BB&K Hosts Law 101 Day for Young Senators Program Participants

RIVERSIDE, CA — Best Best & Krieger LLP hosted a Law 101 event for the student members of Senator Connie M. Leyva’s Young Senators Program on September 25. The event, held at the Riverside Convention Center & Visitors Bureau, drew 25 student attendees and participation from numerous BB&K attorneys and members of Sen. Leyva’s team, with a special appearance from Sen. Leyva herself.
 
Law 101 is just one component of a larger firm initiative that is being led by BB&K’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee’s Community Outreach Subcommittee. One of the subcommittee’s goals is to help foster an interest in attending law school among students of all ages.
 
“We are thrilled with the success of our inaugural Law 101 event and so grateful for Senator Leyva’s partnership,” said BB&K attorney Albert Maldonado, who helped to spearhead the event. “We were impressed with the students’ enthusiasm, thoughtful questions and creative approaches to the team exercises. I am confident that our community’s future is very bright after meeting these young leaders. It’s rewarding to help younger generations understand the many opportunities within the legal field, and to hopefully spark their interest in pursuing a legal career.”

After Sen. Leyva shared her personal narrative and administered the oath of office to her Young Senators, the Law 101 event began with introductions among all the students and BB&K participants. Students were then divided into two teams and assigned a legal fact pattern involving different real world municipal law matters: eminent domain and the Brown Act and public meeting guidelines. Each team was given time to think through a legal approach to their scenario and then took turns presenting and sitting as a mock city council, listening to respective teams present their proposed legal solutions. Students then came back together for a luncheon featuring BB&K attorneys sharing their own law school journeys and entry to the legal profession. In closing, the group discussed the requirements to becoming an attorney, the different areas of law and an overview of the types of legal careers.

The seven-month Young Senators Program provides high school juniors and seniors with the opportunity to learn about government services and the legislative and budget process. The program is designed for students interested in developing skills to become leaders who reside in California’s 20^th Senate District, which includes the cities of Pomona, Chino, Ontario, Fontana, San Bernardino and others. Participants attend mandatory monthly meetings via Zoom during which they are exposed to information and presentations that nurture their leadership potential and prepare them for their future in college and/or the workforce.
 
BB&K would like to thank Sen. Leyva and her team for their partnership and the opportunity to support the Young Senators Program. 

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Best Best & Krieger LLP is a national law firm that focuses on environmental, business, education, municipal and telecommunications law for public agency and private clients. With more than 200 attorneys, the law firm has 10 offices nationwide, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.bbklaw.com or follow @BBKlaw on Twitter or @bestbestkrieger on LinkedIn.