Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School’s 3rd Annual Youth and the Law Summit

Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School held its annual Youth and the Law Summit on Saturday, April 17, 2010. More than thirty middle-school students attended this year’s Summit. The students came from various schools from the Atlanta and Clayton County school districts. Their day started with a continental breakfast and ice-breaker conducted by Darrick McDuffie, an attorney from King and Spalding. The students were then broken up into four groups. Each group, led by a John Marshall law student, participated in two separate lessons/activities designed to teach them how to analyze the impact of laws, think critically, and write persuasively. After a pizza lunch, the students listened to a panel of three attorneys, Willie Lovett, Jr., Candiss Collins, and Prof. Kamina Pinder, discuss their paths to becoming a lawyer. Students were able to ask of questions about the panelists’ educational and career choices. In the afternoon, the students broke into two teams for a very spirited debate on the First Amendment rights of students using MySpace. Closing remarks were made by Shukura Ingram, President of the Gate City Bar Association. In addition to DiscoverLaw.org back packs, students also received a portfolio, a U.S. Constitution and a certificate to mark the occasion.