On October 18, Shook Partner Anitra Raiford Clement gave a graduation speech to Hillsborough Pace Center for Girls for students who completed a three-part Street Law program.
By way of background, Pace was founded in 1985 to help young girls entering the juvenile justice system as a response to delinquent behavior often caused by trauma. The organization helps young girls achieve a better future by teaching critical life, health and academic skills. Today, Pace has over 3,000 students throughout Florida, Georgia and South Carolina and the Hillsborough Chapter has had more than 2,100 graduates since 1998.
This was the second year that Mark Osborne, assistant general counsel at Grow Financial, led and organized the Street Law program through the Tampa Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). During the program, in-house attorney volunteers introduced legal concepts to the students over three sessions and helped coach them through various negotiation stimulations. Stephen Liverpool, general counsel of Raymond James Bank, selected Clement and Valeria Obi, corporate counsel at WilsonHCG, to give the keynote graduation speeches because he wanted the students to see women that reflected their backgrounds and their high potential. The pair spoke separately but both encouraged using the new skills that the students polished in the program like public speaking, creativity and preparation.
The Tampa Office of Shook Hardy & Bacon has had a long-term commitment to Pace and ACC. Partner Kris Verra currently serves as a devoted board member on the Hillsborough Pace and often helps the organization grow in name recognition and financial contributions. Moreover, many lawyers of the Tampa Office have given continuing legal education presentations to ACC in-house members on various legal topics.
Original source can be found here.