After checking on court paperwork for her case due to be heard in Rochester's Hall of Justice, Christine Cooper stopped for a chat with someone she'd not expected to meet. 

A recruiter filled the Rochester woman in on opportunities available within the state's unified court system. The pitch, one of many made at a unique job fair held in the city's main courthouse downtown.

"In the midst of it, I was at the right place at the right time," Christine said. "It’s nice to see a diverse mix of people coming out, for their children and for their community to see what's here."

Non-profits, neighborhood groups, law enforcement and an Historic Black College University were among those offering positions Wednesday on the Hall of Justice's first floor. 

Organizers say while federal courts have held federal job fairs in the past, there's no record that a local courthouse anywhere in the state, or country, has opened its doors to recruiters until the Seventh Judicial District of Rochester City Court brought groups together in the facility's main atrium. 

"It’s not that we don’t believe the accountability is important," said City Court Judge Hon. Van White, whose office partnered with Action for A Better Community to organize the event. "But opportunity is critically important too."

Shanita Brown seized it. Arriving at the courthouse with her two daughters, a conversation with a non-profit's recruiting team made her day.

"People get in trouble This is just something where you can turn your life round," the Rochester mother of two said. "And do something better than what you’re doing."

And in a place where the only knocking heard's done by a gavel, the citizens who gave the courthouse job fair a try, appreciated the chance to be considered for an opportunity to set a new path in their lives.

"The courthouse ought to be a place for opportunity," Judge White said. "And today, we’re sending that message."