Law & Leadership Institute seeks to boost the number of Black attorneys in Stark County

JACKSON TWP. − Marcus L. Wainwright was a criminal justice major at Youngstown State University with plans for a career in federal law enforcement when his trajectory was changed by a single class.

After he excelled in criminal procedure, a law school-adjacent course, his instructor, who was an attorney, urged him to consider law school.

"It wasn't a pre-set goal," he said.

Now in his 10th year as a labor and employment litigator at Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty, Wainwright, 46, also sits on the board of the Law & Leadership Institute, a free statewide initiative created to encourage Black and under-reserved high school students to consider a career in law.

"I wish they would have had something like this when I was younger," said Wainwright, who is his family's first college graduate and attorney.

Started in 2008, the Law & Leadership Institute has groups in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and Toledo. Under the four-year program, students are introduced to the law school requirements, the basics of legal practice, moot court, internships, and entry process and scholarships.

According to the American Bar Association, though Black Americans make up 14% of the population, slightly less than 5% of attorneys are Black — a figure which has remained stagnant since 2011. Wainwright is the only Black attorney at his law firm.

A new study by Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2023 State of Higher Education found that Black undergrads have the lowest completion rates of any other group — 42% — due to inferior K-12 education, social isolation, external responsibilities and tuition costs. According to the American Bar Association, the average annual cost of tuition and fees for full-time, in-state law school students in 2022 was $42,823.

Black students also have reported feeling less safe on college campuses, which has helped to contribute to a 10-year decline in enrollment. The Journal of Blacks in High Education also cites an absence of family tradition in attending college.

"The overall goal is to expose underserved students to the legal profession," Wainwright said. "We want them to develop skills that they can take to their professional careers by using a law-based curriculum. Another goal is to teach them leadership skills by showing them the rights and responsibilities of citizenship so they can use those in a leadership context."

The current class has 172 members.

Law & Leadership Institute calling for Canton students

"We'd like to expand in Canton," he said. "One of the issues is transportation because they're centered around the law schools."

Wainwright joined the Law & Leadership Institute board in 2021 after learning about the organization from the Akron-Canton Barristers Association, a nonprofit group of Black lawyers and judges in Northeast Ohio which celebrated its 75th anniversary in September.

"We have a 100% graduation rate. Ninety percent go to college," he said, adding that the program has produced two attorneys. Alumni Alexis Apparicio of Columbus and Imokhai Okolo of Akron graduated law school and passed the bar exam in 2020.

A graduate of Miami University and the University of Akron School of Law, Okolo has his own law firm.

Wainwright, who's a graduate of Ursuline High School in Youngstown and the University of Akron Law School, said a program like the Law & Leadership Institute would have helped him to anticipate what was expected.

"I come from a blue-collar family in Youngstown," he said. "So, not having that exposure at a young age, you really don't know what's possible, but my parents always did value education, and they taught my sister and me to appreciate it. I would say the biggest obstacle was just kind of the shell shock and the way things are done, the 'Socratic Method' and so forth."

After law school, Wainwright served as a Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor before joining Krugliak Wilkins.

"I enjoy getting down to the problem-solving aspect of it," he said. "It's similar to criminal cases because you usually have an interesting set of facts about what's going on. If there's an issue regarding minimum wage, or an overtime violation, or sexual harassment, it's just looking at the facts and getting down to the numbers, and digging and seeing what's really going on; what's the story behind the allegations?"

Judge Jeffrey Hopkins: 'There was sort of a George Floyd moment.'

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey P. Hopkins, who grew up in Canton, has been president of the Law & Leadership Institute for six years.

The goal, he said, is to introduce students early to kind of writing and rigorous testing required to do well in law school.

"We take kids and train them for the SAT, analytical thinking, and how to speak on your feet," he said. "It's been pretty successful. It's a long road, and an arduous path; it's rigorous. You have to do well in college and take the LSAT. All of those things determine admission into law school. If you don't have a basic, solid understanding, you won't make it."

Earlier this year, Hopkins was successfully nominated by President Joe Biden to preside over the U.S. Southern District of Ohio. Prior to that he served as a judge on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District.

"Our (primary) audience is African American kids but typically we like to say we're serving underserved kids, in schools that are underfunded," Hopkins said. "We'll take all comers. Though most of our kids are kids of color, we also have Appalachian students and first-generation Americans."

Hopkins said the Law & Leadership Institute grew out of concerns by the late Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.

"There was sort of a 'George Floyd' moment, and lot of angst in our courts about the lack of balance, which prompted Chief Moyer to ask why there were not more Black lawyers," he said.

Hopkins said that when Moyer convened meetings with law school deans, Moritz Law School Professor Emeritus Nancy Rogers informed him that potential law school students must be exposed early to requirements. The two sought and secured funding for a Law & Leadership Institute pilot program in Columbus, which eventually grew to include other cities.

'Students develop their abilities to reason, speak persuasively, and write clearly.'

"Students find the LLI classes focused on law and mock trials to be fascinating and useful in their lives," Rogers said. "While they are enjoying the classes, students develop their abilities to reason, speak persuasively, and write clearly. They learn study and test-taking skills. These are skills that help students succeed in college and in their careers."

Rogers said the program offers benefits far beyond the curriculum, noting that program alumni can be found in many fields.

"They develop friendships with others who share their interests and ambitions," she said. "Some students will discover that they want to be lawyers, but virtually all students will find the LLI program worthwhile."

Hopkins said the program also has enjoyed the support of past and current state Supreme Court Justices Maureen O'Connor and Sharon Kennedy.

"The most rewarding thing about being with the program, the greatest joy I've seen is to see kids from all six cities in moot court and mock trial competition; to see those kids come and perform the way they do," he said. "They make their arguments and write their briefs. What brings me almost to tears is watching the family members watching their kids perform. When the awards are handed out, it' like watch an Ohio State football game. It's moving to see how much effort they put into it. "

Hopkins said the Law & Leadership Institute is great preparation for whatever career path a student chooses.

"For me, what's rewarding about being part of the justice system is, if I can be a beacon of light in terms of people feeling like they've had their fair day in court, I try to bring that every day," he said. "If people feel like they've had a fair shake and a reasoned decision supported by the law and facts, I've succeeded."

To learn more visit the Law & Leadership Institute website at https://www.lawandleadership.org/ or call 614-236-6305.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

Who was Stark County's first Black attorney?

Born in Perry Township in 1843, Army 1st. Sgt. Robert Pinn joined the Civil War as a civilian in 1861 because Black men were prohibited from enlisting at the time.

In 1863, he became a sergeant with the 127th Ohio, also known as the 5th Colored Regiment. During a battle in Richmond, Virginia, in 1864, Pinn took charge of the troops after all of the officers were killed. He was wounded three times. After receiving the Medal of Honor in 1865, he was discharged and returned to Massillon.

In 1874, Pinn enrolled in Oberlin College to study law, followed by law school in South Carolina. He completed his studies in Massillon and was admitted to the Ohio Bar Association in 1879, becoming a pension and claims agent for the U.S. Pension Bureau.

Pinn and his wife, Emily J. Manzilla, lived at 96 Akron St. in Massillon. She died in 1890. Pinn died in 1911 and is buried in the Massillon City Cemetery.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Law & Leadership Institute seeks under-served, Black teens in Stark