State Bar of Nevada Young Lawyers Section Contact: Brett Kandt, YLS Secretary Coming of Age Project Director State Bar of Nevada Young Lawyers Section 100 N. Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701-4717 E-mail: bkandt@govmail.state.nv.us COMING OF AGE IN NEVADA Activity Summary: The State Bar of Nevada Young Lawyers Section published a 15-page booklet that serves to educate Nevada high school seniors about the legal responsibilities of becoming an adult. Topics addressed in the booklet include: voting; jury duty; military service; driving; alcohol consumption; criminal law; contracts; consumer credit; property leases; employment; and marriage, divorce and children. The Coming of Age publication will be distributed annually to all Nevada high school seniors with corresponding classroom presentations by attorneys volunteering their time. Such volunteer efforts will motivate more Nevada attorneys to provide pro bono services. Activity Narrative: In 1999, the State Bar of Nevada Young Lawyers Section, with the assistance of grant funding from the State Bar of Nevada Board of Governors and the American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education, established the Coming of Age Project to educate Nevada's youth on the legal responsibilities of adulthood. The project was launched with the assistance of the Nevada Attorney General, the Nevada State Education Association and the Clark County Bar Association Community Service Committee. Nevada Revised Statute 129.010 states: "All persons of the age of 18 years who are under no legal disability, and all persons who have been declared emancipated pursuant to NRS 129.080 to 129.140, inclusive, are capable of entering into any contract, and are, to all intents and purposes, held and considered to be of lawful age." However, before they reach the age of majority, Nevada's youth are engaging in adult behavior without a clear understanding of the adult consequences. For instance, in 1997 eighteen percent (18%) of Nevada high school seniors routinely carried a weapon. Eighty-six percent (86%) had tried alcohol; fifty-eight percent (58%) had tried marijuana; thirty-nine percent (39%) had been offered drugs on school property; and thirty-one percent (31%) had driven while legally intoxicated. By the time they reach their senior year, sixty-six percent (66%) of Nevada youth have engaged in sexual intercourse; fifty percent (50%) are sexually active; and twelve percent (12%) have become pregnant or responsible for another's pregnancy. (Source: 1997 Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Survey Report, Nevada Department of Education.) These risk behaviors, along with other non-risk activities, such as purchasing a vehicle, renting an apartment, or being employed, can carry different consequences once an individual "comes of age." In late 1998, the Young Lawyers Section confirmed with the Nevada Department of Education that no publication or specific instruction covering the legal responsibilities of adulthood was provided to Nevada's 17,000 high school seniors. (Source: Nevada Department of Education). Based upon this information, the Young Lawyers Section established the Coming of Age Project. After securing funding, members of the Young Lawyers Section authored a 15-page booklet. After publication of the booklet in May 1999, the Young Lawyers Section established a partnership between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Bar Association Community Service Committee that resulted in the distribution of 6000 copies of the booklet to Clark County high school seniors and corresponding presentations to students by attorneys. Other partnerships are being established with other school districts and local bar associations. This year, the Young Lawyers Section has received grant funding from the State Bar of Nevada Board of Governors, the American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education and the Nevada Law Foundation for publication of 17,000 copies of a revised booklet. The first edition of the booklet is being revised to incorporate changes resulting from federal and state legislation and judicial rulings, and critical input received from attorneys, judges, teachers and students. The Young Lawyers Section aspires to establish an on-going program with annual revision, publication and dissemination of the booklet, and corresponding presentations by Nevada attorneys on the subject of reaching the age of majority. The Young Lawyers Section will also work with non-profit organizations to expand the scope of the Coming of Age Project to young adults outside the traditional education system. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization