$80,000 Awarded in Summer Scholarships to Law Students Working in Employment or Labor Related Positions

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Lawyers Association ('CLA") and the California Lawyers Foundation ("CLF") are pleased to announce the recipients of the Summer 2021 Labor and Employment Law Student Scholarship Program, a joint program of CLA's Labor and Employment Law Section and the California Lawyers Foundation (a 501(c)(3) charitable organization). The funding of these scholarships was made possible by CLA's Labor and Employment Law Section and provides valuable support for diverse law students interested in pursuing careers in labor and employment law. The Section, CLA, and CLF are committed to fostering the career growth of persons of color, women, members of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and members of other underrepresented groups. CLA's Labor and Employment Law Section recognized a particular need for law students interested in practicing labor and employment law and approved $80,000.00 for summer scholarships to ten (10) law students, who will receive $8,000.00 each, to pursue employment or labor related work during Summer 2021.

The purpose of the scholarships is to provide funding to diverse law students to engage in legal endeavors in an employment or labor related field that may be non-compensated or undercompensated. The summer scholarship recipients are:

Kalan Andrews, UC Davis School of Law, interning at the New York Legal Assistance Group
Sami Elamad, Santa Clara University School of Law, interning at the National Labor Relations Board
Mikaila Hernandez, University of San Diego School of Law, interning at Root and Rebound
Josephine Mendoza, UC Hastings College of the Law, interning at the U.S. Department of Labor
Athena Niayesh, Santa Clara University School of Law, interning at the National Labor Relations Board
Ngoclan Nguyen, Golden Gate University School of Law, interning at the U.S. Department of Labor
Angelique Rael, Tulane Law School, interning at Legal Aid at Work
Alexandra Reyna, Loyola Law School, interning at Bet Tzedek
Eduardo Ruiz, University of San Francisco School of Law, interning at California Rural Legal Assistance
Jincy Varughese, UCLA School of Law, interning at Warehouse Worker Resource Center

"Thank you to the Labor and Employment Law Section and the California Lawyers Foundation for allowing me to pursue work that I am passionate about this summer," said scholarship recipient Josephine Mendoza. Another scholarship recipient, Mikaila Hernandez remarked, "this scholarship really helps me pursue the work I want to do with my legal education."

"We were extremely pleased with the high number of applications we received for our inaugural summer. The law students were outstanding, and it was a very hard decision for the selection committee to make," said Jinny Kim, chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section's Diversity Subcommittee. Other members of the Diversity Subcommittee include Adrianne de Castro, Anne Giese, Nicole Heeder, Kevin Hosn, Latika Malkani, Hina Shah, and Scott Stillman.

"We are committed to diversifying the labor and employment law bar and developing the pipeline of future labor and employment law practitioners," said Deborah Maddux, Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section. "CLF is in a unique position to partner with CLA to deliver practice area specific fellowships and scholarships as part our commitment to expanding the pathway into the legal profession," said Ona Alston Dosunmu, CEO and Executive Director of CLA and CLF.

For more information about the mission of the California Lawyers Association, or how to join, please visit https://calawyers.org. For information about the California Lawyers Foundation, please visit https://calawyersfoundation.org/. For information about the Labor and Employment Law Section, or how to join, please visit https://calawyers.org/section/labor-and-employment-law/.

About the California Lawyers Association:
Established in 2018, CLA is the bar association for all California attorneys. CLA's mission is to promote excellence, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law.

About the Labor & Employment Law Section of the California Lawyers Association:
With over 8,000 members, the Labor and Employment Law Section furthers the knowledge of its members in labor law and employment issues by providing a forum for lawyers and non-lawyers with an interest in labor relations and employment issues. The mission of the Labor & Employment Law Section is to provide diverse educational opportunities and perspectives regarding labor and employment issues to our section members, to the bar, and to the general public. The Section provides educational opportunities throughout the year, including opportunities for online participatory MCLE credit and self-study MCLE credit.

About the California Lawyers Foundation:
Formed in 2019, the California Lawyers Foundation ("CLF") is the charitable arm and partner of the California Lawyers Association, California's voluntary statewide bar association. While new to the scene, the CLF is a statewide foundation actively developing and supporting projects that improve access to justice for people in need and make the legal system more fair and efficient for everyone; increase diversity in the profession and help educate Californians about the 3^rd branch, the role of lawyers and the rule of law. CLF is a tax-exempt organization under Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") Section 501(c)(3). For more information about CLF, please visit https://calawyersfoundation.org/.

SOURCE California Lawyers Association