A three-week immersive program, the 10th Annual Gate City Bar Association’s Justice Robert Benham Law Camp, has inspired local high school students to pursue legal careers. Georgia State Law hosted the camp June 6-24, which exposes minority students to the legal profession.
“The camp influenced me to pursue a career in law because in the average courtroom there are more African-Americans as an accused than as a lawyer,” said Nahum Jean-Noel, 16, a Luella High School student in Locust Grove, Georgia. “I want to help change that by becoming a lawyer.”
Sarah Arthi Jacob, 17, a Milton High School student in Milton, Georgia, said the experience secured her intention of pursuing a legal career. “I am passionate about social justice, and I think that the legal field is the most realistic and historically effective way of effecting change,” she said.
The 29 attendees attended a variety of jurist classes and lectures and visited several legal institutions including the Supreme Court of Georgia, a juvenile court, the state Capitol and the Fulton County Jail. Georgia State Law faculty and staff members Tanya Washington, Bernadette Hartfield, and Vickie Brown, student Ashley Eady (J.D. ’17) and alumni Mawuli Davis (J.D. ’02) and Stacey Mitchener (J.D. ’07) led camp classes and programs.
The students also participated in a mock trial.
“Despite my interest in law, I was very apprehensive about being a litigator and presenting in a courtroom,” Jacob said. “I learned through the mock trial that I really liked the process of litigating and that I could potentially work as a litigator. I found it very challenging but also extremely compelling, especially writing and delivering an opening.”
During the final week of June 20, students interned at law firms, courts or with solo practitioners. Jacob and Jean-Noel interned at King & Spalding. The students watched depositions and were given case files, then had to put together a presentation about lawsuits involving companies and disability discrimination.
“The experience of working at King & Spalding was great,” Jean-Noel said. “I would say it was a once in a lifetime experience for me, but I'll work there as an attorney pretty soon.”
The Gate City Bar Association is the oldest African-American Bar Association in Georgia. Part of its mission is to foster a practical appreciation for the legal profession in the community and to encourage those with outstanding promise to attend first-rate law schools and return to the communities that need their services most.
“One thing that made an impact to me after the camp was how most kids take reading and education for granted,” Jean-Noel said. “One instructor said to us, if reading was not so important, how come it was illegal for slaves to learn how to read? And the answer was basically if you read, you learn and gain knowledge and wisdom. And with knowledge comes power, the power that we can use to make a difference. At that point I knew that I was taking reading for granted and that I need to read and do better in school, so I can contribute to society.”