LAWFUEL Press Release Service – Kirkland & Ellis LLP is honored to announce the 11 recipients of its 2006 Minority Fellowship Program. The Fellowship includes a $15,000 stipend and a salaried summer associate position in one of the Firm’s five domestic offices following the student’s second year of law school. Students designated as finalists, who ultimately did not receive a fellowship, were eligible to receive offers to join the Kirkland summer program.
The recipients are:
Furqan Nanji, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Darah Smith, University of Chicago Law School
Jessica Kiser, Columbia Law School
Daya Nathan, Georgetown University Law Center
Tarica Chambliss, Howard University School of Law
Kelly Guzmán, University of Michigan Law School
Manoj Viswanathan, New York University School of Law
Ketan Shah, Northwestern University School of Law
Jesse Fu, University of Southern California Law School
Afam Onyema, Stanford Law School
Rebecca Olson, Tulane Law School (Boalt Hall School of Law visiting student ’05)
As a result of Hurricane Katrina, Rebecca Olson was displaced from Tulane Law School and spent the fall semester of 2005 as a visiting student at Boalt Hall School of Law. While at Boalt, Rebecca applied for and was awarded a Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding qualifications, initiative and unique circumstance.
From 1997 to 2003, Kirkland awarded scholarships to minority students at the University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern University School of Law, providing $304,000 in awards. In 2004, Kirkland’s Chicago and Northwestern scholarships were converted to fellowships.
“We are amazed by the accomplishments and intelligence of the students who apply for this fellowship,” said Walter H. Lohmann, Jr., co-chair of the Firm’s Diversity Committee and a partner in the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office. “It is our pleasure to welcome these 11 recipients to the Kirkland community.”
The goal of the Kirkland Minority Fellowship Program, created by the Firm’s Diversity Committee, is to facilitate an increase of minority lawyers within the Firm, and more broadly, the practice of law.
“Kirkland & Ellis supports many on-going diversity initiatives, including Fellowship Program,” said Eunu Chun, co-chair of the Firm’s Diversity Committee and a partner in Kirkland’s New York office. “We hope to continue bringing people with the most diverse backgrounds and brightest minds in the legal business to Kirkland.”
The Firm’s 36-member Diversity Committee focuses on the recruitment, retention, and promotion of attorneys in a manner that promotes diversity at all levels within the Firm. The Committee supports initiatives ranging from minority fellowships to sponsorships of diversity events and organizations. For example, in 2005, the Kirkland & Ellis Foundation contributed more than $745,000 to the sponsorship of non-profit organizations, foundations, and other diversity initiatives.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,100-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate, restructuring, tax, litigation, dispute resolution and arbitration, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
