1

A Public Education Legal Services Project

of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee

for Civil Rights and Urban AffairsPartnersPartnersPartnersPartners

UnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited

BulletinBulletinBulletinBulletin

BoardBoardBoardBoard Spring 2003

Book Party Launches BracewellPatterson’s School Partnership

What is a good way to keep an auditoriumfull of elementary students quiet? Have AlmaPowell read to them from her books, America’sPromise and My Little Wagon. Bracewell &Patterson hosted such an event to launch thefirm’s partnership with Van Ness ElementarySchool. The firm’s Big Book Party on May 10thalso included Bracewell volunteers reading tosmall groups of children, magicians, a bookwalk,modeled on the cakewalk, lunch, and goody bags.Each child at the party received a bag, completewith a Big Book Party t-shirt, a take-home copy of

The war in Iraq, homeland security, the deathpenalty, and entertainment contracts are just someof the issues that attorneys from DicksteinShapiro Morin & Oshinsky explored withjuniors and seniors from The Duke EllingtonSchool of the Arts during the second year of theStudent-Lawyer Roundtable program. TwoWednesdays a month, a team of Dickstein Shapiroattorneys visit Duke Ellington for a lively lunch-time discussion with 30 curious students. Attor-neys and students alike come to these Roundtablesready to explore various topics through intellec-tual discussion.

Duke Ellington StudentsPursue Critical Issues With

Dickstein AttorneysBy Adam Kirschenbaum*

At the Big Book Party sponsored by Bracewell & Patterson,author Alma Powell reads her book “America’s Promise” to

students at Van Ness Elementary School.

Iris’ Intro ................................................ 2Counselor’s Viewpoint ........................... 3New Partnerships ............................... 1, 5Secondary Scene .................................... 6Wider Worlds ......................................... 8FYI ....................................................... 10School Partnership List ........................ 11

CHECK THE BOARDCHECK THE BOARDCHECK THE BOARDCHECK THE BOARDCHECK THE BOARD

(Continued on page 6)

(Continued on page 4)

2

I R I S ’NTRO

Iris

“No one has yet realized the wealthof sympathy, the kindness and generosityhidden in the soul of a child. The effort ofevery true education should be to unlockthat treasure.” —Emma Golden

As the 2002-03 school year begins towind down it is a time for reflection andrecognition that this has been quite a yearfor our schools. Like all in the region ourstudents went through the awful lockdownscenario because of the snipers. Just whenwe thought it was safe to return to normalMother Nature decided to make a reallystrong statement by delivering recordamounts of snow. While our kids reveledin the white stuff on snow days—paybackwas just around the corner waiting withextended school days.

Through it all our volunteer firmshave continued to provide their partnerschools with amazing opportunities toexperience and learn new things. I cannotimagine how our schools would be with-out the many varied law firm partnershipsthat we have developed. Our schoolpartnership firms continue to be the keysthat unlock the treasures that are ourstudents. And for that I say, “Thank you.”

We must remind ourselves that thereis lots of work left to do. In these austeretimes, our schools continue to face budgetcuts that will surely disrupt school pro-grams. Principals and parents alike areworking overtime to make decisions onnext year’s offerings. How will theycontinue to pay for their favorite scienceteacher, or that reading resource teacher,or what about the librarian? What willhappen if one or two thousand childrenleave the schools in favor of vouchers?These are the awful choices. It makes thework of volunteer school partnership lawfirms all the more important.

As you read this issue of PartnersUnlimited Bulletin Board think about thewords of Ms. Colon, the counselor at VanNess Elementary School, as she speakscandidly about the needs of her students.Think about the new partnerships thathave been formed and ask if your firmshould be one of the keys to unlocking thetreasures of D.C. public school students.

Iris J. Toyer

Iris J. Toyer, DirectorPublic Education Legal Services Project

3

C O U N S E L O R ’ SVIEWPOINT

Our first activity showed how valu-able our new partnership with Bracewell& Patterson is going to be. We clearlysaw that our children will benefit fromcontact with volunteers from the law firm.

