Pro Bono Educational Advocacy Panel Provides Real World Experience
The University of La Verne College of Law’s Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) and the school’s Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) chapter recently took part in the establishment of a new pro bono panel to assist minors with educational needs in the Inland Empire. The implementation of this program was initiated by Judge Lynn Poncin. As a juvenile dependency and delinquency court judge, she has observed children come through her chambers who would have benefited from earlier intervention.
The first phase of this new panel occurred on October 17, 2014. A training seminar with MCLE credits was offered in which DRLC regional director Elizabeth Eubanks and DRLC attorney Ana Rivera provided a foundational framework for special education law. Eubanks and Rivera explained the basic components of evaluating students, advocating for children in specialized meetings, and assessing the potential of litigation.
In the future, this emerging program will offer additional training seminars in special education law. This will be a great opportunity for current students or graduates to add valuable training skills to their repertoire at no cost. In addition, the panels will provide a great networking opportunity to meet local attorneys, judges, and other interested members of the public. Once an education panel is fully implemented, La Verne Law graduates could participate as attorneys or advocates.
Being part of such an innovative project in the Inland Empire will promote La Verne Law’s core values of professionalism and community enhancement by augmenting students’ and graduates’ professional development. Participants will improve their advocacy skills and fulfill a much-needed service to the Inland Empire. For information on future seminars, please contact the San Bernardino County Bar Association at (909) 885-1986 or bar@sbcba.org.
