Baker Donelson's 2024 Diversity Scholarship

Baker Donelson is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where the individual differences among us are understood, respected and appreciated, recognized as sources of strength of the Firm, and valued as qualities that enrich the environment in which we work. Since 2008, we have annually awarded three recipients the Baker Donelson Diversity Scholarship, which provides diverse law students a salaried second-year Summer Associate position and $10,000 to be paid during the students’ third year of law school to help defray the cost of tuition and related expenses. To date, we are proud to have awarded 34 diversity scholarships.

With this in mind, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC will award three scholarships to three diverse rising 2L law students who will complete their first year of law school by June 2023. Recipients will be awarded a minimum six-week, salaried 2L Summer Associate position for the summer of 2024 in one of our Firm’s offices. Additionally, each recipient will be awarded $20,000, to help defray the cost of law school tuition and related expenses, which will be paid in two disbursements, conditioned on the following:

$10,000 will be awarded after the completion of a 2L summer associate clerkship, and

$10,000 will be awarded upon offer and acceptance of a permanent associate position.
The recipients’ office preferences will be taken into consideration, but final assignment will depend on the Firm’s hiring needs. The recipients may split their summers with other law firms; however, they are required to work during the period that the other Summer Associates in that Baker Donelson office are working.

Eligibility
To qualify for the scholarship, the candidates must:

Have completed their first year of a full-time JD program with an anticipated graduation date of 2025 at the time of application.

Be a member of a diverse population that historically has been underrepresented in the legal profession.

Attend an ABA Accredited Law School.

Candidates may not be the recipient of a similar scholarship award from another law firm.
Application Deadlines
The application process will open on Thursday, May 11, 2023. All applications must be submitted via the online application tool. To start the Diversity Scholarship Application process, you must first register on the Baker Donelson platform here. Once registered, you will then receive an email from Baker Donelson Information Services that will include a link to complete the Diversity Scholarship Application. Applications are due by midnight, Friday, June 9, 2023. Interviews for selected finalists will take place between June 29 and July 13. Scholarship recipients will be notified by July 17.

Requirements
A completed application package must include the following items:

Current Resume including undergraduate and law school GPA and class rank (if available).

Personal Statement. This scholarship helps us attract the best and brightest to Baker Donelson and supports our evolving diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. How do you envision contributing to Baker Donelson substantively and culturally if you were to join our firm? Please limit to 500 words.

Unofficial Law School Transcript must include 1L Fall and Spring semester grades.

Legal Writing Sample. The sample may be from your legal writing course in law school (please limit to 10 pages).

Professional Recommendation. One written professional recommendation from a law school professor or employer. Recommendations should be addressed to Rebecca Simon, Director of Recruiting. The recommendation document name should be labeled LastName-FirstName. It may be uploaded to the application or emailed directly to diversityrecommendation@bakerdonelson.com.