2022 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM OF THE SACRAMENTO

1 of 6

2022 SUMMER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

OF THE

SACRAMENTO COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

DIVERSITY HIRING AND RETENTION COMMITTEE

PURPOSE AND GOALS

The Sacramento County Bar Association (“SCBA”) is committed to promoting and increasing diversity in

area law firms. The Diversity Fellowship Program demonstrates that commitment by providing diverse

students an opportunity to work in a law firm between the first and second years of law school.

Goals of the SCBA Fellowship Program are:

• To introduce diverse law students to the work, requirements, and culture of majority law firms;

• To help them develop skills, confidence and resume credentials and to make professional contacts

for the future; and

• To encourage them to consider law firms in their career planning.

ELIGIBLE CANDIDATES

Applicants must meet ALL of the following criteria:

1. Be a first-year full-time (1D) or second-year part-time (2E) student at McGeorge School of Law

A first-year student at UC Davis School of Law

2. Be a person of a racial or ethnic group that is under-represented in the legal profession, LGBTQ+,

a person with a disability, or a person who is able to otherwise articulate how s/he is diverse and

how his/her diversity is under-represented in the legal profession.

3. Must meet the academic eligibility requirements by meeting the definition of a student in good

standing, as set by each participating school. Each Registrar will certify the academic eligibility

of each applicant; only applications from candidates who meet this minimum qualification will be

forwarded to the SCBA.

4. Be eligible to work in the U.S. at the time of application.

2 of 6

EMPLOYER PARTICIPANTS

The 2022 list of participating firms will be announced with the selection of the fellows.

Employers that have participated in the past include:

Boutin Jones; California Earthquake Authority; Carothers, DiSante & Freudenberger; Cook

Brown, LLP; Downey Brand; Fisher Phillips; Greenberg Traurig; Hanson Bridgett; Jackson

Lewis; Klinedinst, PC; Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard; Orrick; Porter Scott; Seyfarth

Shaw, LLP; Shimoda Law Corp; Stoel Rives; Weintraub Tobin; and Wilke Fleury.

PROGRAM DATES

The ten-week Summer Fellowship Program is expected to begin on Monday, May 23, 2022 through

Friday, July 29, 2022.(Program dates are subject to change.)

COMPENSATION

The Fellowship Program has a strong educational component. Students are placed at a participating firm

on a random basis. Selected Fellows will be paid at least the equivalent to $20.00/per hour based on an

assumed 40-hour workweek.

OFFERS OF FUTURE EMPLOYMENT

Since the primary purpose of the program is educational, offers should not be expected for the following

summer. Fellows are welcome to apply independently to their firm for the next summer, or after

graduation. All firms are encouraged to interview participants from the Fellowship Program if the

students meet each firm’s hiring criteria. Removing the offer aspect emphasizes the educational intent of

the Program.

SELECTION PROCESS

Committee members of the Diversity Hiring & Retention Committee, in teams of 2 or 3, will interview

candidates. A meeting of the full Committee is then held to select the Fellows. Once the Fellows are

selected, they are paired with a participating firm on a random basis.

Candidates will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Skills: Analytical ability, oral and written communication, and professional judgment.

• Personal Qualities: Personable manner, self-confidence, enthusiasm, poise, maturity, self-

awareness, and work ethic.

• Miscellaneous Factors: probability of success, and likelihood of staying in Sacramento.

The application is incorporated as the last few pages of this document, which is available in the

Symplicity Document Library. Submit a PDF of your application and resume to the McGeorge

Career Development Office (lawcareers@pacific.edu) and copy Leah Adams ([email protected])

or the UC Davis Career Services Office (careerservices@law.ucdavis.edu) and copy Natalie Butcher

([email protected]) no later than 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 12, 2022. Late applications

will not be accepted.

Interviews will take place between January 17 and February 2, 2022. The place of the interview is not

indicative of the firm the student would be assigned should the student be selected as a Fellow. Notice of

selections will be sent to the Career Services Office by February 4, 2022 and to selected Fellows between

February 3-11, 2022.

