New mentoring program launched

The Council on Legal Education Opportunity Inc. (CLEO) announces the launch of a new mentoring program for diverse and underrepresented high school males: CLEO Legally Inspired College Kohorts of Students, or CLICKS. Consistent with President Obama's minority male-oriented initiative "My Brother's Keeper," CLICKS aims to promote academic success, college and career readiness within this important demographic by increasing its knowledge of law, sports, and health-related professions; and by facilitating relationships with positive role models. The program will be held in five locations: Washington, DC; northern Virginia; Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; and New York, NY. "This program is historic in that it helps us to 'prime the pump,' so to speak," said Cassandra Sneed Ogden, CEO of CLEO. "For almost 50 years, we have mentored and prepared some of the nation's top jurists, academicians, and business people to become significant pillars of the legal profession. This is a unique and exciting opportunity for us to engage youth earlier in the pipeline and make an impact in a significant way." Using lawyers and other professionals as mentors and role models, CLICKS will: - Integrate law-related education into programming. - Provide an insider's look into legal careers that go beyond just lawyers and judges. - Teach skills of analysis, debate, logic and ethics, and investigate legal issues and their impact on society and individual rights. The program is funded by a two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Over the next several weeks, each region will proceed with a program launch committed to working with 40 students in year one and 60 students in year two. With respect to site locations, the Washington, D.C. partner site is The SEED School of Washington, D.C.; the northern Virginia partner site is T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA; and the Baltimore, MD partner site is Patterson High School in East Baltimore. Founded in 1968 when the number of lawyers of color was less than one percent, more than 10,000 individuals have participated in CLEO's programs, many of whom have gone on to excel in every area of the legal profession to include judges, corporate attorneys, law school deans and professors, practitioners, politicians, and more. Although best known for its Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute "boot camp," CLEO provides services to high school, pre-law, and law school students which include mentoring, placement assistance, academic counseling and support, and scholarships. For more information about the CLICKS Mentoring Program, visit www.clicksmentoring.org. For information about CLEO Inc. and its programs, visit www.cleoscholars.org. Published: Wed, Sep 30, 2015