Since I am the guidance counselor, Iknow how great the needs of our studentsare at Van Ness Elementary School. In thecommunity surrounding the school, thereare serious problems—including crime anddrugs. Our students are eligible for free orreduced cost lunch because most of thepeople who live near the school have lowincomes.

Here at Van Ness, we put a lot ofeffort into literacy and developing readingskills. And we do everything we can toencourage parents to be a part of theirstudents’ education. Research shows thatwhen parents are involved in theirchildren’s education, their childrenachieve.

At our special Big Book Party,Bracewell & Patterson made it possible tohave our parents and children surroundedby books and reading. It was wonderful.One of our parents was so impressed thatshe got on the phone and called otherparents to say, “You need to come to theschool, and you need to bring your chil-dren.” This event was just what ourschool needed.

It all started with a meeting we hadwith representatives from Bracewell &Patterson. The principal and I explainedthe needs of the school and the type ofschool community we have. We were veryinterested in the firm’s offer to host theBig Book Party. After that meeting, Randy

Rich and Carlyn Carey from the law firmwere in constant touch with our schoolabout plans for the event, and they cameto the school several times. Because ofthe thorough planning and organizing,everything went very smoothly.

Our students remember the Big BookParty, and they will remember it for sometime to come. Their worlds are verylimited, and so are their contacts. Spend-ing the day with 40 attractive, successfuladults who are interested in them and theirreading was an extraordinary occasion forthem. Our students are now more moti-vated to read, and our faculty and staff areeager to explore future activities with ournew and very special partner.

Linda ColonGuidance CounselorVan Ness Elementary School

Guidance counselor, Linda Colon, and a studentoutside Van Ness Elementary School at the end of theBig Book Party sponsored by Bracewell & Patterson.

4

For Bracewell AttorneysAnd Van Ness Students,

Books Equals Fun (cont’d)

At the Big Book Party, Bracewell & Patterson attorney,Scott Segal, reads to a group of Van Ness students

a brand-new age-appropriate book, awriting journal, other treats and balloons.

Linda Colon, the school’s guidancecounselor is certain that the Big Bookactivities captivated the students: “Forsome students the temptation to wiggle, tobe on the move, is a constant challenge.But when Alma Powell was reading tothem, they showed that they can remainstill and pay attention for an extendedperiod of time. I asked myself, ‘How canthese be our kids?’ The children also askedwonderful questions, and the parents wereresponsive too. When it was time to movefrom one activity to another, they followeddirections and immediately became en-gaged. It all worked very smoothly withalmost no effort on the part of school staffand faculty.”

Everybody at the firm was involvedin the Big Book Party. Forty volunteersfrom Bracewell & Patterson helped on the

day of the event. Those who could notattend on May 10th helped fill goody bagsor worked on other aspects of the prepara-tion. Attorneys and staff at Bracewell &Patterson consider the Big Book Party asuccessful launch of the partnership withVan Ness. “Everyone is very excited andenthusiastic about doing other things withthe school,” says Carlyn Carey. In keepingwith our book theme and the school’sliteracy focus, we’re looking at a libraryimprovement project.”

Since Bracewell & Patterson is a firmwith headquarters in Texas, the Big BookParty was a Texas-size event. On May 10, thefirm also sponsored Big Book Parties atschools in five Texas cities—Austin, CorpusChristi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and SanAntonio.

A Van Ness student with Randy Rich at the conclusionof the Big Book Party. Randy Rich is a partner at

Bracewell & Patterson and a leader in the firm’s schoolpartnership program.

NEWPARTNERSHIPS

E W S W O R T H Y

5

Project LEAD is a fifth-grade curriculum thatprosecutors and staff from the U.S. Attorney’sOffice teach to fifth graders at more than ten DCPublic Schools. LEAD is an acronym for LegalEnrichment And Decision Making. The programhas been so successful that we are hoping toexpand it to additional schools.

We have teams who teach this very engagingand interactive curriculum to fifth-graders twice amonth. The curriculum consists of skits withcriminal justice scenarios—drunk driving, graffiti,auto theft, hate crimes, gun violence. All the partsin these skits are played by students.

