Early Outreach Initiative

Our Early Outreach Initiative is designed to develop awareness of the legal field and encourage interest in the legal profession among high school students who might not have otherwise had exposure to it.  Through workshops, mentorship, and campus visits, we provide resources and guidance to help students explore legal careers and understand the law school admissions process early in their academic journeys.

Starting the Law School Conversation — in High School

Why should one of the nation’s top law schools reach out to high school students? Because for many lawyers, the idea of going to law school first took root while they were high school students. The Association of American Law Schools surveyed thousands of law students about when and how they first considered the idea of law school. Results showed that the seeds were often planted early. Most law students had first considered law school before college. (And over a third had first considered law school before high school.) In most cases, going to law school requires early, pre-college exposure to the idea of law school.

Through the Early Outreach Initiative, Georgetown Law’s Dean of Admissions Andy Cornblatt and his law students are providing just those kinds of connections to high school students — putting law school on their radar, introducing high school students to the idea of a legal career, and building long-lasting relationships.

How the Early Outreach Initiative Works

Georgetown Law directly partners with dozens of high schools across the country, from coast to coast and in big cities and rural counties. At each of these high schools, Georgetown Law hosts programming with students three times during their senior year, and provides opportunities for mentorship at the conclusion of the program.

During the first phase of the program current Georgetown Law students talk with the students, and share their stories of how they got to law school.  During these sessions, Dean Cornblatt also offers an introduction to the practice of law and law school. “Dean Cornblatt is a dynamic speaker,” says Didier Jean-Baptiste, dean of seniors and college placement at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, and his visit “sparked an interest in law school among [students] who attended his presentation.”

During the second phase of the program, Georgetown Law alumni Zoom with the same group of high schools and share their varied professional paths and life after law school.

During the third phase of the program, Georgetown Law plays host at its “High School Law Days,” where students participate in law-related activities, including discussing legal hypotheticals.

And this program is just the start. Georgetown Law is connecting participating high school seniors with attorneys from around the country to serve as mentors and points of contact, giving these students guides and advisers during their college years, and further helping them prepare for law school. As one high school senior from Legal Prep Charter Academy remarks, the Early Outreach Initiative is about “lifelong connections that may open up doors in the future for me.” Rather Stanton, Legal Prep’s co-founder, agrees. “Legal Prep is thrilled to partner with Georgetown… This effort will help show over a thousand diverse students each year that the legal profession needs and wants them.”

In addition to working directly with high schools, Georgetown Law also works with nonprofits from around the country who help kids get to and through college. These organizations connect Dean Cornblatt and Georgetown Law’s students with the high schoolers that they serve. The law school tailors its approach to each nonprofit’s needs, but the message remains the same, according to Dean Cornblatt: “There is a path from where these kids sit, right now, to being a lawyer. And we’re here to explain how to navigate that path, to and through college.” The nonprofits and the Early Outreach Initiative amplify one another’s work. “Their focus is on getting kids to college and getting them to do well in college,” says the dean. “Our Early Outreach Initiative shows kids one of the places where college can take them — law school and the law!”

Having now met with around thousands high school seniors across the country, Dean Cornblatt says that he is struck by their passion and interest in the law. “These kids are engaged and their interest is sparked,” he says. “What was missing before was someone reaching out to these kids, to show them the path forward, to show them that law school can be affordable and can be doable, to show them some ways to get to law school. And now they can see that path.” Nor are the high schoolers the only beneficiaries.

Read more about one high school’s experience with our program!

Partnering with Schools

Is your high school interested in partnering with Georgetown Law as part of the Early Outreach Initiative? Please fill out a short form with information about your school.

Partnering with Nonprofits

If your organization works with access to higher education and would like to cooperate with Georgetown Law’s Early Outreach Initiative, please contact us at earlyoutreach@georgetown.edu.

Support from Firms

Establishing deeper connections between high school students and the legal community is at the heart of the Early Outreach Initiative. Law firms across the country are committing financial support for the first five years of the program, and identifying current associates to mentor program participants. If your firm would be interested in participating, please email us at earlyoutreach@georgetown.edu.