Hewlett-Packard Company Receives Street Law’s 2014 Excellence in Service Award

Street Law, Inc. presented its 2014 Excellence in Service Award to Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) at the Street Law Awards Dinner on April 23, 2014, in Washington, DC. John Schultz, executive vice president and general counsel of Hewlett-Packard Company, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

Street Law’s Excellence in Service Award recognizes the volunteer efforts of companies and law firms that provide exceptional community service in the form of a Street Law program.

Street Law joined forces with the HP legal department in 2010, to implement the Corporate Legal Diversity Pipeline Program in Palo Alto, CA, and New Jersey. The following year, the department expanded their program to include three more sites in Plano and Houston, TX, and Northern Virginia. Today, more than 120 HP volunteers across the country spend more than 1,000 hours providing legal and career education programming to nearly 250 students every school year.

At its five program sites, HP volunteers visit high school classrooms to teach lessons in contracts, negotiation skills, intellectual property, and advertising law. Following the series of classroom-based lessons, the students visit their local HP campus for an interactive day of legal simulations and networking with legal professionals. There, students step into the shoes of the lawyers for the day, participating in activities where they negotiate contracts, advise the company on intellectual property issues, or prepare for a mock trial.

As a technology company, HP places an emphasis on introducing students to the latest PC, printing, and server technology through tours, demonstrations, and give-aways. The students frequently use the firm’s tele-presence equipment to connect with legal professionals in other offices. The program’s legal simulations focus on legal issues surrounding the company’s products, and they even give notebook computers and tablets to students as prizes at some events!

Beyond these activities, HP volunteers in some locations offer additional services to their partner schools, including tutoring and guidance on college preparation.

The Street Law Corporate Legal Diversity Pipeline Program aligns well with HP’s overall corporate goals to give back to the communities in which they work and do business. HP employees worldwide volunteered more than 1.4 million hours in their communities in 2012. In 2009, the HP Legal organization set a goal for at least half of its U.S. employees to volunteer an average of 15 hours of pro bono work a year. And their work with students is making a difference. Students in the Palo Alto project commented, “It’s a chance to learn more about what lawyers do and what HP does,” “It was a great experience,” “I am more interested in trials after the advertising workshop,” and “I have always wanted to be a lawyer and coming here has motivated me to be a lawyer someday.”