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Many young people have never been exposed to lawyers and might not consider a career in the legal profession. Many of these same young people probably get their impression of lawyers from television. As a result, society as a whole suffers as many talented students who would otherwise shine in the legal profession choose other career opportunities. To counteract this situation, DuPont Legal’s pipeline programs are providing opportunities for some inner-city students by helping to increase their awareness of the variety of careers in the legal profession.
ACC Diversity Pipeline Kit
To increase minority participation in the legal profession, DuPont Legal helped create the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) formerly known as the American Corporate Counsel Association’s (ACCA) Diversity Pipeline Resource Kit. This Kit was designed for corporate law departments and law firms that wish to establish their own “pipeline” programs to help interest and educate minority youth about career opportunities in the legal profession. Each kit contains:
- Case Studies that provide an inside look at successful pipeline projects.
- Resources for establishing mentoring programs and the names of experts who can help develop and launch a new program.
- The video, “Opening Doors to Careers in the Legal Profession,” which can be used with teens as a recruitment and awareness-building tool.
- Model Programs with brief descriptions and contact information.
Delaware Law Related Education Center
This is a private nonprofit, 501 c (3) organization with the mission to provide resources to enhance the presence of law-related education initiatives in Delaware. DuPont supports the DELREC's on-going programs with funds and DuPont staff involvement. Tom Sager, DuPont Vice President and Assistant General Counsel serves on DELREC's Board of Directors.
DuPont funds support:
- DELREC's Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition and the Youth Summits held in each of Delaware's three counties.
- The training of and materials for Widener Law School students to work with juvenile delinquents who have been committed to the Ferris School in Delaware.
- And for DELREC to conduct the Delaware State Supreme Court Institute for Teaching, which brings 25 middle and high school teachers together to study the Delaware constitution and court system to develop curricula for the public schools.
For more information, visit www.delrec.org www.delrec.org.
Street Law
Another facet of DuPont Legal’s Pipeline Projects is its Street Law program. Launched at Howard High School in Wilmington, DuPont’s Street Law project is a partnership between DuPont Legal, the law firm of Young Conaway Starlgatt & Taylor, L.P., the Delaware Law Related Education Center (DELREC) and Widener Law School.
This program involves lawyers and other legal personnel from DuPont Legal and Young Conaway teaching basic legal concepts to students in the law programs at Howard. The program has three facets:
- In-class teaching of legal concepts during the fall
- A one-day seminar in December to reinforce those concepts including a career fair of legal jobs, and
- A mentoring program in the spring for the most interested students
If you are interested in finding out more information about the Street Law program, please contact Ernest Tuckett at ernest.tuckett@usa.DuPont.com or 302-774-1553.
Kingswood Community Center
Another one of DuPont Legal’s Pipeline Projects is its program with Kingswood Community Center in Wilmington, DE. DuPont Legal provides computer training at DuPont for these young people. These participants from the Center have the chance to interact and learn with DuPont Legal professionals. This experience helps to broaden and develop young minds with valuable skill that will help them in the future and possibly provide the desire to continue their education beyond high school. This interaction may also encourage them to consider career choices within the legal profession with possibilities ranging from paralegal, to legal secretary, to court reporter or lawyer.
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