HEMET: Students visit law firm

Two dozen students from Tahquitz High School in Hemet possibly took their first steps to becoming lawyers on Thursday, Sept. 17, when they spent the day at a law firm.

A group of seniors and juniors from the school’s AVID program visited the main office of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo in Cerritos, where they learned about the law and what the firm’s attorneys do.

The schedule included an opportunity for students to study a hypothetical legal case and attempt to resolve the matter. The case was about a shy school boy who was bullied, which resulted in a lawsuit filed by his parents.

Some of the students were inspired by the visit.

“When I first came here I felt that I the law was something I would never try to do,” Ana Chavez, a junior, said in a news release. “Now I feel like I can do it, if I put my head, heart and hustle into it.”

The visit was part of the law firm’s Student Enrichment Program, which promotes success and achievement at the high school level. The firm, which has an office in Riverside, represents numerous school districts and other educational entities.

The law firm has been hosting student groups for about two years, according to Marlon Wadlington, a partner who conducted the mock hearing. Wadlington said in the news release there was a legal case that his high school class undertook as a project and that helped hook him into his career path.