This project provides students with an el-ementary criminal law education. We teach themabout the people involved in the court system. Wealso teach them about sentencing and penalties,and about the differences between the juvenilejustice and adult justice systems.

The students learn legal terms, such as thelanguage of search and seizure. Many of themwatch law-related shows on television, and arevery interested in such topics as fingerprints,surveillance cameras, and alibi defenses.

However, the reason we teach this course isto send the students messages warning about the

Elementary StudentsEducated About Law

By U.S. Attorney’s OfficeBy Laura Cordero*

Coordinators of school programs at Spring 2003 PartnershipLuncheon. L/R: April Ferguson from Foley & Lardner, Iris Toyer,

Director of the Committee’s Public Education Legal Services Project,Faye Jones and Laura Cordero from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jason Hutt (left) and Al Krachman from Bracewell & Pattersonenjoy the book walk with students at Van Ness Elementary School.

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw is launching apartnership with Gage-Eckington ElementarySchool. The first activity will be participation inthe school’s field day on June 13th. The MayerBrown partnership team is having a series ofmeetings with the school principal and guidancecounselor, and preliminary plans focusing ontutoring, mentoring, and computer support arebeing developed for the 2003-04 school year.

Winston & Strawn has formed a partnershipwith the Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers,a new public charter school, often called by itsacronym, KIMA. The firm’s initial involvement hasbeen to respond to the wide range of organizationaland operational legal needs that a new charterschool must address. Employment, environmentalrequirements, real estate, and District of Columbiaregulations are among the areas in which Winston& Strawn has provided volunteer legal services forKIMA.

More New School Partners:Winston & StrawnAnd Mayer Brown

perils of gangs, drugs and violence. In our curricu-lum guide, each skit is followed by a series ofquestions. Half of the questions are law-related,and half focus on the social consequences of theirdecision-making. For example, when we perform a

(Continued on page 9)

6

SECONDARY

C E N E

One of the key features of ourRoundtable program is the significantrole that students play in shaping it. Ourrecent Roundtables on entertainmentlaw contracts, for example, were re-quested by the students. We providedthe students with an entertainmentcontract riddled with vague languageand other defects. This sparked aspirited and productive discussion aboutthe problems in the contract and what itwould mean if the students agreed to thecontract’s terms. After the exercise, thestudents realized how important it is toreview contracts carefully and to under-stand their meaning.

We have also modified ourRoundtable schedule in response tostudent recommendations. For example,

instead of trying to cover a different topic ateach session, we are now focusing on fewertopics and delving further into them toprovide more in-depth coverage. Sincemaking this change, we have noticed thatthe opportunity to discuss Roundtabletopics with family and friends or research anissue between sessions has increased boththe students’ analytical capacity and theirinterest in a given topic.

It has been exciting for both attorneysand students to see how the Roundtableshave stretched young minds. For example,we could clearly see intellectual growthfrom the Roundtables in which the studentsdebated the death penalty. Our goals forthis debate were (1) to help the students

(Continued on next page)

Roundtable participants: Students from The Duke Ellington School for the Arts with members of the DicksteinShapiro Morin & Oshinsky Roundtable team. Back row, second from the left, Michael Weinstein; end of the rowon the right, Rhonda Dickens; front row, second from the right and far right, Eden Polatnick and Valerie Furman.

Ellington Students Explore Critical IssuesWith Dickstein Shapiro Attorneys (cont’d)

7

understand and articulate both sides of an issueand (2) to develop the students’ public speakingskills. We divided the students into two groups –one for and one against the death penalty - with-out allowing the students to decide which groupbest reflected their beliefs. Although many of thestudents initially claimed that they would not beable to support their assigned sides, once dividedinto their respective groups, they quickly formedarguments to support their positions. The stu-dents also found that their ability to see the otherside’s point of view presented them with anadvantage in formulating their own arguments.

