2017 Law clerk Yamilett Lopez with Wesley Warren of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Dec. 6, 2017 – When Yamilett Lopez was matched with Northwestern Mutual as her employer in the State Bar’s Diversity Clerkship program, she didn’t know much about corporate litigation.
“Working in that environment was really cool, especially as a 1L,” she said. “They have an amazing collaborative environment and a great rapport with their clients.”
During her clerkship in the summer of 2017, she learned especially of the importance of accurate research and legal writing. “You see the impact you have – they base their decisions on what you tell them,” Lopez said.
A Special Thanks to our 2017 Employers
- American Family Mutual Insurance Co. – Corporate
- Boardman & Clark LLP
- Church Mutual Insurance Company
- GE Healthcare
- Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation
- Law Office of Odalo J. Ohiku
- Law Offices of Thomas P. Stilp
- Madison City Attorney Office
- Milwaukee City Attorneys Office
- Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- Rockwell Automation Inc.
- SC Johnson & Son Inc.
- Society Insurance
- Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
- Wisconsin Department of Corrections
Lopez was one of 16 law students matched with employers in the program in 2017.
Employers – law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies – are needed for the 2018 Diversity Clerkship Program.
The 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. Participating employers provide a paid, 10-week summer clerkship opportunity for a first-year law student with a diverse background.
Now in its 26th year, the program has placed a total of 453 law students with 74 law firms, corporations, and government offices.
The program matches students with private law firms, corporate legal departments, and governmental agencies for summer law clerk employment. Employers provide students with the opportunity to build legal practice skills and knowledge.
Student clerks gain practical legal experience, and participating employers obtain valuable legal support.
Thirteen employers participated in the program in 2016. “We are incredibly grateful to the employers. There is no State Bar program more important than giving opportunities to law students and young lawyers to become part of the profession, said Lindsey Draper, a member of the State Bar’s Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Committee, “to see what the profession is, and to learn from people who give the profession the good name that it has in Wisconsin.”
Employers can enroll through Jan. 12, 2018. Learn more about the program, or contact Bryant Park at (800) 444-9404, ext. 6181.
More about the Diversity Clerkship Program
Learn more about the program:
