Raising the Bar

Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro and Judge Hamilton co-created Raising the Bar for minority high school students in the Akron area to introduce them to career opportunities in the legal field.

Three Raising the Bar Conferences have been held: June 2023, October 2024 and March 2025. 

The program is supported by a partnership with Summit County’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative created by the 44th United States President Barack Obama, is a program that works to close the opportunity gap for boys and young men of color. 

MBK Summit County received certification in 2023 through the MBK Alliance out of the Obama Foundation.

The conference will consist of breakout sessions with local legal professionals and give students the opportunity to connect with peers while learning about civil, criminal, and constitutional law. Programming in the conference hopes to help young people identify and evaluate their skills, hone in on critical thinking and deductive reason, connect them with resources and help them gain the knowledge to pursue a career in the legal profession.

Keep checking back for more information about future Raising the Bar events!

March 2025 Flyer