Each student was required to express aviewpoint that countered the opposing side’sargument and each student was required to makeat least one point during the debate. The studentsnot only presented ideas advocated in their prepa-ratory discussion groups, but refined their argu-ments as the debate continued. The debate cov-ered many aspects of the issue, including thefinancial cost of the death penalty, the moralquestions of putting someone to death, and thelegal guidelines to establish a death penalty case.

We found the debate very rewarding. As mycolleague Rhonda Dickens pointed out, “Everystudent posed very challenging and intellectualarguments to the opposing side. The studentslistened to each other and respected the debateprocess. It is very rewarding to see the studentsso eager and interested to participate in the

Ellington Students (cont’d)

(Continued on page 10)

Dickstein Shapiro staff arrange pastries for the bake sale to raisemoney for the firm’s partner school, the Ellington School of the Arts

Caroline Mew from Fulbright & Jaworski and Tommy Swintonfrom Macfarland Middle School watch the Sea Lion at the

National Zoo. See story on Page 9.

Next September, a team of attorneys fromFried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson will beginteaching The Elements of Persuasion at the SchoolWithout Walls. This elective, open to all sopho-mores and juniors at the school, will cover manytypes of persuasion including legal arguments,advertising campaigns and individual presentations.

Fried Frank To LaunchHigh School Course

Last fall, the D.C. Office of CorporationCounsel joined the Council for Court Excellencein sponsoring a civic awareness program forTerrell Junior High School. Over 50 students,teachers and parents attended an evening showingof the well-known video, “Guilty or Not Guilty?You Decide”, a participatory jury experience forstudents. Led by Judge Gregory Mize with helpfrom several Assistant Corporation Counsels, thegroup watched a homicide trial to the point of jurysubmission. The students then deliberated while

D.C. Office of CorporationCounsel Brings Jury Experience

To Junior High Students

(Continued on back page)

8

WIDER

O R L D S

The Fannie Mae Legal Department and its partner school, Marie Reed LearningCenter marked Valentine’s Day with a special event at Fannie Mae to honor and supportthe elementary school’s art and music programs. In an auditorium decorated by artworkcreated by the students, the Marie Reed Glee Club, 41 members strong, presented adelightful toe-tapping musical program including a robust patriotic finale. Attorneys,staff, and school faculty all joined the Glee Club in singing the final song, “God BlessAmerica.”

Following the musical presentation, the Legal Department honored the school’smusic and art programs by presenting a check for $500 to the school principal, Dr. JohnSparrow. This contribution will support the school’s efforts to continue the art and musicprograms. An additional $200 was collected and donated to the school from individualsin the Legal Department.

After the presentation, attorneys and staff from the legal department shared a lunchthat featured some of the students’ favorite foods, including Valentine pink punch andheart-shaped brownies.

This event provided a special treat for the Fannie Mae attorneys and staff whoparticipate in the tutoring program because several members of the Glee Club are stu-dents who were tutored when they were in third grade. The Fannie Mae tutors reallyenjoyed seeing how the students had matured.

“Our Fannie Mae/Marie Reed Valentine celebration was rewarding for everyone,”says coordinator Melissa Reese. “The students got to ride on a fancy tour bus, performfor a very appreciative audience, enjoy their favorite foods, and meet new people. It waseffortless for the attorneys and staff in our Legal Department. They had a chance tointeract with the students and teachers without leaving Fannie Mae, and they all partici-pated. This activity will definitely be repeated.”

Fannie Mae’s Legal Department and Marie ReedCelebrate Valentine’s Day with Art and Music

Principal, Dr. John Sparrow, introduces the Marie Reed Glee Club to Fannie Mae’s Legal Department.

9

Fulbright & Jaworski mentors and Macfarland Middle Schoolstudents at the National Zoo. L/R: Ben Konop and Kristin

McGovern from Fulbright & Jaworski with students AshleyFranklin and Michael McLaughlin.

A visit to the White House followed by apicnic in Lafayette Park was one of the highlightsof the 2002/2003 school year for the Baker &McKenzie/Payne Elementary partnership. Volun-teers from the firm arranged for the entire 3rdgrade of 40 students to tour the White House andthen enjoy a picnic in Lafayette Park. This was anactivity for 3rd graders because this was the yearthey were introduced to the concepts of landmarksand historical buildings.

