By Diversity & Inclusion Intern Lillian Jordan
In our last issue, we highlighted the joint effort of Baker Donelson's Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono Committees to support the American Bar Association's Civil Rights Civics Institute (CRCI). This CRCI project gathered questions from public school students around the United States and provided personalized video and written responses from Baker Donelson lawyers. Check out our previous article for a primer on our goals in contributing to this project.
Over the past few months, Baker Donelson attorneys have volunteered their time to create responses to the student-generated questions, which range in subject from free speech and environmental justice to international human rights and much more.
When asked what drove her decision to participate in the project, Nashville Associate Tenia Clayton said, "I often represent large corporations, which sometimes leaves me feeling disconnected from the fact that the law is a service-oriented profession. The work I do for our diversity and pro bono efforts brings me back to that foundation, and I appreciate being at a firm that encourages and expects us to give back."
We are excited to showcase some of the questions and responses from our attorneys below. You can find a comprehensive list on the American Bar Association's website.
- Associate Tyler Saenz (Nashville) answers several administrative questions posed by a California high school student, including, "What is the rulemaking process?", "What are the branches of the American government?", and "How do agencies work?"
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- Associate Conner Whitten (Jackson) answers the questions, "What does impeachment mean?", "What is the process of impeachment?", and "Will the President get arrested for being impeached?", asked by California students.
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- Associate Tenia Clayton (Nashville) answers the question, "Why is Affirmative Action still needed?" from a Louisiana high school student.
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- Associate Chuck Delorey (Birmingham) responded to the questions, "What does the Constitution do?" and "Why are there amendments?" from a California elementary school student.
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