D.M. Therrell High School
By Nekia Hackworth
United States Attorney’s Office and
Melody Z. Richardson
Pachman Richardson, LLC
2014 Youth Law Symposium
T
his year, the Atlanta Bar Association and its education
partner – D.M. Therell High School – celebrated Law
Day with a week of activities made possible by the
volunteer efforts of the Bar’s members and supporters. To kick
off the week, on Monday, May 12, 2014, the Atlanta Bar and
Therrell hosted a Youth Law Symposium. The Symposium’s
goal was to enhance the students’ understanding of law and
government, while simultaneously exposing the students to
different law-related career paths.
During the Symposium, a panel of state legislators, judges,
and legal practitioners spoke to an audience of over 100
high school students. The panelists shared anecdotes with
the students regarding their personal and professional lives,
responding to questions such as, “If you could tell your 16year old self anything, what would it be?” Panelists also
gave advice to the students, encouraging them to identify
and pursue their passion, remain focused on doing the right
thing, and to learn from their mistakes.
This year’s Symposium participants were the Honorable
Tyrone Brooks of the Georgia House of Representatives,
the Honorable LaDawn Jones of the Georgia House of
Representatives, the Honorable Dar’shun Kendrick of the
Georgia House of Representatives, the Honorable Kimberly
Esmond Adams of the Fulton County Superior Court, Darius
T. Pattillo of the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office,
Claude Davis, II of CD Squared LLP, and Special Agent
Chuvalo Truesdell of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Special thanks to principal Joseph Harris and faculty member
and attorney Sharifah Lee for all of their contributions to the
event’s success.
2014 D.M. Therrell High School Mock Trial
After preparing their case for over three months, the students
from two law classes at D.M. Therrell High School of Law,
Government, and Public Policy (LGPP), exhibited their legal
and acting skills on May 14, 2014. The students tried a civil
case for damages at a trial presided over by the Honorable
Robert C. I. McBurney, Judge, Superior Court of Fulton
County. The mock trial was conducted as part of an expanded
Law Week program at Therrell LGPP.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
This is the third year that members of the Atlanta Bar
Association’s Law Day Committee have coached the students
at Therrell LGPP in the art of trial advocacy culminating in
a mock trial. Nekia S. Hackworth, Assistant United States
Attorney and an alumna of Therrell LGPP, coached the
plaintiff’s team and Melody Z. Richardson, Member at
Pachman Richardson, LLC, family law attorneys, and Chair
of the Bar’s Law Day Committee, coached the defendant’s
team. The students in both classes that participated, taught
by Sharifah Lee, an attorney and an extraordinarily dedicated
teacher at Therrell LGPP, each had a role in the mock trial as
either a lawyer or a witness.
The mock trial program at Therrell, which is not affiliated
with the Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition, was
initiated during Rita Sheffey’s tenure as presi dent as a way
to strengthen the relationship between the Atlanta Bar and
it’s adopted high school. Wade Watson III, the Atlanta Bar
2013-14 President, and Jacquelyn Saylor, Vice President
and Chair of the Therrell Task Force, joined forces this year
to expand the Bar’s work with the Therrell students as part
of Law Week 2014. During the week of May 12, a special
program was conducted each day, including the mock trial
exhibition and a performance at Bunche Middle School of a
portion of the trial by the Therrell LGPP students.
Pictured from left to right at the D.M. Therrell High School
of LGPP 2014 Mock Trial are Angel Stephens, Darneshia
Chambers, Joshua Teal (seated), Helena Devone, Aniyah
Render, and Quanteria Rogers.
June/July 2014
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
11