Students at the Overtown Youth Center welcomed the LCLD Fellows Alumni to downtown Miami. (Photo by Jay Haas)

Teaching law to a roomful of restless grade schoolers would be a challenge for anyone, but the LCLD Fellows Alumni made it look easy during a visit to Miami's Overtown Youth Center, which serves more than 400 inner-city kids with after-school educational programs, mentoring, and character-building support.

Leading the impromptu workshop was 2011 Fellow Jimmie McMillian of Barnes & Thornburg, who staged an informative and hilarious test case involving a wobbly chair, an "injury," and an aggrieved seven-year-old plaintiff. Kids matched arguments with the attorneys in the room and "really held their own," according to 2013 Fellow Paula Aguila of Rivero Mestre.

In Miami for their annual conference, the Fellows Alumni set aside several hours to meet with kids and teachers at the youth center founded a decade ago by NBA star Alonso Mourning, who grew up in Overtown and wanted to help rebuild this once-thriving downtown community hit hard by crime, drugs, unemployment, and municipal neglect.

"Our mission is to inspire and empower young people by fostering hope through enrichment," said Tina Brown, OYC's executive director. "For these kids to spend time with the Fellows Alumni, and to see successful professionals who look like them, is something very special." 

The next day, the Alumni got down to business, with a full agenda of programs that included a panel on Becoming General Counsel (photo at right: 2012 Fellow Corey Lee of Hunton & Williams; Paul Williams, Chicago Managing Partner of Major, Lindsey & Africa; Lori Garrett, Managing Director of BarkerGilmore LLC), practice group breakout sessions, a panel on business development, meetings with accountability partners, and a riveting lunchtime conversation between LCLD Executive Director Robert Grey and Stephen Zack, administrative partner of Boies, Schiller & Flexner and former president of the ABA.

To see the full agenda, go here.

The Conference also included plenty of after-hours networking opportunities, and even, on the weekend, a trip to South Beach. Attached below is the 2013-14 Alumni Year in Review, by Historian Annie Huang (2011) of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi.

Photo Gallery

Third Annual Fellows Alumni Conference

May 15-17, 2014

Miami, Florida

Photos by Jay Haas