Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program | Ages 16-18

Pre-College Law Program for High School Students

Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program gives rising high school juniors and seniors a chance to try law school at a world-class university.  Over four weeks students experience the Socratic Method, visit law firms and court rooms, craft persuasive arguments and develop leadership skills through collaborative teamwork.

The Penn Law pre-college program is a summer academic program for high school students. Students will gain insight into U.S. law and the legal profession while experiencing academic and residential life at the University of Pennsylvania. High School students will discover what law school is like, learn what it means to be a lawyer and gain a better understanding of laws and their role in modern society.  

Class work will be supplemented with trips to area law firms, courts, and corporate legal departments to help students gain insight into how law is practiced in the real world. Guest lecturers will give students an opportunity to interact with legal practitioners from a wide array of practice areas. Plus, Law school administrators will provide instruction on how to navigate your way to a career in law.

Sponsored by The University of Pennsylvania Law School, Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program (PLS) is for a talented and select group.  Understanding the legal system is important.  Whether you plan a career in law, business, government or another field, the Penn Law summer program is a strong foundation for success.   

Law permeates all levels of modern society.  PLS provides a necessary legal grounding for future success.

Specialized Law Program

During the four-week summer academy, students will take courses at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. PLS features classes which mirror those taken by first year law student. Students develop legal reasoning, and review case briefings as they unravel constitutional law, criminal law and contract law. 

Penn Law Summer Academy students will:

• Attend lectures and presentations from outstanding Penn Law instructors, legal professionals and guest speakers including Lynne Abraham, 

• Engage in Socratic dialogue designed to illuminate the American legal system.

• Navigate the law through hands-on workshops and group projects.

• Receive instruction on how to craft a persuasive argument.

• Develop and enhance leadership, critical thinking and analytical skills through collaborative teamwork.

• Visit court rooms and law firms.

• Speak with leading legal experts across an array of legal practice areas and disciplines.

• Gain critical insight into the basic principles that hold American society together.

This is your first step toward success in college, law school and a career in any of the broad professions intertwined with law!

Summer at Penn Law

As a member of the Ivy League, the University of Pennsylvania Law School is amongst the most prestigious law schools in the nation. Among the school's alumni are a US Supreme Court Justice, several state Supreme Court Justices as well as founders of law firms, university presidents and deans, business entrepreneurs and politicians.

You'll be a part of this stimulating learning environment living on campus in the state-of-the-art Penn Law facilities. From 110 year old Silverman Hall to the Biddle Library to the brand new Golkin Hall you'll experience the Penn Law atmosphere. 

Live in Penn’s famous Quad with students from across the country and around the world.  Experience the University City District and its dozens of restaurants, shops, recreational facilities and entertainment venues. After class, enjoy your choice of on and off-campus activities organized by our staff. 

Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program Faculty

Matthew Parker, Program Director

Matt Parker is the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  In that capacity he is the director for the Law School's LLM, LLCM and SJD Programs. Matt is a graduate of Penn Law's JD Program, 2000.  After graduating from law school, he clerked in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the Hon. Thomas N. O'Neill, after which he worked as an associate attorney at law firms in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.  Matt returned to the Law School as Associate Director of Graduate and International Programs in 2005, and became Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs in 2008.  He is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.

Matt is originally from upstate New York and graduated from Cornell University with a degree in International Relations in 1995 and has lived abroad for extended periods in Australia and the People's Republic of China.

Maryam Ahranjani, Academic Director & Senior Lecturer

Maryam Ahranjani is an adjunct professor of law and associate director of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project. She oversees the national and international expansion of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project and directs the program’s efforts in DC public high schools. Professor Ahranjani teaches an advanced constitutional law seminar entitled, “Education and the Constitution” to upper-level law students; and designed and teaches an externship seminar entitled, "Reflections on Meaningful Lawyering." Most recently, Professor Ahranjani worked for Kaplan, Inc., serving as a regional director and product manager. She formerly served as associate director of WCL's Program on Law and Government, where she ran the SJD and LLM programs. Co-author of the textbook Youth Justice in America (CQ Press, 2005), Professor Ahranjani has appeared on C-SPAN and has authored numerous articles and lesson plans about students’ rights and civic literacy. A founder of the National Youth Justice Alliance, she is also recipient of the 2008 Alumni of the Year Award from the Latino/a Law Students Association and a 2006 American University Performance Award. A magna cum laude graduate of Northwestern University, Professor Ahranjani obtained her JD degree from American University Washington College of Law, and is fluent in Spanish and Persian.

