Joey Henslee – UPS Attorney, Employment Litigation; Shirley Pattman-Stubbs – Teacher, Maynard Jackson High School; James Harris – UPS Attorney, Advertising/Sponsorships; Brenda Muhammad – Atlanta Public Schools Board Member; Sam Matchett – Partner, King & Spalding; Jaron Brown – Partner, King & Spalding
If the children can see it, they can accomplish it. UPS put this truism into motion at an Atlanta high school recently.
Members of United Parcel Service’s legal department exemplified this mantra when they spent extended time at Maynard Jackson High School. On Monday, May 13, 2013, approximately 50 students from Maynard Jackson High School visited the King and Spalding law firm for the day with the UPS Streetlaw Program.
UPS legal team helped the juniors and seniors learned about careers in law and took the upperclassmen on tours the firm’s courtroom. The students also participated in a mock trial to see how attorneys handle a case of wrongful termination for a delivery driver.
UPS lawyers spent several weeks in Maynard Jackson classrooms teaching students about trademarks, corporate contracts and employment law.
This Corporate Legal Diversity Pipeline program partners corporate legal departments with diverse high school students. Through classroom visits and a field trip to the corporate headquarters or a local law firm, legal volunteers teach lessons and lead activities designed to increase students’ knowledge and interest in legal careers.
“It’s important for the students to interact with lawyers and have a courtroom experience,” said James Harris, an attorney UPS. “It might be the spark that a student needs as these are our future leaders and a career in law can take them in many different directions. We might be interacting with our future president. We know we’re making a difference in these student’s lives.”
The purpose of The Streetlaw Program is to create classroom and community programs to educate people about law, democracy and human rights.
