On July 2nd, The Legal Aid Society hosted a mock trial at the conclusion of a week-long summer internship experience for 20 tenth graders from the Legal Outreach program. This is the tenth year that the Legal Aid Society has participated in the Legal Outreach Summer Internship Program.

The internship is a wonderful opportunity for our staff to provide highly motivated students from underserved communities with exposure to the practice of law and encourage pursuit of legal careers in the public interest. The Legal Outreach interns were placed across four trial offices of the Juvenile Rights Practice.

Emily Kaplan, Deputy Attorney-in-Charge of the Juvenile Rights Practice Trial Office in Brooklyn, served as the coordinator for the Legal Outreach program at The Legal Aid Society. The participating students are all enrolled in Legal Outreach’s multifaceted, college preparatory program known as “College Bound”.

College Bound is an intensive four-year academic skill development and support program and students are selected based upon their interest in law, academic potential, work ethic, and need for additional support. Program graduates have gone on to outstanding academic institutions including Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Swarthmore, Georgetown, and more. Their success can be attributed, in part, to the exposure they received through the internship experience. In addition to our participation in the summer internship program, some Legal Aid Society staff attorneys serve as mentors throughout the year. This is a rewarding experience not only for the students but for all of us.