Nebraska State Bar Foundation

Law Day Job Shadowing is a cooperative project of the Nebraska State Bar Foundation and the Nebraska Supreme Court, conducted annually on or near Law Day, May 1. Piloted in Lincoln Public Schools in 2001, the program went statewide in 2002, with up to 12 communities participating.

Groups of fifth graders spend one hour with lawyers, judges, or other professionals such as police or sheriff officers, court clerks, or court reporters. They experience some of the day-to-day activity of these professionals and observe their relationship to both criminal and civil laws.

The fifth graders may go in small groups to various offices around their city, or they may go as a group to a courthouse. All groups of students are chaperoned by adults. Legal professionals may wish to carry out a mock trial demonstration or engage the students in some other type of experiential activity such as writing a simple contract or a will.