Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, the Michigan Court of Appeals and 10 area bar associations — including the Macomb County Bar Association — will join together starting this week to help launch the American Bar Association Sophomore Summer Institute
Students of color, low-income and other disadvantaged students from 13 colleges and universities are expected to participate in the month-long academic pre-law program.
Among those involved in establishing the program are about 75 judges and lawyers along with the American Bar Association Council of Legal Education Opportunity, Oakland University, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Organizers say the effort is aimed at helping diversify America’s next generation of lawyers by providing an intensive, pre-law program free of charge.
Undergraduate students taking part in the program this summer come from Adrian College, Alabama A & M, Bowling Green, Delta College, Eastern Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina A & T, Oakland University, Purdue, Saginaw Valley, Wayne State and Yale.
The program, which starts June 1 at Cooley’s Auburn Hills campus, will be launched during a ceremony featuring a keynote address by Justice Kelly.
“This is a great example of how lawyers and judges can join together with legal educators to address one of the most pressing challenges faced by the legal profession, which is to open our ranks so that the profession reflects the increasing diversity of the clients we serve,” said John Nussbaumer, associate dean of the Auburn Hills campus. “Together, we hope to inspire and prepare these students for the rigors of securing admission to law school, graduating, and passing the bar examination.”
Ten bar association are sponsoring luncheons and career exploration programs to help the students learn about the legal profession, including the Arab American Bar Association, Association of Black Judges, Hispanic Bar Association of Michigan, and the Straker and Wolverine Bar Associations, whose membership includes African American lawyers in Oakland and Wayne Counties.
The program will conclude on June 30 with closing ceremony remarks by former Detroit Mayor and ABA Past-President Dennis Archer, and with a Michigan Court of Appeals oral argument, thanks to the efforts of Judge Cynthia D. Stephens.
The schedule of speakers and events follows:
• June 1st (12:30 p.m.): Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly delivers the kick-off keynote address at orientation.
• June 7th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Hispanic Bar Association of Michigan Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 8th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Federal Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 9th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Oakland County Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 10th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Macomb County Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 14th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Arab American Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 15th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 17th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 18th (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Association of Black Judges of Michigan Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 21st (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Straker Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 22nd (12 p.m. -1 p.m.): Wolverine Bar Association Luncheon and Panel Presentation.
• June 30th (11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.): Dennis Archer will deliver the graduation speech to the students who successfully complete the program. The Michigan Court of Appeals also will hear an oral argument in a real case that the students have used for legal writing and appellate advocacy exercises.
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