“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” – Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird.
“We are not just attorneys, but defenders of justice….To merely label us ‘attorneys’ would do a disservice to this great profession…” – Brittany Lowe ’17, Jones Day
“I love Cleveland-Marshall, and I love the opportunity it provides for its students to take the law and apply it toward a life of justice.” – Alana Jochum ’10, Executive Director, Equality Ohio
“For 120 years, C|M|LAW has been training lawyers with a conscience. You might call them advocates….crusaders…champions. We call them graduates.” – C|MLAW Video “Justice is Calling You.”
It’s not often that a law school wins the advertising equivalent of a Grammy, an Emmy, or an Oscar. Our video,“Justice is Calling You,” produced by our very talented friends at Goldfarb Weber Creative Media, recently won the coveted ADDY Award at the Cleveland American Advertising Awards!
Watch our award-winning video here: Justice is Calling You.
C|M|LAW is important to successive generations of young women and men seeking to make a difference. Regardless of our graduates’ ideologies or the professional paths they take, we want all our graduates to have an appreciation for the crucial role that law and lawyers play in addressing the social and economic issues that confront our society.
That’s why every admitted student receives the book, To Kill A Mockingbird. On the inside cover of the book is their name, the date they were admitted to C|M|LAW, and additional lines for the date they will graduate law school, and another for when they pass the bar. It is accompanied by a personalized note from me that states:
“You hold in your hands what many believe to be the best novel ever written. To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of a crusading lawyer, Atticus Finch, and his fight for moral truth and racial justice. This iconic story has inspired many of our students to be lawyers.
It is our gift to you because of the path you have chosen and because the story of Cleveland-Marshall is also an iconic story of justice and equality…. We are proud that you have met our high standards for admission and we would be even prouder to welcome you to our C|M|LAW family as we Learn Law & Live Justice.”
We are training many of our students to be advocates for those whose interests are too frequently disregarded and to act as their voice, their counselor, and their champion. So it’s particularly important that we also support and advocate for the work of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the largest funder of civil legal aid in our nation.
Unfortunately, the President’s new budget proposal once again calls for the LSC’s elimination. I recently signed a letter with law school deans throughout the country urging Congress to maintain funding for the LSC. LSC has long received bipartisan support, and the loss of LSC funds would devastate efforts to provide access to essential legal services for millions of low-income Americans who could not otherwise afford legal representation. Our C|M|LAW Clinics and Externship Program regularly collaborate with organizations such as The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland that rely on LSC funds.
Our covenant with our students and graduates is that they will learn law and not only be ready to practice law; they will be ready to live justice and practice leadership.
Every day we stay true to our mission: Learn Law. Live Justice. And sometimes we even win an award for how we convey our mission.
Have a great week.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
My best,
Lee
My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our Law School or our University.