Loeb & Loeb Attorneys Coach Inner-City NY High School Students to Success in Mock Trial

NEW YORK – For the past three years, a group of attorneys from Loeb & Loeb LLP have acted as advisors/mentors to students from Grace Dodge Career & Technical High School in the Bronx in the citywide moot court and mock trial competitions coordinated by the Justice Resource Center’s (JRC) MENTOR program. In the school’s last JRC competition before it is phased out after the Spring semester, the team of students from Grace Dodge stand at 3-0 in the 2012 mock trial tournament, with the confidence and determination to go all the way.

Students participating in the competition are enrolled in the Legal Studies program at Grace Dodge, which is designed to prepare them to pursue careers in law and criminal justice, and to protect and further a democratic society. The moot court and mock trial competitions are an opportunity to put their newfound knowledge of the law and critical thinking skills into practice.

Loeb’s attorneys have been working with Grace Dodge since 2009 and with the current team of students since the beginning of the school year in September. The attorneys provide the students with instruction and support in weekly sessions at Loeb & Loeb’s New York office, covering all aspects of preparing for legal competition – from analyzing the issues presented, to drafting arguments and examination questions, and honing oral advocacy skills. The students and attorney mentors address matters across a wide spectrum of topics, from criminal law to first amendment and intellectual property issues.

Earlier this year, New York City’s Department of Education announced that Grace Dodge was one of three Bronx high schools set to close in 2012 due to underperformance.

The Loeb & Loeb attorneys who have donated their time to this program include Daniel Besikof, Linna Chen, Jon Hollis, Edward Lee and Jessica Lee.