In a stately building on Chicago’s west side, teens learn about the foundations of a good legal argument. They study contracts and put themselves in the shoes of a client — someone who’s maybe navigating a divorce settlement or seeking custody of their kids.
Not every student who attends the specialized high school will become a lawyer, but Legal Prep Charter Academy encourages critical thinking. It also teaches practical skills that teens can use as adults, such as knowing their rights during a traffic stop or navigating a car purchase.
“No matter if our students go into the law field or not,” English teacher Emily Mrosko said, “those skills … are invaluable assets that can make them successful no matter what they choose to do.”
Sam Finkelstein, who founded the charter school in 2012, has long wanted to grow this mission. But, the school in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood is constrained by the space of its 1906 red brick building and a political environment that’s chilled on charter school expansion.
Finkelstein and Legal Prep’s leaders turned their attention to Indianapolis — a place they felt has a robust legal community eager to work with young people. They were also drawn in by Ivy Tech’s willingness to partner with high schools, and a city seemingly more supportive of charter schools.
But, then came another surprise. Just as Legal Prep was finalizing its preapplication for an Indianapolis school, the environment in Indy changed.
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Some lawmakers proposed dramatic changes, such as disbanding Indianapolis Public Schools and converting the district to charter schools. IPS leadership, in response, called for a pause on new charters in the city.
Divisions were drawn. And while IPS was left intact, charter schools walked away with a big win: an increased share of property tax dollars previously given to traditional public districts like IPS. A new group will also study public schools in Indy and make recommendations by the end of the year for how traditional public schools and charter schools operate.
But, the uncertainty hasn’t deterred Legal Prep. In fact, the school is moving forward with plans to open near Monument Circle in fall 2026. They’ll meet with the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation in a public hearing June 24 to make their case for a city-sponsored charter.
“Politics is politics,” Finkelstein said. “We’re trying to do the best we can by kids.”
What makes Legal Prep different
“Life’s most urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
That Martin Luther King Jr. quote, among others from Malcolm X, Maya Angelou and Gandhi, greet students everyday at the steps just inside Legal Prep’s Chicago campus.
The quotes weren’t picked specifically by Legal Prep’s staff. The school held onto the decor from a past tenant of the building — another charter school, perhaps — but it sets the tone for Legal Prep’s mission.
Finkelstein opened Legal Prep Charter Academy with an observation: There are many high-potential students in Chicago, but not all of them are afforded a high-quality education.
Once a practicing attorney with a law firm, Finkelstein had most recently worked for a nonprofit which sought to diversify the legal profession. The legal field, he thought, was missing a pipeline for minority and low-income students.
So, Finkelstein established his school in one of Chicago’s most impoverished neighborhoods. Nearly all of Legal Prep’s 200 students are Black and 87% are considered low income.
“West Garfield Park is the highest-need community in the city in terms of almost every metric — if you’re looking at poverty, if you’re looking at gun violence, if you’re looking at drug crimes,” Finkelstein said. “We really want our kids to know they’re going to be high school graduates when they come through our doors.”
At Legal Prep, every teen takes a law class. Ninth graders start with law and literature paired with a negotiations program where students learn how to work through disagreements between clients. In the upper grades, students study criminal and constitutional law and participate in mock trial and debate competitions.
The teens may never have met a lawyer before. Or, if they have, it may not have been a positive experience. So the school partners with corporate legal departments and law firms like Faegre Drinker, which invite students to their board rooms for monthly contests and mentoring. The school and its partners try to connect students with attorneys of color or who are women.
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At 41%, women have inched closer to closing one gap in the male-dominated profession, according to data from the American Bar Association. But, the representation of Black lawyers nationally has remained stagnant at just 5%.
“My girls have built such a good rapport within our partner law firms,” said Mrosko, the English teacher, who is also a freshman adviser. “It’s really helpful to see females in a high-wielding, professional capacity.”
What do graduates do after Legal Prep?
About 70% of Legal Prep students go on to college after high school, according to the school’s records, and about 20% go to trade school or into a certificate program.
Legal Prep keeps in touch after graduation — usually for two years — and offers help with scholarships and financial aid.
But, the school doesn’t keep data on how many of its students complete their postsecondary programs, and Finkelstein admits “a good number” drop off after their first year. It’s something he sees as an area for growth.
“There’s resources that we can offer that I don’t even think our alumni are necessarily aware of,” Finkelstein said. “We’re trying to really create that pipeline program.”
