The event founder will be hosting a special webinar and providing a strategy booklet to provide you with tips on how to approach and get the most out of the event. In addition, she will be hosting a special Q&A where she will be available to answer all of your questions as you get ready to prepare for the event.

The Summit takes place on Friday, September 22nd, 2023 and Saturday, September 23rd, 2023. However, there is also an Optional Bonus Day. Thursday, September 21st, 2023 includes two tracks, including tours of non-HBCU law schools or the U.S. Capitol Building and the U.S. Supreme Court.

This year’s event will take place primarily at an HBCU law school – the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law.

The address is 4200 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 2008.

You can take an Uber or Lyft. You can also take public transportation via the Metro subway line, Redline, and get off at the Van Ness-UDC Metro stop. For information on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, visit https://wmata.com/.

Exit the Metro station. You will see Starbucks on your left. Turn left on the sidewalk. Keep straight. You will cross the street at Windom Place and see a Potbelly Sandwich Shop on the corner. Turn left on that corner and keep walking and you will see the Theater of the Arts to your left.

Guest/Visitors may access the Van Ness Campus Garage and will be subject to paying the daily parking rates. You will have to pay $12 for a parking pass. Note that this pass only allows for one entry. Inquiries about guest parking for 801 North Capitol, PR Harris, and Bertie Backus must contact the parking office at the Van Ness Campus Parking Office at 202.274.6181 and receive authorization prior to the requested parking date.

Daily Visitor Automation Information:
1. Drive into the Van Ness Parking Garage from Van Ness St. ONLY and collect a ticket at the entrance.
2. Keep ticket in possession after park your car
3. When you wish to exit the garage, go to a Pay Station at either the Plaza Deck Elevator Lobby on the Breezeway OR the B level garage near the Auditorium.
4. Insert ticket into the Pay Station and pay the displayed amount. (Credit/Debit cards and Cash are accepted).

Are there any recommended hotels near the primary host venue – the University of the District of Columbia?
We recommend the Days Inn by Wyndham Washington DC/Connecticut Avenue first because it is located extremely close to the university. It is about a 3-minute walk. We also recommend the Embassy Suites by Hilton Washington DC Chevy Chase Pavilion because it is close by (not walking distance) and you can take the Metro subway from Friendship Heights straight to Van Ness-DC. The trip takes about 12 minutes. The entrance to the Metro is at the bottom floor of the hotel. It is a short and easy trip. Another recommended hotel is the historic Omni Shoreham - Washington. For the Omni, you can take the Metro subway from Woodley Park (about a block away from the hotel) and it will take you straight to Van Ness-DC.

Please use this booking link for the Days Inn Hotel. The current one is not working.

www.wyndhamhotels.com/hotels/06507?checkInDate=09/21/2023&checkOutDate=09/23/2023&groupCode=092123HBC

Just go to the Registration Center at the event, and we will check you in. If you already registered, it will be a smooth process. If you did not, you will have access to a computer station where you can go ahead and get registered.

Registration is completely free of charge! You can always upgrade for a VIP package for additional perks - only if you choose - but it's entirely up to you. Only Law Expo exhibitors and those who are coming only as an observer are REQUIRED to pay. Make sure that you get to the conference site early and be ready to engage, learn and leave with much more than you came with! Please note that you are responsible for your own transportation costs (Metro or Lyft/Uber) to get to and from the law school tours and U.S. Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court tours, and any other movement to additional events during the Pre-Law Summit.

It is very important to be resourceful. Instead of thinking “I can’t”, start asking the question “How can I? ” Then, consider your options for finding a way. Think positively and recognize that when there is a will there is a way. If you are a student and don’t have any personal income, there are people who would be willing to help you. Talk to your school if you are still an undergraduate. Talk to your pre-law advisor, instructors, deans, etc. Ask your school to sponsor your trip. In return, ask if you can go back to your school and conduct a special presentation open to the entire student body where you share what you learned with other interested students at your school who are not able to attend. Be creative. Think about ways you can give something of value back in return for your school or organization sponsoring your trip. Remember that nothing is free, so you want to give an exchange.

We also encourage you to ask family members, friends, associates, and people you know, as well as organizations you are a part of to be your sponsors. Tell them that you are an aspiring lawyer and are raising funds for a trip to a national conference in our Nation’s Capital. Let them know the amount of money you need to raise.

Understand your value and what you have to offer as an individual and based on your social identity and experiences. Give concrete reasons why it is important for you to get the information and make the connections available at the event and the fact that you otherwise would not have this chance.

Write out your budget for the trip seeking out the lowest possible hotel and bus or airfare you can find. When you take the initiative and show people you are serious and what you can personally contribute and that you are looking for the least expensive, most cost- effective way to make this happen, then many would be willing to help you.

Don’t buy into the mentality of excuses. You must be relentless, especially since you are interested in pursuing a profession that does not reward passivity. Also, ask local lawyers’ groups and law firms. Ask. Ask. Ask. Don’t get discouraged if you get no response or a “no”. Someone will be willing to help you, even if they can only contribute a few dollars. Every cent counts.

If you have to, conduct fundraisers. Sell candy, baked goods, snack items, t-shirts. Wash cars. Think of a service you can provide in exchange for a fee. It is possible to come up with a few hundred dollars for an experience that can change your life. It is an investment in your future. I’m sure you have wanted something badly and figured out a way to get it before. This is no different. If an opportunity like this is provided, you must ask yourself “How badly do I want law school?” If you are serious, then we know you find a way to get there and will attend, especially since you don’t have to worry about a high registration fee that is typically attached to conference attendance.

Attendance at the conference on a very tight budget is possible and does not have to be expensive as long as you plan in advance. You may have to go through a budget airline which requires you to leave earlier or later, or the trip will take longer than you’d prefer at a discounted rate. Take a bus or train instead of a plane. Share rooms with a roommate, or at worst, if you can find a suite hotel, share with a small group of other pre-law students instead of having your own room. Choose a value hotel as you will spend most of your time at the conference while in town and not in your hotel room. Let us know if you are interested in attending and sharing rooms with another attendee. We are glad to try to connect you with someone also interested in sharing rooms. You may have to come to town with a specific budget whereby you save a small amount of money for snacks and other meals you want. The conference does not have to cost a lot if you carefully consider these issues in advance and plan accordingly.

All attendees should plan to dress in business casual or business professional attire. This means business suits, blouses, dress shirts and slacks. If you don’t have these types of clothes in your wardrobe, then do your best. We will NOT turn you away because of the clothes you are wearing, so wear the best you have and come so you can learn and connect with others with similar aspirations and those who want to help you.

There is no fee for visits to the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Capitol. The U.S. Supreme Court has NOT yet resumed tours of their building or lectures. We will continue to keep checking to see if they will open back up before the event. The U.S. Capitol building has resumed tours.

E-mail us at info@hbcuprelawsummit.org.