FEATUREDARTICLE eing a graduate of an HBCU educational institution, such as North Carolina Central University, and the NCCU School of Law, is important to the Parrish family. In fact, it is a tradition. I was born in Brooklyn, New York and my family later moved to Wisconsin. My father, the late Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Clarence R. Parrish, was born in North Carolina. He spoke highly about the schools in North Carolina, especially North Carolina Central University. He was delighted when I decided to attend NCCU School of Law. Often, I am asked why I went into the field of law. I always reply, to know how, when, and where to make a difference in life for our people in our communities. Being a law student at NCCU was exciting and life changing. I entered the law school in 1969 when I was twenty years old. I had never been south before, only to New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington D.C. I soon adapted to life in the south. I am a 1972 graduate of North Carolina Central University School of Law. While there I learned from many learned professors. Dean Le Marquis DeJarmon and Dean Daniel G. Sampson really impressed me in my legal course decisions, and in my understanding of the law. The courses that held my interest most and that I have built my legal career upon since graduation are Domestic Relations, Probate, Juvenile Law, and Legal Research. I am ever so grateful to the National Bar Association granting me book scholarships for the three years of my attendance. Besides being a student, I also was involved with activities at the law school. I am one of three co-founders of the NCCU School of Law Raymond Watkins Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity which is thriving still today. In 1971, I served as the NCCU School of Law - Law Day Chairman. I have a published comment in the North Carolina Central Law Journal Vol.3, Spring 1972, No. 2, “Due Process in Juvenile Proceedings.” I also attended Exeter University School of Law in England for a summer taking comparative law classes. Since graduating from NCCU School of Law, I am licensed to practice law in Wisconsin 24 | NCCU SCHOOL OF LAW • OF COUNSEL MAGAZINE
North Carolina Central University is a
Family Tradition By Attorney Sheila M. Parrish-Spence Of Wauwatosa, (Milwaukee County), Wisconsin
