Annual Minority Scholarship Recipients Announced
CHICAGO (February 4, 2008) — Nithya Abraham and Karen Yuanhwey Lam have been awarded McDermott Will & Emery's annual Minority Scholarships in the amount of $15,000 each. Ms. Abraham is a law student at the University of Illinois College of Law and will participate in McDermott's summer program in Chicago. Ms. Lam is a law student at the University of California, Los Angeles, and she will participate in the Firm's upcoming summer program in both the Firm’s Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. offices.
"I am delighted to award these two superb law students with this scholarship. Both recipients exemplify the qualities and credentials we are looking for in our law school recruits," commented Michael Boykins, co-chair of the Firm's Racial/Ethnic Diversity Committee. "This program is just one of the various initiatives the Firm is committed to in order to achieve greater diversity in the legal profession," added Jorge Arciniega, co-chair of the Firm’s Racial/Ethnic Diversity Committee.
Ms. Abraham was a member of the Jessup International Moot Court in 2007. Additionally, during her undergraduate study, also at the University of Illinois, Ms. Abraham was the All American Top Scoring Trial Attorney in the Nationwide Mock Trial Competition. She earned her B.A., cum laude, in political science and speech communication. This past summer she served as an intern at Equip for Equality, an independent, private, not-for-profit organization designated by the governor in 1985 to implement the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) System in Illinois.
Ms. Lam is the chief comments editor of the Asian Pacific American Law Journal. She earned her B.A. in economics and mass communications from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Lam worked as a research compliance program analyst at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems and served as a law clerk at the Health Services Division of County Counsel for the County of Los Angeles.
In order to be eligible for McDermott’s annual Minority Scholarships, students must be second-year minority law students at an ABA-accredited U.S. law school, meet McDermott’s hiring criteria, demonstrate leadership, community involvement, and a commitment to improving diversity in the legal profession. Recipients must also be accepted to and participate in the McDermott Summer Program. For more information on the McDermott Minority Scholarship, visit http://careers.mwe.com/.
McDermott is committed to a culture that values and nurtures diversity. We understand that our culture enhances our ability to attract and retain exceptional talent to best serve our clients. It also helps us bring the best, broadest and most innovative ideas and approaches to client service. To meet our commitment, we have established diversity programs and practices that have helped us achieve great progress in recent years.