It’s also not clear how many of Legal Prep’s students have become lawyers. The school doesn’t keep data on that either.
However, the school recently launched a Law Society for current students interested in the career path, and several high schoolers will intern with local judges this summer.
Branching out to middle school
Legal Prep wants to bring that same model to Indy.
The city’s many downtown law firms and nearby IU McKinney School of Law were of particular interest, Finkelstein said. Indianapolis also presents a new opportunity to Legal Prep: middle school.
It’s harder to open a combination middle-high school in Chicago, Finkelstein said. Most schools there serve grades K-8 or 9-12.
“Our incoming freshmen tend to have reading and math skills within the range of fourth through sixth grade,” Finkelstein said. “We wanted to start earlier ideally to close the gap before high school. It opens up a lot of opportunities for students, and we don’t find ourselves then struggling as much to get kids proficient by the time they get to college.”
Legal Prep leaders homed in on Indianapolis last summer, and submitted a formal preapplication to the Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation in February.
That was before Indiana lawmakers greenlit increased property tax sharing, sparking debates over public education in Indianapolis. During a spring Indianapolis Charter School Board meeting, members questioned how some of the proposed schools wouldn’t simply be “cannibalizing” the enrollment of other nearby schools.
The Legal Prep leader told Mirror Indy he’s aware that Indy already has a high school that teaches law — Arsenal Tech. It’s something Indianapolis Charter School Board member Jennifer Darby asked about during Legal Prep’s initial presentation.
But, Finkelstein says, Legal Prep’s model is different. It focuses more on training future lawyers while Tech’s courses teach fire and public safety.
“We want to bring something unique and new and that’s innovative, and the families will tell us whether we’re right,” he said. “When you’re in a robust choice environment, people vote with their feet.”
Who could Legal Prep serve in Indy?
And, the school has ambitious goals. When fully scaled up, Legal Prep leaders say an Indianapolis campus could serve more than 800 students, which is large for an Indy charter school.
Only a handful of long-established, brick-and-mortar charters in Indianapolis enroll more than that. Most take between 200 and 600 students.
Legal Prep has a couple locations in mind downtown, but its leaders haven’t finalized anything.
School leaders had initially planned to rely on public transit to help students from low-income neighborhoods get to school. But, Finkelstein said, the school is considering its own transportation options as well.
And, while leaders say they remain committed to serving diverse, low-income students, Legal Prep’s team also sees opportunity in recruiting from a different demographic — commuters.
“We’ve been talking to some businesses,” Finkelstein said in an April presentation to the Indianapolis Charter School Board, “And this was not really part of our enrollment plan originally, but as we hear more from the community, the folks are talking about wanting to bring their kids in with them, drop them off at our school and then pick them up at the end of the day.”
It’s not the only difference they anticipate.
Finkelstein said his team has already begun reaching out to educators locally who have experience working with English language learners — a need the school is more likely to encounter in Indianapolis. He also said his team stands ready to make changes.
That could mean hiring a new staff member with experience in a foreign language or restructuring the school day to make more time for English language learner-focused programming.
“That’s always been our model here and part of why we like being a charter,” Finkelstein said. “If our kids need something, we just implement it. We don’t have to go through 15 layers of bureaucracy.”
That flexibility also allows the school to recruit specialized educators. Some of them have industry experience in legal or business fields, but aren’t necessarily licensed as teachers.
Take, for example, Principal Joseph Williams. He joined the school as a dean and is currently working through a master’s program with a focus on curriculum and instruction. He’s also been tapped to lead the Indianapolis campus, where state law requires principals be licensed.
It’s something Williams said he plans to research as Legal Prep establishes itself in Indy. The principal has already begun splitting his time between Chicago and Indianapolis, visiting community events and meeting with prospective partners.
“It’s starting to feel like home,” Williams said. “I’ve been down there so much, I’ve met quite a few people.”
Seeking an Indy charter
Legal Prep plans to phase students into a new campus over time. Leaders hope to enroll about 170 students in their first year in Indianapolis. But, first, they’ll need to be granted a charter.
Legal Prep leaders submitted a finalized charter application to city officials a few weeks ago, and they’ll appear before the Indianapolis Charter School Board on June 24.
The board will take public comment and hear a presentation from the school before deciding whether to grant the school a charter.
If successful, school leaders hope to open their new campus in the fall 2026 semester.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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