The New York County Lawyers' Association (NYCLA) recently launched its 2004 Minority Judicial Internship Program at a reception with guest speakers the Hon. Joan B. Carey, deputy chief administrative judge, New York City Courts, and the Hon. Harold Baer Jr., U.S. District Court judge, founder of the internship program and former NYCLA president, and this year's six minority students.
The program began in 1989 as a way to "mainstream" minority law students into the legal profession. The interns work in state and federal judges' chambers for eight weeks and receive a stipend.
The 2004 interns, New York Law School's Gustavo N. Fuentes and Latoya Stephens, CUNY School of Law's Gabreila Leal, Brooklyn Law School's Malik Pearson, Columbia University School of Law's Mychii Snape, and Benjamin Cardozo School of Law's Florence Yee, have already had extensive work and volunteer experience prior to their admission to law school.
During their internship, they will attend trials and oral arguments, perform legal research, draft memoranda and gain "hands-on" courtroom experience. NYCLA's Committee on Minorities and the Law, which oversees the program, will provide a series of orientation sessions and writing workshops to hone the necessary skills for participants' successful internships and legal careers.
The law students will intern with Judge Baer, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Chambers, Manhattan Supreme Court Justices Charles Tejada, William Wetzel and James A. Yates, and Bronx Supreme Court Justice Troy Webber.
