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Greg D. Peterson of Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. Spearheads Boston Bar Association – Boston Debate League Link

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Following a campaign organized by Greg D. Peterson, a partner in Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C.’s real estate and environmental practice groups, the Boston Bar Association (BBA) recently voted to establish an institutional partnership with the Boston Debate League. Under the program, the BBA will encourage lawyers and legal staff to serve as judges and debate team mentors with the Boston Debate League (BDL).

The BBA launched this effort in late July 2012 with a call for team mentors featuring a BBA Beyond the Billable blog post authored by TBHR’s Attorney Greg Peterson: “Top Ten Reasons To Be a Mentor to a Boston Public High School Debate Team.” The post is based on Attorney Peterson’s own experience as a volunteer mentor to the Charlestown High School debate team for the 2011-2012 season. You can read his post by clicking here.

The Boston Debate League provides hundreds of Boston public high school and middle school students with the opportunity to improve their reading, speaking, reasoning and presentation skills through competitive debate. Students who engage in urban debate leagues, like the BDL, are statistically more likely to graduate from high school, see increased scores on standardized tests, and achieve college reading and English benchmarks. The BDL has been an overwhelmingly popular program in the Boston public schools, with many teams in excess of 60 students. “The need for volunteer mentors to give debaters feedback and guidance has never been greater,” said Attorney Peterson. “We need lawyers, legal staff, and all kinds of professionals to inspire and invest in these students.”

Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. was a Silver Sponsor of BDL's "Taking Sides for Success" fundraising dinner in November, 2011, and hosted the Qualifying Tournament for the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues National championship in March, 2011. Numerous attorneys and staff at TBHR also participated throughout the 2011-2012 school year as judges at debate tournaments. TBHR partner Jeffrey P. Hart was nominated for "Judge of the Tournament" by student debaters who appreciated his detailed comments and suggestions.

For more information about the Boston Bar Association’s commitment to the Boston Debate League, please visit the BBA website. To find out more about the Boston Debate League, see www.bostondebate.org.

For more information about Attorney Greg D. Peterson, please click here.