Program hopes to encourage more girls to enter the legal profession

WATERLOO REGION — About two dozen young women will be spending a day at the courthouse to get a real sense of what it’s like to a be lawyer, crown prosecutor and judge in the region.

To date, 21 girls and youth between the ages of 16 and 20 have signed up for Braided Diversity into Justice, a first-time initiative by the Waterloo Region chapter of Ontario Justice Education Network to be held next Tuesday.

The program is designed to encourage minorities and marginalized female youth to consider law as a career.

It’s a profession that is “dramatically under-represented” when it comes to women, said 42-year-old Kitchener lawyer Jennifer Breithaupt.

And once women become lawyers, the profession often loses them a few years later, when they steer away from litigation or out of the career completely, she said.

The program hopes to show youth that there are numerous careers within legal circles.

“We want to expose young women into entering different careers as they intersect with the justice system,” said Breithaupt, who was called to the bar in 2003. She practises family law, wills and estates and residential law.

Traditional barriers such as the cost of law school and the length of time it takes to become a lawyer still exist, and there is a perception that lawyers have an “aggressive or combative” personality, Breithaupt said.

The day will include a tour of the courthouse, and meetings with women who work there, including court reporters, special constables, officers, crown attorneys, lawyers and a judge. The youth will also visit nearby law firms.

A panel discussion will be held where the girls can ask Crown attorneys and lawyers questions, and talk about how to “survive and thrive” in law school.

Anyone who wants more information about the program on Nov. 6 can contact the project leader at aharripersad@ojen.ca.