On Thursday morning, Cooley LLP announced via a press release that it will start to accept applications for its Diversity Fellowship program for 2013 on December 17, 2012. Those invited to apply for the position include law students in their first year at a law school who have the ability to promote diversity and a commitment to doing so as well.
Those who are chosen for the program will be awarded a paid 1L Summer Associate positions with the firm to go along with financial awards in the future that could reach $30,000 to help with tuition for law school. The students selected for the program will be announced in the spring of 2013 and the Summer Associate position will begin in the summer, once the student has completed their first year in law school.
“Restructuring our fellowship to include 1L students is key to our goal of engaging with diverse law students early in their careers and introducing them to the practice of law and to Cooley and its clients,” Whitty Somvichian said. Somvichian is a partner with Cooley and the chair of the law firm’s Diversity Committee. “By virtue of entering the law firm environment after their first year of law school, our recipients will gain an additional year of experience, and we will have the opportunity to provide mentoring, along with professional development opportunities, for an additional year.”
The requirements for the Summer Associate program includes the following stipulations:
An applicant has to be enrolled in an American Bar Association accredited law school full-time and have a targeted graduation date of 2015 when they file their application. The applicant also cannot have received any type of diversity award from another law firm that was paid from the dates of September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013. The applicant must be able to take part in and complete the summer program with Cooley in 2013.