Guest Speakers

The Honorable Lynne Abraham, former District Attorney of Philadelphia

LYNNE M. ABRAHAM a Partner in Archer & Greiner's Philadelphia Office focuses her practice on government relations, mediation, litigation and trial strategy and tactics, as well as appellate advocacy.

Ms. Abraham joined Archer & Greiner following a distinguished career in public service that began shortly after she graduated from Temple Law School in 1965. Since 1991, Ms. Abraham has served as Philadelphia District Attorney, the first woman to hold the position. Originally appointed by Philadelphia judges in May 1991, she won election in November 1991 to an unexpired term and was re-elected to four, four-year terms before announcing she would not seek re-election. Her 18-year tenure as district attorney is the longest in modern city history.

As leader of the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania and one of the largest in the nation, employing approximately 600 and handling more than 75,000 cases a year, Ms. Abraham forged a reputation as a tough and effective yet compassionate protector of public safety for more than 1.5 million citizens of the City and County of Philadelphia. Among her myriad accomplishments, Ms. Abraham was one of the first district attorneys in the country to form a non-profit foundation operating in a district attorney’s office when she founded Urban Genesis Inc. to promote community leadership and provide grants to fund projects to improve neighborhoods and help the needy.

Before becoming District Attorney, Ms. Abraham served as executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (1972-73); legislative consultant for Philadelphia City Council (1974-76); Philadelphia Municipal Court judge (1976-80); and Philadelphia Common Pleas judge (1980-91).

Eleanor Barrett, Clerk for Judge Rendell

Eleanor Barrett is a law clerk to the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

In addition to clerking for Judge Rendell, Ms. Barrett has worked as a litigation associate for Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, DC and for Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia. In those positions, she engaged in all aspects of federal- and state-court litigation on behalf of commercial clients, with a particular focus on writing trial-court and appeal briefs. 

Before law school, Ms. Barrett worked as a financial analyst in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs.

Ms. Barrett received her A.B., magna cum laude, from Princeton University in 2000 and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005.  At Penn Law, Ms. Barrett was a Legal Writing Instructor and was named Best Oralist in the Edwin R. Keedy Cup Moot Court Competition. She is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania.

Andrew Brandt

Andrew Brandt is president of a new and successful interactive web site — The National Football Post — featuring news, information and experienced insider insight and analysis on America's most popular sports league, the NFL. The site is nationalfootballpost.com and has received a strong initial response and critical acclaim.

Brandt is also a Lecturer in Sports Business at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, teaching Sports Law and Negotiations.

After attending Stanford University and Georgetown University Law Center, Brandt has had a career on both sides of professional sports. Brandt has been a player representative, first for ProServ in Washington, DC, representing top athletes such as Michael Jordan and Boomer Esiason — and later for Woolf Associates in Boston, representing NFL players including Matt Hasselbeck, Adam Vinatieri and Ricky Williams.

Brandt has also spent many years on the team side of professional sports, first as the inaugural General Manager of the Barcelona Dragons in the NFL's World League, at that time the youngest general manager in professional sports, and then in the NFL.

Brandt was Vice President of the Green Bay Packers from 1999-2008, negotiating all player contracts, managing the NFL Salary Cap and handling football operations. And, in the 2009 NFL offseason, Brandt consulted for the Philadelphia Eagles, handling player contract negotiations and Salary Cap management.

Brandt is a regular contributor to the Fox Business News, ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio; and a sought-after speaker on the Business of Sports.

Brandt plays jazz piano and enjoys competing in 5k races and triathlons. Born in Washington, D.C., Andrew and his wife, Lisa, have two sons.

David P Frazier

Waldron Kraemer

Waldron Kraemer was a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Kraemer served as Law Secretary to New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Nathan L. Jacobs. He was a member of the Multi-state Bar Examination Torts Committee, he has chaired the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners, and has been President of the Essex County Bar Association. He has served as Chairman of the New Jersey Supreme Court's Ethics Finance Committee, as a member of the Supreme Court's disciplinary Review Board, and has chaired several New Jersey State Bar Association committees.

