Law & Leadership Honor Society launches monthly Lunch with a Lawyer
On September 3rd, the Law & Leadership Honor Society (LLHS) launched its “Lunch with a Judge and Legal Professional Series” in the MHS museum.
LLHS’s special guests were Chief Judge Bertila Soto of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and Ms. Madelin D’Arce, an attorney at Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, PLLC.
At this inaugural event, student leaders of MHS sat down to lunch with Chief Judge Soto and Ms. D’Arce. Students shared their career goals and were given advice on what to do in order to achieve those dreams. Judge Soto and Ms. D’Arce were then taken on a tour of MHS, through the Jose Marti garden, the theatre, the Ruben Dario Garden, and the law magnet room.
Student participants included: Cassandra Cardenas (LLHS president), Jennifer Tejada (LLHS vice president), Isabella Pujol (LLHS treasurer), Wolfang Cabrera (LLHS secretary), Melissa Carcamo (SGA president), Grace Marro (senior class president), and Laura Veliz (Beta vice president).
Chief Judge Soto has been a judge in Miami-Dade County since 1997 and is currently in her first term as the first woman and first Hispanic chief judge. She established CourtCare in criminal court, which is a child care program for those who need to come to court but don’t have babysitting. She also established the International Commercial Arbitration Court, the second in the nation. Besides her busy schedule, Judge Soto also teaches litigation skills at the University Of Miami School of Law and is a former mock trial skills coach for Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. She is also a moot court coach for the University of Miami Hispanic National Bar Association Team.
Ms. D’Arce provides professional counsel to individuals, corporate entities, and condominium and homeowner associations concerning a broad range of general business, real estate and litigation matters. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Florida International University in 2005, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. She received her law degree from the University of Florida Levin College Of Law in 2008, where she earned honors distinction in appellate advocacy. Ms. D’Arce has served as the Chairperson of the MHS Law and Public Affairs Magnet Advisory Board since 2014.
The mission of Miami High’s Law & Leadership Honor Society is to promote civic responsibility and awareness among students. This society is dedicated to creating networking opportunities with legal professionals and civic leaders of our community. To achieve their mission, they will invite guest speakers to enrich and offer mentoring opportunities to all students.
Juan D'Arce, M.S.Ed. • Oct 3, 2015 at 10:58 pm
Thank you very much for a spectacular article. As a alumni from Miami High School I am honored to pay it forward in collaboration with my wife and colleagues. We will continue to help and support Stingtown and our sister programs.