The following is a short message from long time Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association member Lea Fields-Bernard about how to participate in our Shadow Day program to provide young people from Lincoln High School an inside look at what it is to be an attorney.

An open letter to members,

For most of us there has been at least one person in our lives who inspired us to be who we are today; whether it was a parent, a teacher or a random stranger who took the time to reach out. Every year our Association provides an opportunity for our members to do the same for someone else.

This year the Association is partnering up with the Lincoln High School Law Club for the Shadow Program. The young people in Law Club are specifically interested in pursuing a career in law and are enrolled in either Business Law or Criminal Justice courses. Over the past few years the kids in the program have been involved with Teen Court, have gone of tours of the courthouse and police department and have entered a team in the San Diego County Bar Associations Mock Trial competition. Participating in the Shadow Program will take little of your time but make a huge impact on a young person’s life. All we ask of you is to commit to allowing one child to shadow you at work for one day (or even half a day) later this spring or in the summer (scheduled at a mutually convenient time) and attend a luncheon at the courthouse on May 29 where you will meet your assigned student.

  1. Participate in the Shadow Day program on May 29th at the San Diego Superior Court for approximately two hours
  2. Arrange, at a time mutually beneficial to you and the student, a follow up opportunity for the student to shadow you for a full or half of a work day; and
  3. Provide a short email feedback about your experiences and how to improve the program moving forward.

If you are unable to make the luncheon, but would still like to participate in the program, we can accommodate that request.

If you are interested in donating your time to make, what could be, a life-changing experience in a young person’s life, please contact Lea Fields-Bernard at SDesq94@gmail.com.

Best,

Lea