Young Attorney Launches Foundation To Expose Law To Underserved Children

A 28-year-old CEO of his own law firm is starting a foundation to help local youths learn the law.

Jamal E. Jackson, the head of Jackson Corporate Law Offices at 111 W. Jackson Blvd., celebrated his fourth year in Chicago last month. The Bronzeville resident’s firm will hit its three-year anniversary in August, when Jackson will also launch his foundation, the Excel Project.

Through the foundation, children and teens from underserved communities will get introduced to the legal field. They’ll be placed in summer internships with law firms and legal departments in Chicago. Jackson said he’s also trying to work with some local law schools to have students attend classes.

“I just want to give them hope,” he said. “I don’t want there to be kids who don’t meet a black attorney until the age of 20. I want them to be exposed to it at a very young age. I want them to feel like it’s commonplace to have black attorneys around. We want to help build dreams. We want to help create a pipeline of diverse attorneys that will be able to go out and help their communities.”

Jackson didn’t meet his first attorney until college.

Full Story from Andrea V. Watson of DNAinfo.com