Series of Presentations Designed to Provide High School Students Access to Opportunity
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (March 14, 2016) – As part of a community outreach initiative aimed at exposing underprivileged high school students to the practice of law, attorney Latoya C. Brown, associate at the Coral Gables-based law firm Colson Hicks Eidson, recently coordinated and moderated a presentation at Miami Southridge Senior High School.
Approximately 175 students attended the event held on February 24 in the school’s auditorium.
Students were given the opportunity to ask an esteemed panel of attorneys questions about pursuing a career in the legal field, including applying and paying for college, overcoming challenges and job responsibilities. The panelists encouraged the students to work hard and persevere despite challenges they will face, and additionally shared motivational stories about their own career paths.
“I believe many young people, particularly where minorities are concerned, may not believe that the legal profession is an option for them due to financial constraints or lack of opportunities,” said Brown, who has held two presentations with this target group of students. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging.”
Panelists included U.S. Assistant State Attorney Dwayne Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; Colson Hicks Eidson associate Natalie M. Rico; Ireland Barrister Catherine Fitzsimons; and Miami attorneys Glaister Brown and Markus Kamberger.
“I want to provide these young adults with guidance and show them that a path to a better future is possible, regardless of their current circumstances,” Brown added. “My goal is to eventually expand the initiative to include other professions, and pair students with long-term mentors.”
Brown, an associate litigation attorney at Colson Hicks Eidson, practices in the areas of commercial litigation, class action lawsuits and general civil litigation. She is a member of the Florida Bar, a member of the Dade County Bar Association Board of Directors, a published author and a magna cum laude graduate of Florida International University College of Law.
Prior to joining Colson Hicks Eidson, Brown interned with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She also worked as a law clerk for a commercial litigation firm and as a judicial intern for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida.
About Colson Hicks Eidson
The law firm of Colson Hicks Eidson is a trial firm with more than 40 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation. Partners at the firm have had the distinction of holding the following offices: President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; President of the Dade County Bar Association; President of the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers; United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. For more information, call 305-476-7400.
