Kelly Legier, former director of Diversity for the LSBA, which is the first pipeline program of its kind in Louisiana.

Suit Up for the Future High School Summer Legal Institute and Internship Program (“Suit Up”) is a three-week legal immersion experience designed to expose students from diverse backgrounds to the possibility of a career in the law. A partnership between the LSBA, Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization, the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the four Louisiana law schools, Suit Up is held in June at the Louisiana Bar Center in New Orleans and is open to rising high school juniors and seniors and college freshmen. Each day, Suit Up scholars have a robust schedule.

During the first week of Suit Up, students experience the Socratic method from law school professors in a variety of areas of the law, and professors train students in legal research and writing, and oral argument. Attorney volunteers discuss legal career paths and help students draft resumes.

During week two, students visit state and federal courts, observe legal proceedings, and meet with judges. Students shadow lawyers from different sectors of the community and a variety of practice areas, and gain insights into the practice of law. Representatives from the law schools discuss the admission process.

Meanwhile, students are drafting briefs and preparing for oral argument in Suit Up’s culminating event—moot court before a panel of sitting judges. During the third and final week of Suit Up, members of the bar continue presentations to the students on a variety of topics including complicated issues like statutory interpretation. In previous years, students have held mock trials of classmates accused of violating a law that prohibits “eating breakfast food” in class. There, students serve as law clerks to their “judge” after hearing arguments from members of the bar regarding the statute. That same week, students visit the Supreme Court, the Law Library of Louisiana, and meet with Louisiana Supreme Court Justices. But Suit Up isn’t all field trips and networking. After three weeks of coaching and training from members of the bar, students present legal briefs and oral argument to judges at the Eastern District in a competitive, but fun, moot court competition. Students receive awards for best writer and best oral argument.

This past summer Suit Up celebrated its 10th anniversary and hosted 14 students. One student described Suit Up as a lifechanging experience. The effectiveness of the program is best illustrated by the alumni who have been admitted to law school and those who are now practicing lawyers, including a diverse group of women and men who have graduated from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law School, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Fordham University School of Law, and University of Mississippi College of Law.

In discussing the impact of Suit Up on our legal community, Judge Roby commented: “Step by step, one student at a time, we’re diversifying the legal profession.” For more information about Suit Up, please visit the Louisiana State Bar’s website at https://www.lsba.org/Diversity/SuitUpForTheFutureHome.aspx

By Casey C. DeReus

Casey C. DeReus is a member of the American Bar Association’s Disaster Legal Service’s team. She is an associate at Baer Law LLC, and her primary areas of practice are negligent security, trucking casualty, rideshare motor vehicle collisions, and wrongful death and survival action cases. cdereus@baerlawllc.com

SUIT UP FOR THE FUTURE

Being a lawyer can be one of the most rewarding professions. Lawyers are an important part of history and every community. Lawyers were instrumental in the founding of our nation and played a major role in drafting the governing documents that still shape our government, our laws, and our way of life. Lawyers have played major roles within every civil movement that has occurred within our country, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Movements. Lawyers often make the best problem solvers and the best leaders because of the critical thinking and analytical skills honed and polished in law school and within practice.

But what does it take to be a lawyer? Becoming a lawyer takes time, determination, and resources. Find out whether being a lawyer is the right path for you by hearing from lawyers who are thriving within the profession and enjoying it and by reading about prominent lawyers and the profession.

The Louisiana State Bar Association in partnership with the Louisiana Law Schools and Just the Beginning hosts an annual internship program. This program is available to incoming high school juniors, seniors, and recent graduates who are interested in the legal profession. Students participate in a three-week legal institute, during which they attend an abridged law school session, field trips to law schools and courts, and an internship consisting of shadowing at area law offices and courts. Students provide their own transportation and housing. Over the course of the three-week program, students will be introduced to lawyers, legal documents, and the legal system all designed to assist them in pondering one important question, “Do I really want to be a lawyer?”