New program aimed at Indigenous and Black high school students interested in law
One-week free internship takes place during March break
Decades after the Marshall Inquiry recommended steps to increase the representation of Mi'kmaw and Black Nova Scotians working in the justice system, the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society has a new internship program for high school students interested in pursuing a legal career.
The week-long intensive program will take place during the March break and will provide participants with a half credit toward their high school education.
Vanessa Fells, the society's adviser for equity and access, told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia the free program is aimed at Indigenous and Black students from grades 10 to 12.
Fells said applicants must be Indigenous or Black students from Nova Scotia and have an interest in pursuing the law.
The Marshall Inquiry of 1989 investigated the case of Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi'kmaq from Membertou, N.S., who was wrongfully convicted in 1971 of murdering his friend, Sandy Seale, in Sydney's Wentworth Park.
Meet lawyers
The internship will allow participants to gain hands-on experience and meet lawyers and judges from diverse areas of the legal profession, including both traditional and non-traditional roles.
"We're actually working actively with court services to make sure that we're reaching out to the appropriate judges," Fells said.
"We kind of have a wish list of everybody we would like to attend, but we do understand that they are judges and lawyers with active lives."
Marissa Prosper is a Crown attorney from Pictou Landing First Nation and the project co-ordinator for the internship.
Prosper participated in a program for Indigenous and Black students at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University and graduated in 2020.
She said the goal of the high school program is to connect youth to the legal community in which their groups have historically been underrepresented.
"The fact that this program is available to high school students and putting that career opportunity to them at a younger age, I think, is going to be huge," Prosper said.
"It was extremely helpful for me to have those supports and to have those mentors. And I think it's a really important opportunity for high school youth to be able to foster that curiosity."
Fells said the internship is a pilot project and is being funded by a grant from the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia.
She said the program will be closely monitored and the society hopes it can become an annual opportunity for students from different equity-deserving groups.
Details on the program and applications can be found at the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society website. The application deadline is Dec. 20.
With files from Information Morning Nova Scotia
