Dec. 2, 2015 – It’s a chance to get to know – and shape – the up-and-coming generation of law students.
Employers – law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies – are needed for the 2016 Diversity Clerkship Program.
The State Bar’s Diversity Clerkship Program is a limited-term, summer employment experience that gives first-year law students with diverse backgrounds the opportunity to build legal practice skills and knowledge.
This year, more students than in previous years have shown an interest in the program, said Jerry Vang, State Bar member relations manager.
2015 Diversity Clerkship Program Employers
The State Bar recognizes and thanks these employers for their participation in the 2015 Diversity Clerkship Program:
American Family Mutual Insurance Co. – Corporate
Artisan Partners Limited Partnership
Boardman & Clark, LLP
CUNA Mutual Group
Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP
Institute for Global Ethics
Law Office of Odalo J. Ohiku
Law Offices of Thomas P. Stilp
Madison City Attorney Office
MillerCoors
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Rockwell Automation Inc.
S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
“This year, more than 50 prospective students attended our Diversity Clerkship Program informational sessions at the Marquette and U.W. law schools,” Vang said. “Last year we had 15 employers – we need three times this number to accommodate this year’s interest. We urge that employers sign up for the program to provide more first-year students of diverse backgrounds with a summer clerkship opportunity.”
Participating employers provide a paid, 10-week summer clerkship opportunity for a first-year law student with a diverse background.
Benefits to Employers and Student-Clerks
The program offers employers and students a unique opportunity to share experiences and to promote diversity in the legal profession. Student clerks gain valuable legal experience; employers obtain valuable legal support.
For Michael P. May, City of Madison attorney, the Diversity Clerkship Program benefits both employers and the clerks. His department has participated in the program since 2006.
“I’ve been very pleased with the State Bar’s Diversity Clerkship Program. We’ve had clerks provide our office with excellent research and other services,” May said, “and we are able to provide students with a great learning experience and insight into the operation of a government law office.”
Businesses also gain from the program, according to Mike Anderson, chief legal officer of CUNA Mutual Group.
“We see the Diversity Clerkship Program as an excellent opportunity in expanding our corporate efforts of building a diverse and inclusive CUNA Mutual Group. It is critical that we bring a broad set of perspectives as we help our customers build a better financial future,” Anderson said.
Marquette Law School student Jasmyne Baynard participated in the program in 2015. The program gave her the opportunity to gain advice from mentors, not only about working in the legal field, but also on critical issues of work and life balance. She learned how to work efficiently in her research, as well as the importance of collaboration, and how to think, read, and write as a lawyer.
“I have learned so much and grown so much as a young lawyer,” Baynard said of her experience in the program.
For 2015 summer clerk John Rome, a student at Marquette Law School, the experience gave him a greater knowledge not only of the law, but how actual lawyers and the law itself works.
As a clerk, “I was able to contribute to my office and make my supervising attorneys' lives a little easier,” Rome said.
More than 20 Years and More than 420 Students
For more than 20 years, the Diversity Clerkship Program has provided at least 420 law students of diverse background valuable legal experience and offered employers and students a unique opportunity to share experiences and to promote diversity in the legal profession.
An initiative of the State Bar of Wisconsin Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee, the program encourages diversity in the legal profession by providing a rich learning experience for participating students and employers.
“The Diversity Clerkship Program brings legal employers and law students together to provide superior client representation through a diverse bar,” said Kathleen Chung, a past program chair. “Eligible law students are assigned to employers who offer mentoring as well as hands-on legal work in settings that range from small to large firms, and in-house counsel to government agencies.”
How It Works
Qualified 1L students apply to the program at the beginning of their second semester. Employers participating in the program have a chance to interview the students at locations in Milwaukee and Madison once the students are accepted. To facilitate the assignment process, all employers interview all students.
Employers and law students are matched together after the application and interview process. During the summer weeks, students put into practice, in a “real-world” business setting, their research, writing and other legal skills they gained during their first year of law school.
Enroll Now
Employers can enroll through Jan. 22, 2016. Learn more about the program by visiting WisBar.org, or by contacting Jerry Vang at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6181.
