The Diversity Committee of The Jacksonville Bar Association in conjunction with The Florida Bar organized the inaugural Northeast Florida Minority Mentoring Picnic on March 28.
Florida Coastal School of Law served as the perfect venue for the picnic from noon to 4 p.m.
The purpose of the picnic was to afford minority law students throughout the state an opportunity to meet and interact with attorneys and employers in the Northeast Florida legal community.
In addition, the picnic gave attorneys and employers an opportunity to meet young talented individuals who add diversity to our legal community.
The goal was to connect minority law students with mentors who are willing to invest time and give back to our future attorneys.
Such mentoring relationships assist in furthering the understanding and practice of lawyers and law students working in a diverse legal community.
Also, mentoring is rewarding on a personal level to the mentor. Assisting law students to become attorneys who contribute to the legal profession and uphold high standards of professionalism adds to the diversity of leadership in the profession.
More than 125 people attended the family-friendly event that featured free food, music, games and children’s activities.
During the picnic, law students were able to participate in 30-minute round-table discussions with members of the bench and bar on topics affecting the legal field.
The topics included Views from the Bench, Women in the Law, Tips from Legal Leaders and Networking Tips.
Nametags or stickers were available to easily identify potential mentors as well as potential mentees. Also, ambassadors from the Florida Coastal School of Law facilitated introductions between attorneys, judges and students.
This event was sponsored by The Florida Bar Young Lawyer’s Division, Foley & Lardner LLP, Conroy Simberg, Rogers Towers, Deutsche Bank, Jackson Lewis, The D.W. Perkins Bar, The Jacksonville Asian American Bar Association, Combs Greene, P.A., Holland & Knight LLP, Florida Coastal School of Law, as well as Moseley, Prichard, Parrish, Knight & Jones.
The event was an invaluable chance for sponsors to increase visibility in the community as well as show support for diversity and inclusion efforts in Northeast Florida.