Notre Dame Law School Hosts 2011 Indiana Conference on Legal Education Opportunities

The Indiana Conference on Legal Education Opportunities (ICLEO) is designed to assist Indiana minority, low-income or educationally disadvantaged college graduates in pursuing a law degree. ICLEO fellows, who will all be starting law school in the fall at one of Indiana’s four law schools, attended classes for six weeks during the summer to prepare them for the rigors of law school. The Fellows took classes in Civil Procedure, Torts, Labor Law, and Legal Writing from NDLS faculty members John Robinson, Mark McKenna, Barb Fick, and Christine Venter. They also met with attorneys and judges, and observed court proceedings. Among other events, this summer’s ICLEO fellows visited the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago to observe oral arguments, and had lunch with Judge Ann Claire Williams (NDLS ’75) and her law clerks.

ICLEO was started in 1997 at the urging of Indiana Supreme Court Justice Randall T. Shepard and is funded by the Indiana Legislature.

“The legal profession benefits when we recruit minority applicants and help them succeed. Our job is to ensure all citizens have faith and confidence in our system – faith and confidence that they are truly equal in the eyes of the law. When there is diversity at all levels of the legal system, our entire system better serves society.” (Indiana Supreme Court Justice Randall T. Shepard)