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BarJournal                   COLuMN


                                    JULY/AUGUST  2015
        TIOn                                By HElPIng ClEvEland wIn



                                            SAY YES TO EDUCATION,

                                            fOUndaTIOn COnTInUES ITS
        Bar fOUnda
                                            TranSfOrMaTIvE MISSIOn




                                            Stephanie Dutchess Trudeau

                                            CMbF President




                    ife  changing.  Award  winning.   Cleveland’s application to bring Say Yes to   Cleveland Mock Trial are rewarded with a paid
                    Transformative. Those words   Education by filling one of the elements in   summer internship at the Cleveland Municipal
                    describe the programs supported   the wrap-around services model which is a   Court. Coached by volunteer attorneys and law
                    by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar   requirement of Say Yes. Services to improve   students, the teams take turns representing the
            L Foundation. The Foundation is   students’ college readiness with academic and   prosecution and defense in a criminal appeal.
            where the legal, business, and civic sectors of   social-emotional support are other elements   Teams hone their legal skills and learn about
            Cleveland unite to raise funds to lift up those in   important to Say Yes. For years, the Foundation   important issues facing teens today while
            need and our next generation. Many programs   has been supporting and funding precisely   debating solutions to assigned topics such as
            are changing lives one person at a time. Allow   these types of programs.  the opioid crisis, police encounters, driving
            me to brag to you about some of them, starting   The 3Rs: Rights, Responsibilities, Realities   while texting, and digital hacking.
            with a success story ripped from the headlines.  is a landmark program where 3Rs lawyers,   Louis Stokes Scholars Program is the college
              Affirmation of the Foundation’s impact is   judges, law students, and paralegals teach classes   program readiness and retention piece of the
            the January 2019 announcement by Say Yes   about the U.S. Constitution to high school   diversity pipeline for graduates of the Cleveland
            to Education that it is coming to Cleveland.   juniors and seniors during the regular school   Metropolitan School District. Its mission is to
            This means college will be virtually free for all   day in the Cleveland and East Cleveland School   assist minority and economically disadvantaged
            graduates of the Cleveland Metropolitan School   Districts. In 2018, Cleveland 11th grade social   students from the CMBA 3Rs partnership
            District, starting with this year’s senior class.   studies scores on proficiency exams increased   school districts who are interested in pursuing
            The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation   17.2%. During these classroom lessons with   careers in the law. During their college years,
            helped bring Say Yes to Cleveland.   high schoolers, the volunteers give guidance   the program provides paid summer internships,
              One of the requirements of Say Yes is legal   about how students can plan their futures and   mentors and resources to the students, most of
            clinics in the schools. The Foundation helped   achieve goals beyond high school. The real world   whom are first generation college attendees.
            fill that requirement by supporting the program   curriculum designed by the Bar Association   Summer Legal Academy is designed to
            known as TLC at the CMSD: “The Legal Clinics   is based on actual factual scenarios to seize   reduce  the  overwhelming  racial  inequity
            at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.”   the students’ attention. One of the goals of the   of membership in the legal professional by
                                              program is to encourage minorities to pursue   introducing minority students to their potential
            TLC at the CMSD                   legal careers, addressing the need for greater   to succeed in college and law school. Students
            At the invitation of Eric Gordon, CEO of   diversity in law-related positions.  are high school seniors. They experience three
            the Cleveland Schools and the Legal Aid   Ohio Mock Trial Competition provides   weeks on campus at law school, field trips to local
            Society of Cleveland, the CMBA launched a   local high school students a chance to compete   courts and individual internship assignments.
            series of pilot clinics in the spring of 2017 at   in a real world courtroom setting to learn more   They attend lunch and learn sessions at the
            Glenville and Lincoln-West High Schools. In   about the law and the legal profession. It is a   CMBA to meet and interact with Louis Stokes
            2018, we conducted pilot clinics at Glenville   statewide competition held in stages for teams   Scholars who give them encouragement and
            and George Washington Carver schools for   to advance through District and Regional   practical advice on going to college. Students
            students in grades K-8. By placing clinics   trials. The Cuyahoga District Competition   in the Summer Legal Academy can earn an
            onsite in the schools, we increased access to   became the largest in Ohio after the CMBA   internship with a stipend and the top student
            legal services for families of students. Unmet   began hosting all teams from our area in 2016.   in the program is rewarded with a scholarship.
            legal needs are often an impediment to family   Statewide, the Ohio High School Mock Trial is
            stability. This can have a negative impact on   the second largest program in the nation. It is
            student attendance and success in school.   the largest non-athletic competition in Ohio.   Stephanie Dutchess Trudeau is President of
            Landlord-tenant and housing-related legal   Cleveland Mock Trial was developed by the   the Foundation, a 3Rs volunteer teacher and a
            issues can cause unsettled living conditions   CMBA specifically for students in the Cleveland   partner at Ulmer & Berne LLP, specializing in
            or homelessness, recurring absences, and   Metropolitan School District and East Cleveland   employment law. Stephanie has been a CMBA
            diminished academic performance. TLC at the   School District to compete separately outside the   member since 1985. She can be reached at
            CMSD was created with the goal of bolstering   Ohio Mock Trial Competition. Winners of the   strudeau@ulmer.com.

      12 |  Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal                                                    clemetrobar.org
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