Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Hosts Third Annual Miami Externship Program for High School Students

MIAMI (JULY 2024) – Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney hosted its third annual externship program in collaboration with local Miami-Dade County high schools, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and Saint Brendan High School.

The two-day interactive externship program is designed to introduce students to the diverse career opportunities available across the legal profession.

“As a firm that prides itself on being a leader in diversity and inclusion, we are intentional about being present in our local communities and showing students what a career in the legal industry could look like for them,” expressed Lloyd Freeman, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. “Our Miami office has continued to expand upon and further develop this externship program which has become a special tradition for not only the students, but our leadership team, attorneys and business professionals who get to interact with the students, share their career journeys and, hopefully, empower the students to go after their professional aspirations.”

On the first day of the program, the students visited the Miami-Dade County Courthouse where they learned the history of the courthouse and observed an evidentiary hearing by Judge Sanchez-Llorens. The following morning, the students kicked off the day by engaging in an interactive panel discussion with Buchanan’s leadership team members, including Jim Newell, Chairman and CEO, Nolan Kurtz, Chief Operating Officer, Danielle Rosetti, Chief Talent Officer, and Lloyd Freeman, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. The students then had lunch with the firm’s Miami-based attorneys who shared their experience working across different practice areas, including litigation, tax, finance and corporate law. In a new component to the program this year, the students also had the opportunity to hear from Marshall Martin, Esq., the Chief Legal Officer of Amerant Bank, to learn about his career and role in leading a corporate legal department.

“The Career Development Office at Belen Jesuit was developed with one goal in mind - to help high school students gain meaningful and hands-on experiences from top professionals in our community. For the last three summers, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney has given our students an opportunity to learn from the firm’s C-suite management team and organized a visit to the civil courthouse during their time there, a memory they will never forget,” shared Claudia Basso, Career Development Program Coordinator, Belen Jesuit Preparatory School.

Jennifer Olmedo-Rodriguez, shareholder and Head of the Miami office, and Jorge De La Hoz, associate, who are alumni of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, respectively, continue to lead and organize the program.