Sara B. Liebman

Sara Liebman is an Assistant Prosecutor in the Union County Prosecutor’s Office in Elizabeth, New Jersey.   She joined the office in 1995 after clerking for the Honorable R. Benjamin Cohen, J.S.C., and is currently the Supervisor of the Appellate Unit.   Sara regularly appears before the New Jersey Appellate Division and has also argued a number of cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court.   Sara oversees in-house training for the legal staff at the Prosecutor’s Office, which is an approved CLE Provider.  In addition, she teaches Arrest, Search, and Seizure to police recruits and municipal police officers, and has participated as a panelist in several continuing legal education seminars in New Jersey. 

Sara received her B.A. from Haverford College and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

Edmund B. Luce

Bethany McLean, Co-Author of The Smartest Guy in the Room

Bethany McLean received her BA in English and mathematics at Williams College in 1992. After college and prior to joining Fortune, she worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs.

Before joining Vanity Fair as a contributing editor in 2008, Bethany McLean was an editor-at-large for Fortune magazine, where in 2001 she wrote an article for the magazine that raised questions about the immense profitability of Enron, then a darling of the stock market. In 2003 she co-wrote a book about the scandal that led to the energy company’s collapse, The Smartest Guys in the Room (Portfolio). The book exposed the corrupt business practices of Enron officials.   It was developed into a documentary in 2005.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I receive correspondence from Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs?

Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs (JKCP) is a residential program service provider.  JKCP provides administrative support, student life programming, and residential services for several University of Pennsylvania pre-college programs, including Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program (PLS). Penn Law is wholly responsible for admissions and provides all academic content for the PLS program, including faculty members and guest speakers. 

Is there a specific form for the teacher recommendation? 

Applicants will receive a link to an online form. If your teacher is having difficulty with the online letter of recommendation form, please email law@jkcp.com for a PDF copy. We want to hear from the teacher about their knowledge of the applicant’s abilities and why they believe the applicant would be a good candidate for the PLS program. If the recommendation is sent through email or the online form, teachers should use their school email address. If sent by mail, the recommendation should be sent on official school letterhead to:

Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program

610 S. Henderson Road

King of Prussia, PA 19406

May I send a copy of my score reports?

Yes, you may send a copy of your College Board score reports for any standardized tests you have taken, but it is not required.

Does my transcript have to be official?

No, but it is preferred that you have your high school send a transcript and school profile directly to:

Penn Law Pre-College Summer Program

610 S. Henderson Road

King of Prussia, PA 19406

I am experiencing technical difficulties when I try to apply to PLS. Who should I contact? 

Please contact a JKCP program advisor at 610-265-9401 or email law@jkcp.com.

Can I save my application information and come back to finish it? 

Once you have paid the $100 application fee, you will have a username and password and can then save and return to complete your application.

Can I print out a hard copy of the application?

No, a hard copy of the application is not available.

How do I know that you have received my application?

You will receive an email from JKCP once all of your application materials have been received (including your transcript, recommendations, and score reports.) If you do not hear from JKCP within several weeks after you have submitted your application, please contact them at 610-265-9401. 

When is my application considered complete? 

In order to be considered for admission to PLS, your application must be complete. After submitting your online application, you have an additional week for the entire application, including transcript, score reports, and recommendations, to be received. Please note that this week should be treated simply as a safeguard to ensure that all materials arrive. 

When will I be notified of my application status?

Admissions are rolling. All applicants will receive an email notification with admission status.

Do I get any free time during the PLS program?

Yes. While the week is filled with classes and students take trips on Saturdays, nightly activities are offered but optional. Students also have free time between and after classes, and Sundays are generally free. 

If I have a friend who will also be participating in the PLS program, can I request him/her as a roommate?

Our goal is to have students develop new relationships and become part of a broader learning community, and we strongly encourage students to room with the student(s) we pair them with.   

Dates & Tuition

Before April 15th

Application Fee: $100

April 15th or later

Application Fee: $100

How to Apply

Apply Now