The students were every attentive throughoutthe White House tour. They seemed particularlyfascinated by practical questions and asked howall the drapes and rugs and silver and china arecleaned today and how they were cleaned 100years ago. They were thrilled with the historicalpostcards they received at the end of the tour.

After the tour, Baker & McKenzie volunteersguided them over to Lafayette Park. There theywere met by more volunteers from the firm whohad wheeled coolers filled with sandwiches,apples, brownies, and beverages from their Con-necticut Avenue office less than two blocks away.It was a beautiful day, and they enjoyed theirpicnic in the park. This special trip meant a lot tothe students. Almost none had been to the WhiteHouse, and this was the first visit to LafayettePark for three-fourths of the children.

3rd Graders Visit White HouseWith Baker & McKenzie

After their White House tour, made possible by Baker & McKenzie,3rd graders from Payne Elementary School pose for a picture.

Attorneys from Fulbright & Jaworski arecurrently completing their second year of amentoring and enrichment program for students atMacfarland Middle School.

Half a dozen times a year, the attorneys andstudents get together to enjoy a variety of activi-ties, ranging from community service to preparingfor standardized tests. Attorneys take turns plan-ning the activities. The activity for May was a tripto the National Zoo that featured a scavenger hunt.In between the scheduled activities, there are oftencommunications and informal get-togethersbetween the attorneys and students.

Fulbright AttorneysAnd Macfarland Students

Share Experiences

U.S. Attorney’s Office (cont’d)

(Continued on back page)

skit on shoplifting, the question we want thestudents to consider is: “do you really have toshoplift the CDs you want from Tower Records, oris there another way to get them?”

If there’s a shooting and you are going to becharged as aiding and abetting the crime when youonly drove the car and served as a lookout, whatare the consequences of your actions? How are

10

Dickstein ShapiroRoundtable (cont’d)

Roundtable. When the students asked usto plan a future debate, we were certainthat it had been a success.

This year’s Roundtable culminatedwith year-end projects. Each student orsmall group of students designed either anoral or a visual presentation that demon-strated what they learned from this year’sRoundtable. The students presentedpoems, songs, and paintings at the finalRoundtable session in late May.

One reason for the success of ourRoundtable is the team approach. OurRoundtable Team has seven attorneys.They include firm partner MargaretFeinstein and six associates – EdenPolatnick, Rhonda Dickens, ValerieFurman, Alicia Insley, Michael Weinstein,and me. There are frequently develop-ments, such as briefs, court dates, andother projects that make it impossible foran attorney to participate in a particularRoundtable, but we can always count onhaving at least three of us at every session,and usually five or six. The students knowall seven of us, so there is consistency.The team approach has been invaluable ingiving us the flexibility to participate in theeducation experience.

Our partnership with DukeEllington has so many benefits. It pro-vides an opportunity for attorneys whomight not normally work together toregularly collaborate on a joint project. Italso presents an opportunity for the firmto have a presence in and to contribute tothe local community. Finally, it allows usto make a difference in the students’

learning experience by providing them with aforum for discussions about various topicsthat they would otherwise not learn aboutduring their regular school curriculum. Withthe success of our second year of theRoundtable program, we know that our thirdyear will be even better.

*Adam Kirschenbaum—an attorneywith Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky—regularly participates in the Roundtable atThe Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

Contributions from foundations, corpo-rations and law firms help make it possiblefor the Committee’s Public Education LegalServices Project to coordinate and supportthe school partnerships. On behalf of theschool partnerships, the Committee gratefullyacknowledges the generosity of the followingfunders:

Grants, Contributions Help ToSustain School Partnerships

Arthur Dade, Grants Manager from Freddie Mac Founda-tion, left, and Carlyn Carey from Bracewell & Patterson,

center, at a School Partnership luncheon.

