Firm Attorneys Volunteer Through Lawyers in the Classroom Program

featuring Alexander D Marks, Sara Youn-Choh, Tiffany L Sorge Smith

On December 7, 2012, firm attorneys Ellen Brace, Erika Harold, Alex Marks, Tiffany Sorge-Smith, and Sara Youn volunteered at Goldblatt Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side to teach second grade students about the legal system and the U.S. Constitution. The attorneys presented the case of State v. Wolf, based on the story of the Three Little Pigs. The students acted as the jury and watched the mock trial as the attorneys presented their sides. After the trial was presented, the students reached an almost unanimous verdict of not guilty on behalf of Wolf.

“Even the youngest students aren’t too young to start learning about how important it is to be engaged in democracy,” said Jessica Chethik, director of the Lawyers in the Classroom program. “The attorneys bring in their real world experience and give the kids valuable individualized attention and help them develop their critical thinking skills.”

This program, known as the Edward J. Lewis II Lawyers in the Classroom Program, is sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago, which has been placing lawyers into classrooms for more than 25 years. The program works to place over 600 attorneys into 90 different schools, working with students between second and eighth grade, in the Chicago area.

For more information about Lawyers in the Classroom, contact program director Jessica Chethik at 312/663-9057 or chethik@crfc.org.