News
March 30, 2005
D. Ethan Jeffery
617 226-3410
Shareholder
Areas of Concentration
Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring
Office
Timothy P. O’Neill
617 226-3442
Shareholder
Areas of Concentration
Chair of Tort and Professional Liability and Product Liability, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Business Litigation
Office
Irving Middle School Students to Hold “Red Sox Theme” Mock Trial at Federal Courthouse
Boston – March 2005 Hanify & King, PC, a Boston-based law firm, announced today that it is working with Citizen Schools and Discovering Justice, a Boston area after-school program, to teach elementary and middle school students about the law. Students from the Irving Middle School in Dorchester meet with attorneys at Hanify & King’s downtown law office for a 10-week course to determine who “owns” the ball Doug Mientkiewicz caught for the last out of the World Series for the Red Sox. The project will culminate in a mock- trial before a real judge at the Federal Courthouse in South Boston on May 18th.
“This is a terrific way for Hanify & King to offer children an opportunity to get out of the classroom and actually experience how the real world of court systems works,” said John Hanify, president and co-founder of Hanify & King. “By working side by side with our attorneys these students can ask questions and gain skills in a real-world setting. The added bonus is that we attorneys get to interact with the kids and our colleagues in a more relaxed and jovial atmosphere.”
Every week, students are given a full lesson on how to approach the facts, interview witnesses and ultimately represent each side at a trial.. The young “lawyers” will be divided into two sides –one representing the Red Sox and the other representing Doug Mientkiewicz. When they get to the trial, attorneys from Hanify & King will serve as the witnesses including Doug, his wife, Jodi, Theo Epstein, John Henry and Bud Selig. The students will come up with their own arguments, opening and closing statements and witness examinations.
Participating attorneys from Hanify & King include:
- Christine Burke, associate: Teacher
- Ethan Jeffrey, shareholder: Doug Mientkiewicz
- Timothy O'Neill, shareholder: Bud Selig
The class and the mock trial will be covered in a two-piece story by CBS Channel 4 chief correspondent Joe Shortsleeve. The first segment aired on March 21st on the 6 o’clock news and on March 22nd on the morning news and showed the children interviewing witnesses at the Hanify & King offices during a weekly session. Shortsleeve will attend the final trial at the Federal Courthouse on May 18th and air the second and final segment on the news afterward.
About Hanify & King, PC
Since 1980, Hanify & King has been delivering effective, practical solutions to the legal needs of businesses and individuals. Hanify and King, based in Boston, has more than 30 attorneys who work with clients as counsellors, providing advice, guidance, and legal expertise. The firm’s principal areas of practice are litigation, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, business and real estate, employment and alternative dispute resolution.
About Citizen Schools
Founded in 1995, Citizen Schools this year launched a major national expansion, with the goal of strengthening the out-of-school time movement across the country. Since fall 2002 it has grown from a Boston flagship program that enrolled 1,200 children annually at 12 campuses, to additional campuses in four cites: San Jose, CA; Houston, TX; and Worcester and Framingham, MA. The learning model includes Apprenticeships, Explorations, Homework Investment Time, and Team-building activities. Citizen Schools focuses on skill development and links closely to school activities and learning standards. Citizen Schools turns children into community heroes.