Black Entertainment Television, Inc.Bracewell & Patterson

The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz FoundationChartered Health Plan, Inc.Freddie Mac FoundationThe Kiplinger Foundation

Anthony Francis Lucas-Spindletop FoundationHenry S. and Anne S. Reich Family Foundation

The Washington Post

FYI

11

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & FeldTyler Elementary School

Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & KahnRandle Highlands Elementary School

Arnold & PorterGarrison Elementary School

Baker & McKenziePayne Elementary School

Beveridge & DiamondBirney Elementary School

Bracewell & PattersonVan Ness Elementary School

Covington & BurlingCardozo Senior High School

Crowell & MoringGarnett-Patterson Middle School

D.C. Office of Corporation CounselR.S. Terrell Junior High School

Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & OshinskyEllington School of the Arts

Fannie Mae’s Corporate Legal Dept.Marie H. Reed Learning Center

Foley & LardnerWilkinson Elementary School

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & JacobsonSchool Without Walls

Fulbright & JaworskiMacfarland Middle School

Greater Washington Area Chapter -Women Lawyers Division -National Bar Association

Malcolm X Elementary SchoolHolland & Knight

Cleveland Elementary School

PARTNERSHIPS

CHOOLS

F I R M SHowrey, Simon, Arnold & White

Bancroft Elementary SchoolLevine Pierson Sullivan & Koch

H.D. Cooke Elementary SchoolMcDermott, Will & Emery

Bowen Elementary SchoolMcKenna Long & Aldridge

Stevens Elementary SchoolMayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw

Gage-Eckington Elementary SchoolPatton Boggs

Francis Junior High SchoolPepper Hamilton

Stanton Elementary SchoolPiper & Rudnick

Bruce Monroe Elementary School;Law Scout ProgramEastern, Dunbar and DukeEllington Senior High Schools

Reed SmithPark View Elementary School

Sidley Austin Brown & WoodThomson Elementary School

Steptoe & JohnsonMontgomery Elementary School

Sutherland, Asbill & BrennanBell Multicultural Senior High School

Swidler Berlin Shereff FriedmanAdams Elementary School

U.S. Attorney’s Office for theDistrict of Columbia

Amidon Elementary SchoolU.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

J.O. Wilson Elementary SchoolWashington Bar Association -Young Lawyers’ Division

Banneker & Ballou Senior High SchoolsWeil, Gotshal & Manges

Seaton Elementary SchoolWilliams & Connolly

Dunbar Senior High SchoolWinston & Strawn

Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers

12

Public Education Legal Services Project’s

PARTNERS UNLIMITEDBULLETIN BOARD

Published by theWashington Lawyers’ Committeefor Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Roderic V.O. Boggs,Executive Director

Washington Lawyers’ Committeefor Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Iris J. Toyer, DirectorPublic Education Legal Services Project

Da’aga Hill Bowman, DirectorFoundation Outreach and Public Information

Elinor Hart, EditorPaula Jones, Layout

Washington Lawyers’ Committeefor Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

11 Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 400Washington, DC 20036

(202) 319-1000WWW.WASHLAW.ORG

PARTNERS UNLIMITEDBULLETIN BOARDWASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEEfor Civil Rights and Urban Affairs11 Dupont Circle, NW Suite 400Washington, DC 20036

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDWashington, DC

Permit # 6265

enjoying refreshments from the Council for CourtExcellence. Their verdict demonstrated that theyunderstood the trial process. They found that thegovernment had not proven the defendant guiltybeyond a reasonable doubt, but, upon beingpolled, nearly all felt that the defendant probablyhad committed the crime. They clearly recognizedthe importance of proof of guilt.

D.C. Office of CorporationCounsel (cont’d)

your parents going to react? How is your mothergoing to feel if you are incarcerated? Will yourfellow gang members visit you in jail?

Project LEAD ends the year with a mocktrial, in which the children play all the parts. Eachstudent who participates in Project LEAD receivesa certificate of commendation at an end-of-yeargraduation ceremony that recognizes the students’successful completion of Project LEAD.

*Laura Cordero is a prosecutor in the Officeof the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

U.S. Attorney’s Office (cont’d)