The RWU Experience | school of law: life as a law student

The Thurgood Marshall Law Society

Actually this blog is about the MCLSA mentorship program, in which members of the Thurgood Marshall Law Society (TMLS) are very heavily involved. TMLS is a society of professionals in the Rhode Island legal community. Its mission is to foster diversity in the Rhode Island legal community, very similar to the mission of the MCLSA. Members of TMLS serve as the mentors in the MCLSA mentorship program. They are also very active participants in many of the MCLSA events and programs.

Lydia Hanhardt, the new director of diversity programs here at RWU, manages the program. Students who apply for the mentorship program get the opportunity to build a relationship with one of these individuals. There are also several mentorship events throughout the year at which the students and mentors get the opportunity to get to know one another. The first mentorship event was this past Thursday, the TMLS Welcome Reception. It was an opportunity for the students to network with the mentors. And it was the first of several such opportunities throughout the course of this year.

For the most part opportunities to network with professionals are pretty scarce in law school. I’m not saying such opportunities are completely nonexistent outside of this program. I guess what I’m saying is, lawstudents should take advantage of them whenever arise. And in the MCLSA mentorship program the opportunity arises relatively frequently.

For me it was also an opportunity to talk to the first years. The board and I spend so much time behind the scenes creating events and opportunities that we have very little time to get to know the first years one on one. For me this event was a prime opportunity to do that. And although I enjoy any opportunity to talk to the members of the Thurgood Marshall Law Society, I also value this event as an opportunity for the leadership of MCLSA to “network” with the constituents.

Posted by Majessire on 10/14 at 06:05 PM
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The Diary

Follow Roger Williams University School of Law student, Majessire, as she experiences the rewards and challenges of Law School in Bristol, RI.

The Blogger

My name is Majessire Smith. I’m a 3L here at Roger Williams University School of Law. In my time in Law School I have come to realize that the importance of the legal profession goes far beyond the need to defend the innocent and prosecute the guilty. Criminal prosecution and defense is one small segment of a very dense legal universe.

I work closely with Lorraine Lalli in the Office of Diversity and Outreach, to create programs to increase and foster diversity here at the Law school. I’m also the President of the Multi-Cultural Law Students Association and an active member of the Black Law Students Association. These three roles often overlap giving me the chance to participate in many of the diversity initiatives that take place here at the Law school. And as you can probably tell, that is where my primary interest lies. But I’m also a member of the Roger Williams Moot Court Board. For those who don’t know, it’s a team that helps its members to develop all the skills necessary to address an appellate court, including both oral and written advocacy skills.

Appellate level judicial review is where many of the current battles for our civil rights and personal liberties are being fought, won and in some cases lost. And personally, I have always felt that there are too many voiceless, disenfranchised populations and not enough advocates to go around. When I graduate I plan to use my newfound knowledge and understanding of this country’s legal structure to provide a voice for as many of these populations as possible.

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