The Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) and the Massachusetts Trial Court are pleased to announce a new partnership in which the Trial Court has selected five student participants in the MBA’s Tiered Community Mentoring Program for paid summer internships at courthouses this summer. The students — two in high school, one in college, and two in law school — will work at a local court as determined by their area of interest and location. The program, based in Boston and Worcester, helps students build a diverse mentoring network with small groups composed of a high school student, an undergraduate student, a law student and an attorney.
The summer interns will work in Worcester at the Central Housing Court, District Court, and Probate and Family Court; in Brockton at Plymouth County Superior Court; and in Boston at the Suffolk County Juvenile Court Probation Office.
MBA President Thomas M. Bond said: “We’re grateful for the Trial Court’s support of the MBA’s Tiered Community Mentoring Program and excited for the students who will benefit immensely from this collaboration. Providing these paid internships will give these students invaluable real-life experience and exposure to the Massachusetts legal system that will help shape their futures and careers.”
Trial Court Chief Justice Jeffrey A. Locke and Trial Court Administrator John A. Bello said: “We are pleased to support this wonderful developmental opportunity for young people interested in the justice system. The internship will not only provide the students with a paid work experience but will also expand their network of mentors as they pursue their goals.”
The MBA launched the Tiered Community Mentoring Program in Boston in October 2009 to provide urban high school students with opportunities in the legal community. Due to its success, the program was expanded to Worcester in 2017. The program introduces high school students to information about college, provides pre-law undergraduate students with information about the law school admission process and the importance of taking challenging classes, and provides law students with an inside view of the practice of law with their attorney mentors. The MBA’s Tiered Community Mentoring Program received the 2011 ABA Partnership Award from the American Bar Association because of its commitment to diversity.
This announcement was sent via press release on Tuesday, May 24.