One Word Changed Everything: From Teacher to Civil Rights Lawyer, with Zack Kaplan

Zack Kaplan sums up his inspiration for civil rights law in one word: Leandro. It’s long-running litigation that seeks to enforce the constitutional right to a sound basic education in North Carolina. As a fifth-grade teacher, Zack read frequently about the case. “I didn't even know that there was a constitutional right to a free public education under our North Carolina constitution. And the more I dug into it, the more it really – that mission and that purpose – really resonated with me,” he tells host Amber Nimocks. Zack eventually left teaching to become a lawyer, today focusing on state and constitutional claims, prison and police misconduct, and appellate litigation at Ballew Puryear. He is also the program chair of "Overcoming Immunity: Pro Tips for Success in Civil Rights Litigation," a CLE scheduled for January 29 at NCAJ headquarters in Raleigh. He invites all lawyers to attend because he believes that everyone in NCAJ advocates for marginalized people going up against an institutional power. “We're hoping that, in a small way, this will be useful in those types of claims.” Register here.

🎙️ Featured Guest 🎙️

Name: Zack Kaplan

Connect: LinkedIn

💡 Episode Highlights 💡

[02:21] Teacher to Lawyer: Zack spent three years as a fifth-grade teacher in East Durham before attending law school, an experience he describes as potentially his "best and most challenging job" of his career.

[03:16] Civil Rights Foundation: As an undergrad at UNC Chapel Hill, Zack served as community organizer in historically Black communities, where he came to understand public education as a bedrock to building a multiracial democracy.

[10:21] Standing Up for the Little Guy: Zack believes that he and everybody at NCAJ share a fundamental commitment to stand up for the “little guy.”

[18:24] Law School Outreach Committee: As co-chair of NCAJ's Law School Outreach Committee, Zack is motivated to show students a variety of career paths.

[23:02] “Struck by Lightning”: Zack describes being in the “right place, right time” to briefly clerk for Judge James Wynn, a relationship that led to connecting with other critical mentors.

[26:07] NCAJ NEXT: “It was really impactful for me on several levels,” Zack says of the NCAJ NEXT fellowship program.

[30:54] Civil Rights CLE: The January 29 CLE is designed to benefit all attorneys, even those who aren’t civil rights practitioners, because the work involves helping any marginalized person go up against larger institutional power.

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