Law students and lawyers gather in Hialeah.

Buzzards in the clear sky surveyed the property above Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah to see if they could get their turn to eat. Bar President-elect Ramon Abadin led the roasting-of-the-pig party while puffing on a cigar. Incantations of the Spanish language decorated the air as workers prepped food under large white tents.

For the 11th year in a row, the Kozyak Minority Mentoring Picnic took place on a sunny day for law students, lawyers, and judges to mingle and meet. Deemed as one of the largest networking opportunities in Florida for legal professionals, the picnic attracted thousands of people from all over the state.

Over the years, the bustling outdoor event has been bringing people of various races and cultures together in an effort to nurture minority law students.

"I'm 100 percent Cuban," said Abadin. "The Bar needs to reflect the demographic which we serve. It's very simple. We need to reflect who we serve."

"It's just wonderful. It's all mentoring," he explained. "There's nothing like this in the country. There's nothing like this in any other bar."

Law students who traveled all the way from Tallahassee wearing FSU Seminole shirts could be spotted in the crowd. UF Gators and Miami Hurricanes also wore their school colors.

FIU students could be seen sipping wine in groups wearing sunglasses and straw hats --one trio of Hispanic male students had only good things to say about the event.

Francisco Oporta, an FIU law student from Nicaragua, said the picnic offers him a great opportunity to get out and meet people.

"Hopefully, I can find somebody who can help me grow as a lawyer in the future," he said.

Oporta's Cuban FIU peer, Karel Suarez, chimed in: "I was here last year. I got a lot of mentors that helped me because of this event."

"This is the event that you cannot miss as a law student. It's the ratio. In this event, you get the same amount of attorneys with the same amount of students," Suarez continued.

A Puerto Rican-Cuban FIU law student, Douglas Soler, added, "Everyone's very welcoming and friendly. It's fantastic."

Although the outdoor festivities attracted families from all over the community to enjoy full plates of ethnic cuisine distributed free of charge; paella, roasted pig, chili, and an array of desserts, candies, and ice cream, serious discussions about life after law school took place under a sizable white "mentoring and networking" tent.

Beneath the tent, Tallahassee Administrative Law Judge June McKinney spoke...