Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2000

Focus on . . . Pre-Law Counseling and Law Student Outreach and Law & Media Committees

By Lisa Rodeghiero

In The Affiliate's continuing effort to highlight the various YLD committees, we take a closer look at the Pre-Law Counseling and Law Student Outreach Committee and the Law & Media Committee of the YLD.

Pre-Law Counseling and Law Student Outreach Committee

The YLD's Pre-Law Counseling and Law Student Outreach Committee focuses on improvements in the quality of pre-law counseling available to colleges and universities. To that end, the Committee presents programs for high school students who may have an interest in attending law school and attempts to reach out to law students by offering programs that will be useful to them as they embark on careers in the law.

To fulfill its purpose, the Committee has joined forces with the Minorities in the Profession Committee and the Career Issues Committee to develop programs to introduce high school students to the legal profession, as well as to prepare law students for interviewing and jobs with the government.

At the high-school end of the spectrum, students will be invited to programs at law schools in each of this year's ABA YLD host cities (Dallas, Washington, D.C., and New York). Students will learn more about the legal profession from law school administrators, professors, students, and local practitioners. In Las Vegas this fall, the Committee invited students from all of the high schools in Clark County, Nevada, to the UNLV Boyd School of Law. There, they met with the law school deans, professors, and students who talked about preparation for law school and what it is like to be a law student. The high school students were given a tour of the law school and were able to ask YLD panelists about what it is like to be a practicing attorney. A similar program is planned for the Midyear Meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Law students will hear from YLD members in various areas of practice, including big firms, small firms, government, armed forces, and the judiciary at presentations in Dallas, Washington, and New York. The Committee already presented a program on survival skills and bar involvement to law students in Las Vegas. Young lawyers visited the Boyd School of Law to discuss their practices and answer questions from the law students. The Committee distributed specially prepared informational pamphlets and brochures to the law students. An interviewing skills program is planned for law students in Dallas, although the host school has yet to be determined.

In addition to these programs, the Committee hopes that its website will serve as a question-and-answer clearinghouse for students. If students have questions about a specific practice area, law school, the bar exam, interviewing, etc., they can e-mail the Committee chair, Lisa Spickler at Lspickler@hunton.com. Lisa will then forward the question to one of the Committee's young lawyers to provide a response.

The Committee has already accomplished much and has an ambitious schedule planned for 2000. The Committee needs volunteers to assist with each of the programs described above. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Lisa Spickler at Lspickler@hunton.com. Don't forget to visit the Pre-Law Counseling and Law Student Outreach Committee's website at www.abanet.org/yld/outreach/home.html

Law & Media Committee

The YLD Law & Media Committee seeks to address substantive issues relating to the media, including First Amendment and FCC matters. The Committee also seeks to review legislation and regulations and develop programming to increase young lawyer expertise in this area of law.

The Committee is hosting the Third Annual Media Advocacy Workshop in conjunction with the ABA Forum on Communications Law Conference on February 17, 2000, in San Diego. Top media lawyers from CBS, the New York Daily News, NBC, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times will serve as faculty and judges for thirty-five to forty young lawyers who will present three separate oral arguments on three separate media issues before three sets of judges. Attendees receive extensive background materials and hypotheticals for preparation prior to the workshop. This is an excellent training program that has been very well received in the past.

The Committee is also working on desktop guides that will cover media-related issues, including defamation and invasion of privacy. The Committee is always looking for other ways to involve young lawyers in this exciting area of the law.

For more information on this Committee, contact Committee Chair Michael L. Raiff at mraiff@velaw.com.

Lisa Rodeghiero is an assistant editor of The Affiliate and practices law with the Brown Law Firm in Billings, Montana.