3 of 6

IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM THAT PROSPECTIVE FELLOWS SHOULD

UNDERSTAND

While in many ways the Fellowship experience is identical to a summer associate job, it differs in several

key ways that applicants must recognize:

Students do not apply to specific firms, nor do firms select specific students. Rather, the

participants are chosen for this educational program by a committee and are randomly assigned to

a law firm. When finalists are notified that they have been selected, they are informed of their

firm assignments and may accept or decline the Fellowship at that time.

Applicants should be aware that the participating firms vary in size, location, practice areas,

resources, training programs, firm policies, etc. Although each selected student is part of the

same SCBA Diversity Fellowship Program, each student is expected to follow the policies and

practices of the law firm to which he or she is assigned.

The Committee seeks prospective Fellows who view the Fellowship as a learning opportunity,

wherever they may be assigned.

Interviewers selecting summer fellows are likely to ask students to explain their eligibility.

Lawyers and staff at host firms may ask candidates about their eligibility and how their status as a

member of a diverse or under-represented group has affected their opportunities.

Please note that the Diversity Hiring & Retention Committee members and participating law

firms are not obligated to keep confidential the basis on which candidates for the program

consider themselves eligible.

4 of 6

APPLICATION

2022 SACRAMENTO COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

DIVERSITY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

*********************************

I. PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name:

Address:

Cell Phone:

E-mail address:

II. ELIGIBILITY

At the beginning of your Personal Statement, please state concisely why you believe you

meet the eligibility requirements for the Fellowship Program, as set forth on the first page

of this information and application packet.

III. PERSONAL STATEMENT

Attach a separate document that explains why you want to participate in this program.

Please include information on each of the following:

a. Activities and community involvement

b. Areas of legal interest

c. Career goals

d. Special background information

e. Outside interests

5 of 6

IV. AREAS OF INTEREST.

To help the interviewing attorneys learn more about you, please indicate below any

practice areas, in order of preference, you are interested in. If you do not have any

preference at this time, please mark that box. This information will not be used to

determine whether you will be selected as a fellow, but it may foster discussion at your

interview. As first-year law students, it is very common to be open to all areas of law.

This is not an exhaustive list, but is an example of some of the participating firm’s areas

of concentration.

Please rank your interest:

□ Law firm that has multiple practice groups;

□ Employment/Labor Law;

□ Public policy/campaign law;

□ Worker’s Compensation/Plaintiff;

□ Environmental/water law;

□ General Litigation;

□ Insurance Defense;

□ No preferences at this time, interested in all practice groups.

V. REFERENCE LETTER.

You may attach a reference letter to your application, but it is not required. Not attaching

a reference letter will not preclude you from being selected as a fellow. If you do so, ask

your reference to address why you should be selected as a fellow. In other words, the

letter should not be just a letter from a family friend, but someone who has supervised

you in a work environment, or a professor that can attest to your skills, personal qualities,

work ethic and/or who has expressed special interest in your success. Your reference

may submit the letter to the Career Services contact listed below via email or directly to

you. Please note that reference letters submitted after the application deadline will not be

considered.

McGeorge School of Law

Leah Adams, ladam[email protected]

6 of 6

VI. AUTHORIZATION

I authorize my law school Registrar to release my first semester grades in writing or by

telephone to the McGeorge School of Law Career Development Office or UC Davis

School of Law Career Services Office for the purpose of establishing that I meet

McGeorge School of Law’s or UC Davis School of Law’s definition of academic

eligibility so that this application can be forwarded to the Sacramento County Bar

Association Diversity Hiring & Retention Committee.

________________________________________ _________________________

Signature Date

________________________________________

Print Name

Please submit:

1. A PDF copy of your completed application (including personal statement) and

2. PDF of your resume to:

The McGeorge School of Law Career Development Office ([email protected]) and

copy Leah Adams ([email protected]du)

January 12, 2022 at 5:00 PM

(Please note: No exceptions will be made; this deadline will be strictly enforced.)