Published: October 1, 1993

Legal Eagles

The eager young people in the class scribble furiously as Zoole suggests other tips for their upcoming mock trial. "Diction is very important,'' he says. "Concentrate on speaking slowly. I guarantee you will not sound like a dweeb.''

Zoole is addressing not a lawschool or even a college-age audience but a group of high school students from inner-city St. Louis. The students are participants in a novel summer internship program in which they are paid to work at local law firms, government agencies, and publicinterest law organizations. Many of this year's 62 interns also participate in a mock-trial competition, for which they are preparing on this July morning.

The internship program, now in its second year, is sponsored by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the city school district. It is open only to public high school students from the district, and most of the participants are African Americans from...