LMA continues to answer the ABA's call to service.

• Author: Stickel, Amy I.
• Position: Legal Marketing Association - American Bar Association

During LMA's Annual Conference three years ago in Chicago, keynote speaker and American Bar Association President-Elect Karen Mathis issued a call to legal marketers. During her address, which then-LMA President Kim Perrett described as "inspiring," Mathis invited LMA to partner with the ABA on its Commission on Youth at Risk.

And while most ABA presidential initiatives tend to fade off into the sunset, Youth at Risk remains a priority for the bar association, and LMA is still participating. Recently, the ABA, LMA and LexisNexis produced an 18-page brochure, "Making a Connection and a Difference with America's Youth. "This "service guide for lawyers" is designed to help lawyers and law firms contribute in a meaningful way in the lives of a very vulnerable group.

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"Our hope is this will make it easier for our members to put resources in the hands of their attorneys," says Donna Shaft, LMA's liaison to the commission. "Volunteerism is more important now than ever before."

The Commission

The commission, which includes lawyers, judges, representatives of youth advocacy and philanthropic organizations, academics and corporate and community leaders, has focused on reform in several areas, including:

* Finding better ways to assist juvenile "status offenders" and their families and to address the disproportionate custodial detention of girls who fall into that category;

* Meeting the needs of youth who are "aging out" of the foster care or juvenile justice systems at 18 or 19, but who still need support, housing and assistance;

* Aiding teens in chaotic or violent homes;

* Assuring more meaningful participation by youth in the court proceedings affecting them;

* Enhancing access to "evidence-based" services in the community that focus on preventing justice system involvement by aiding teens with emotional, behavioral or other severe issues;

* Promoting education reforms to ensure that youth have a right to a high quality education and rights to remain in school and return to school; and

* Improving how legal and court interventions affect youth "crossing over" from one category, such as abused/neglected child to another category, such as a delinquent child.

Shaft recalls that she and fellow liaison to the commission, Nigel Roberts of LexisNexis, were looking for a way to contribute their own expertise. They decided to put their skills in marketing and publishing to use by compiling a handbook that would describe the...