Project: Lawyer Career Interests - Independent Research

Step Description Expected Student Results
1 Student will explore his personal/professional interests in becoming a lawyer.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/prelaw1b.html		 1. Intro Message

2. Write and share his personal/professional interests in becoming a lawyer. How does it relate to people with special needs/disabilties? What other personal/professional interests/goals do you have and how could they fit in your life?


Mentor: assist student by providing mentoring advice/resources in exploring other potential careers related to law/special needs/disabilties? Explore other personal/professional interests that student might have.
2 Student(s) will explore the challenges/difficulties of being a lawyer with special needs/disabilties and/or representing clients with special needs/disabilties.

Student will identify leading attorneys in the disabilities advocacy community. 		Student will write a reflection about his strengths and weaknesses of being a lawyer with special needs and what he could to overcome barriers or improve skills. Also create a list of resources that lawyers with special needs can turn to for addtional help.

Mentor: assist student with advice/website resources that pertain to this week's project goal, particularly identifying leaders in the disabilities community.

Useful Web Resource:
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/accommodations-attorneys.html
3 Student will learn and understand the process of becoming a lawyer and what law school is like.

http://gradschool.about.com/od/lawschool/f/lawschool.htm

Note: Student will not be in class between 10/09-10/13. Dallas is a member of a disability rights activist group. that conducts nonviolent civil rights protests related to accessibility and independent living. 		Student will write a reflection of how prepared he is for law school and what extra steps he needs to do/could do before he graduates from high school. Which one of the local schools would be the best fit? Also are there other law schools outside of Kansas/Missouri that focus on his legal interests?


Mentor: Provide personal and practical advice and information about the process of going into law school and how to successfully graduate from law school. Provide help to determine if other law schools are known for their legal coursework/support related to special needs/disabilties.
4 Student will develop an action plan that includes the resources (including people resources) he needs to assemble as he pursues his interests in law.

Student will write a reflection on what a lawyer's duties are and evaluate his strengths and weaknesses in those areas. He will share his thoughts and develop plans to address relative weaknesses and strengths. The following are examples:
*research skills
*writing
*public speaking
*project management
*public advocacy/group leadership

Also student must be able to reflect on the other possible career interests/goals that he could pursue related to law/special needs/disabilties.

Mentor: Mentor will be able to share/upload a list of important pre-law resources for students interested in law. Provide personal advice/resources on the responsiblities and duties of a working lawyer.
5 Student will share his action plan with his mentor and with members of his current network and prepare to share plan with wider network Mentor will provide student with feedback on his action plan, including his assessment of his relative strengths and weaknesses and the steps he'll take to address each of them.

Mentor will consider additional audiences for student's work.
6 Student will send refined action plan to members of the disabilities advocacy community who are not in his current network.

Mentor and student and teacher will determine when the plan is ready to share with an authentic audience beyond his current network. 		Student will send polished plan to mentor for distribution to other members of the disabilities advocacy community.

Mentor will identify members of the disabilities community working at the national or international level who can read the student's plan and provide feedback.