Legal LINK is a subcommittee of the NCBA Young Lawyers Division. Traditionally, our program arranges for legal professionals to visit local high schools and share information about the legal profession with underrepresented youth. Specifically, we share information about the four building blocks of the LINK program: leadership, information, networking and knowledge.

However, like so many programs throughout our communities, we are no longer able to go in person due to the pandemic. As a result, we had to find ways to adapt to the safety needs of our community while remaining true to our mission. We did this by offering the same program through a virtual format. This opened the amount of opportunities we could explore, and on March 12, we had our first virtual conversation with Person Early College. We could not be prouder of the results!

One of the benefits of hosting virtual panels is that our program can pull from a wealth of talent from around the state to serve as panelists. Prior to virtual panels, we would have been limited by time and distance. However, for this panel, we had three phenomenal panelists from various parts of the state. Cherell Harris, Matthew Hooker, and David Pasley each gave of their time and talents to speak life into these students, and we were all so moved. Our robust discussion centered around leadership and information. The students came ready to engage with many thoughtful questions. Many topics were discussed during the brief hour-long discussion, from growth opportunities and challenges we have had as professionals to the importance of self-care. Nothing was off the table, and our panelists handled it with transparency and care.

I hope these important conversations continue. I look forward to the next discussion we can have with the next school! If you know of any schools who may be interested, please contact the Legal LINK Co-Chairs, Larissa Mervin at [email protected], and Terrie Nelson at [email protected].

If you find yourself reading this and think you may like to be a part of the impactful sessions that take place through the Legal LINK subcommittee of the NCBA YLD, please contact Cheyenne Merrigan for more information at [email protected]. I hope to see you at another virtual panel soon! Until then, enjoy this picture of our wonderful panelists from our session with Person Early College!

Clockwise, from top left: Larissa Mañón Mervin, Cherell Harris, Matthew Hooker and David Pasley.

April 14, 2021/by NCBA YLD