The Fourth Annual National HBCU Pre-Law Summit & Law Expo 2017 Sponsored by AccessLex Institute is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 15, 2017 at Bennett College and Saturday, September 16, 2017 at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. This groundbreaking summit is the exclusive national event of its kind in the entire country created especially for and focused on empowering HBCU students and graduates interested in going to law school and becoming lawyers, and addressing the unique issues, concerns and challenges facing them. Students and graduates from all HBCUs are invited to meet and come together in Greensboro to take part in two intensive and power-packed days which will expose them to game-changing information, resources, networking and a family-like community designed to help them achieve success in a demanding educational endeavor and tough field in great need of diversity.
The summit will provide inspirational keynote sessions featuring prominent and dynamic speakers. Confirmed keynote speakers include Emily M. ****ens, Esq., Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Relationship Officer, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Aaron N. Taylor, Esq., Senior Vice President and Executive Director, AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence, AccessLex Institute, Demetra L. Liggins, Esq., Partner, Thompson & Knight LLP and Co-Founder, Corporate Homie, Jalene Mack, Esq., Entertainment Attorney, Actress/Writer/Producer, Non-Profit Founder & Artistic Producer, Mack Performing Arts Collective, Inc., The Honorable Dr. Christina R. Kirk, Esq., Municipal Court Judge, Langston, Oklahoma, 7th Grade English Teacher, Ryan Middle School, Founder & Dean, Prep “U”niversity and Managing Attorney, Kirk Law Group, and Juan R. Thomas, Esq., President, National Bar Association, Founder and Principal, The Thomas Law Group and Of Counsel, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, PA.
Among the special guests are Mark A. Dunham Jr., National Chairperson, National Black Law Students Association, Phanuelle Duchatelier, Director, Pre-Law Division, National Black Law Students Association, Gerald L. Walden, Jr., Esq., President, Guilford County Association of Black Lawyers, and Yolanda Young, Journalist, Activist and Founder, Lawyers of Color.
In addition to outstanding keynote speakers and special guest speakers there will also be an unprecedented conversation featuring all six HBCU law school deans including John K. Pierre, Esq., M.S.A., Chancellor and Vanue B. Lacour Endowed Professor of Law, Southern University Law Center, Phyliss Craig-Taylor, Esq., LL.M., Dean and Professor of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law, James Douglas, Esq., J.S.M., Interim Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, Thurgood Marshall School of Law Texas Southern University, Reginald McGahee, Esq., Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, Howard University School of Law, Shelley Broderick, Esq., M.A.T., Dean and Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Chair of Social Justice, University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, and Reginald M. Green, J.D., Associate Dean for Student Services and Administration, Florida A&M University School of Law. The panel of law school deans will be moderated by Dr. Jamal Watson, Executive Editor, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
The event will also include the National HBCU Pre-Law Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Legendary honorees who are also HBCU graduates will address attendees including The Honorable Craig Washington, award-winning criminal law attorney, former Texas State Representative, Texas State Senator and U.S. Congressman, The Honorable Henry Frye, the first African American elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives, the first Black North Carolina Supreme Court Justice and the first Black Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, Juanita Jackson, Esq., Managing Attorney, Jackson Law, PLLC, former Harris County Public Defender and Creator, Producer and Cast Member of the groundbreaking WETV Reality Show “Sisters in Law”, and The Honorable Dr. Alma S. Adams, Congresswoman, 12th Congressional District of North Carolina, United States House of Representatives, former HBCU professor and Founder of the first-ever Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus.
In addition, the event will showcase informative expert panel discussions on critical topics for aspiring lawyers including law school admission, Law School Admission Test (LSAT) success strategies, the law student experience, the different career paths for those armed with a law degree, and Black lawyers and entrepreneurship. Also planned are special sessions on financing a legal education and the law school personal statement and diversity statement.
Further, a law school expo will take place where students will have the opportunity to meet with law school representatives from over 90 law schools across the country to find out about their programs and get answers to their questions in order to find the law school that is the right fit for them. Several law-related, law student and bar associations will also be available to provide information regarding their programs and services for future law students.
Networking breaks and receptions are scheduled to take place where attendees will have the opportunity to participate in both structured and informal networking activities to help them connect with other aspiring law students, current law students, and lawyers in order to create accountability partnerships, obtain mentors, and make new friends. A free one-on-one consulting and practical assistance session featuring current law students, lawyers and admissions professionals will also be offered so that participants can receive assistance and feedback on their personal statements, diversity statements, resumes, addenda and ask any admissions, preparation or career planning questions. Complimentary resources such as LSAT preparation materials and booklets will be provided, free professional headshots and raffles for valuable prizes.
The event will end on a high note with the Aspiring Lawyers Pinning Ceremony where all aspiring lawyers will recite the success pledge and be pinned by a current licensed attorney. Then, they are charged with their responsibility to stay the course, help others on their journey and give back to the community.
According to the summit’s founder, Evangeline M. Mitchell, Esq., Ed.M., an HBCU graduate and first-generation college graduate and lawyer, “This is an opportunity of a lifetime where we are bringing together all of these incredible, accomplished people from across the country for the sole purpose of inspiring and empowering HBCU students and alumni who are interested in law school so that they better understand that they are greatly needed and what exactly is required to be successful. We want to demystify what it really takes to gain access to law school and the legal profession. Our goal is to break down those walls of exclusivity and exclusion to help them see their goals as attainable, but also be honest and transparent so that they understand the very real obstacles they will face so they can prepare themselves to overcome them. Both I and many of my colleagues never had opportunities like this prior to choosing to go to law school. I encourage those with an interest in law to make an effort to take advantage of all that is being offered. This is a labor of love and is truly game-changing and life-changing not only in terms of participants leaving with inspiration but also insider information, resources, connections and a support network that they didn’t have prior to attending.”
Sponsors for this event include Walmart and the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Partners include the Law School Admission Council’s DiscoverLaw.org, the National Black Law Students Association, the National Bar Association, Guilford County Black Lawyers Association, the Charles Hamilton Houston Foundation, Inc., The HBCU Nation and HBCU Lifestyle. Law school tour partners who are hosting special tours for summit registrants on the day before the event include Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, Duke University School of Law, Elon University School of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law, the University of North Carolina School of Law and Wake Forest University School of Law.
Admission to the entire event is completely free of charge, open to the public, and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All aspiring lawyers, their pre-law and career advisors, professors, parents and supporters are all welcomed to register and attend. For more information, please visit the summit’s official website at
http://www.hbcuprelawsummit.org/.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Wednesday, September 6th 2017 at 4:13PM
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