Star Tribune Shines a Light on UPLIFT Legal Institute for Teens Mock Trials

UPLIFT Legal Institute for Teens was featured March 26 in a Minneapolis Star Tribune article titled "Minnesota middle-schoolers learn legal skills, confidence in mock trial program." The article quotes Hennepin County District Judge Luis Bartolomei, one of the UPLIFT volunteer judges who presides over the student mock trials, urging participants to consider a career in law. "What I’ve seen here today is so promising,” he told them.

Launched by Maslon in 2017, UPLIFT offers students engaging opportunities to learn from volunteer attorneys about the legal profession, criminal justice, and the court system. The program culminates in mock trials, which were held this year at the University of Minnesota Law School. [Learn more.]

Maslon Public Interest Counsel Catherine Ahlin-Halverson, who serves as executive director of UPLIFT,  told the Star Tribune that the program strives to reach seventh and eighth graders at a critical point in their lives—when they start creating a vision for themselves in high school and beyond.

"We want to capture kids' imaginations for what they want to do in high school and who they're going to be — and hopefully their parents, their families too," she said. "I want families to know that we value their kids and we think they're really capable of whatever they want to pursue, and we're here to support them."

To read the feature, go to Star Tribune: "Minnesota middle-schoolers learn legal skills, confidence in mock trial program"