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Raising the Bar for over 25 years Print E-mail
Written by Kwesi McDavid-Arno   

James O'Neal Founder of Legal OutreachLegal Outreach is a non profit organization that has been “Raising the Bar for over 25 years.” Legal Outreach, founded in 1983 by James O'Neal, is totally focused on preparing Urban Youth to become lawyers.  Legal Outreach gives urban youth options and access to opportunities they would not otherwise have in the inner city.  Via their involvement in Legal Outreach's College Bound program, the students are uplifted by academic success and inspired by the attorneys that participate in the program.  Once empowered, the students are able to focus on their professional goals and become more aggressive in seeking further opportunities.   

Mr. O'Neal, graduated from Harvard Law School and came to New York as Harvard's first Public Interest Law Fellowship recipient.  While working in disadvantaged public schools throughout the city, Mr. O’Neal discovered that he could sustain interest and develop skills amongst the by discussing legal issues prevalent in their communities.  Legal Outreach has had a tremendous amount of success in improving the high school graduation rates of their students.  Few non profit programs have had the success in educating and enlightening urban youth that Legal Outreach has had. 

On Wednesday, April 22, at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett attorney John W. Carr hosted a reception aimed at raising money for the program’s Summer Law Institute at NYU School of Law.  As I walked around the room you could feel synergy between the high school students and the lawyers.  I have worked as a math teacher in the NYC public schools and one thing it taught me is that children just need the proper guidance and support.  Once children have the proper guidance and support there is nothing they can not accomplish.   The above pictures are documented evidence of that support, synergy and success of this program. 

The Legal Outreach PACT (Pathways to Achievement and Community Transformation) program is a law-related pipeline diversity initiative for young African-American men.  PACT seeks to address the growing achievement gap between low income young African-American men and the rest of the population, by using the law as a vehicle to promote academic achievement and build concrete academic skills.  PACT is part of Legal Outreach, a rigorous four-year College Bound program that inspires youth from under-served communities to pursue academic excellence and higher education.

PACT will welcome its inaugural class into a Summer Law Institute at NYU School of Law in June, 2009.  To succeed in its pilot year, Legal Outreach must raise a modest $50,00.00.  In order to support this program you can make an online gift, please go to www.legaloutreach.org, click on "Donate Now", enter the amount of your donation and type "PACT" in the "Desugnate my donation" box.