WYLD PRE-LAW STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: 
Choosing a Legal Career, Making A Difference

by Lisa Castilleja

What do you get when you bring more than 100 high school students and over 30 volunteer attorneys together on a Saturday?  According to U.S. Attorney John McKay, it's "a great partnership of practicing lawyers and highly motivated high school students with an interest in the law."  The WYLD Equality in Practice Committee (EIPC) hosted the tenth annual Pre-Law Student Leadership Conference for Washington high school students on April 13, 2002 in Yakima.  Students were invited to participate in a variety of law-related workshops in an effort to encourage students to consider a career in the law.

With the assistance of volunteer attorneys, high school students from around the state developed and presented oral arguments and developed policy proposals.  The conference began with a breakfast reception where students were given the opportunity to meet with college and university representatives and speak with attorneys about their personal experiences in college, law school, and in the practice of law.  After breakfast, the students and attorneys rolled up their sleeves and collaborated on an interactive workshop facilitated by King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez.  Assisted by U.S. Attorney John McKay and Raymond Ejarque of the Northwest Defenders Association, Judge Gonzalez presented "The Nuts and Bolts of Litigating Hate Crimes."  The students approached the task with enthusiasm and energy.  Judge Gonzalez noted, "As an instructor on the topic of bias/hate crimes and as the keynote speaker at the conference luncheon, it was my role to teach and inspire the students.  At the end of the day, however, it was the students who had taught and inspired me."

The Pre-Law Student Leadership Conference developed from a WYLD pilot program in 1988.  Past WYLD president John McKay and fellow lawyers Albert Raines and Rafael Gonzalez hoped to diversify the legal community by encouraging minority students to consider a legal career through a high school outreach program.  Over the years, the WYLD Equality in Practice Committee members have created a leadership-oriented and legal skills-based program that has inspired many young women and minority students to pursue careers in the law.  Each year, the conference planning committee attempts to develop an agenda that broadens students" perspectives of how the law impacts our communities.  In addition to the Hate Crimes workshop, this year's agenda included "Legal Advocacy in the Schools", "Becoming a Change Agent: Leadership for Culturally Diverse Schools", and a civil lawsuit.  "I was very impressed with the commitment and skill of many of the student participants, and grateful for the support of so many dedicated volunteer lawyers", state John McKay.  Her observed that "The topic of hate crimes was particularly appropriate during this difficult time for our country."  

I would like to thank all of the volunteers and co-sponsors of this event (especially the attorneys who rode on the bus with the students from Seattle to Yakima -- what a ride!.  Conference sponsors included the Washington Young Lawyers Division, the Washington State Hispanic Bar Association, the Loren Miller Bar Association, the Asian Bar Association of Washington, the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, University of Washington's School of Law, the WSBA Committee for Diversity, and Aztlan Sportswear, Inc.  It has been a great honor to be a part of the Pre-Law Student Leadership Conference over the years and I can only hope that attorneys will continue to participate in this worthwhile and rewarding program.  I have had the pleasure of meeting incredibly talented attorneys and judges who may never realize the major impact they have made in the lives of these high school students.  It makes me proud to be a lawyer.

Lisa Castilleja is an Assistant Attorney General practicing in the Seattle office.  Ms. Castilleja is chair of the WYLD Equality in Practice Committee and is a past-president of the WYLD.