Morgan Lewis Foundation Awards Scholarships to 8 Diverse Law Students

New York, July 24, 2019: The Morgan Lewis Foundation has announced eight Diversity Scholarship award winners for 2019. The Morgan Lewis Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that awards academic scholarship established by global law firm Morgan Lewis.

A commitment to diversity and inclusion is a core value at Morgan Lewis, influencing how the firm serves clients, collaborates with colleagues, recruits prospective lawyers and professional staff, and engages with local communities. Future employment with Morgan Lewis is not a requirement for scholarship recipients. Instead, the foundation’s mission focuses on the larger goal of promoting diversity and inclusion within the profession.

“The next generation of leaders in the legal profession will implicitly understand the value diversity and inclusion brings to law firms, clients, and our communities,” said Amanda Smith, chief engagement officer and chair of the Morgan Lewis Foundation. “By awarding these scholarships, we are supporting that next generation, no matter where they decide to practice.”

The grants—typically $40,000 per student—are provided in four installments at the beginning of each semester of the recipients’ second and third years of law school. The 2019 Morgan Lewis Foundation scholars represent a diverse class of promising lawyers from seven different law schools:

• Andrew Ebrahem, University of Virginia School of Law
• Jordan Jean, The George Washington University Law School
• Esther Kang, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Jesse Kirkland, New York University School of Law
• Risa Kuroda, Boston College Law School
• Henry Leung, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
• Benjameen Quarless, University of Michigan Law School
• Bhavin Shah, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Established in 2014 using a fee award granted to Morgan Lewis in a historic settlement of a pro bono matter on behalf of African American families working to combat nearly a century of government-sponsored racial segregation in public housing in Baltimore, the Morgan Lewis Foundation provides financial support to promising law students from underrepresented groups. In addition to Amanda Smith, the Morgan Lewis Foundation board includes partners Michelle Park Chiu, Nagwa Hultquist, Rahul Kapoor, Tim Levin, Bob McDonnell, Grace Speights, Chuck Shimada, and Sara Wells.