Tala Ismail's passion for the law began in middle school, when she played an attorney “just like the ones on TV” in the New Jersey State Bar Foundation's Law Adventure mock trial program for seventh and eighth graders.

It was fun and, “most importantly, it allowed me to see that it wasn't some unattainable goal,” said Ismail, now a graduate assistant in the law and governance program at Montclair State University. “It was something real and within my reach if I just worked at it.”

Ismail plans on going to law school, but the foundation's programs—from Law Fair beginning in third grade to the Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition in high school—are not just for would-be attorneys. For more than a generation, they have taught all types of students in New Jersey about the law while fostering critical thinking and public speaking skills.