(October 28, 2013, Chicago & New York) – Reed Smith LLP today named second-year students Claudia Cortes at Chicago-Kent College of Law and Andrew Lacy at Cornell Law School as winners of its prestigious 2013 Diverse Scholars Award.
The firm annually provides $15,000 each to two of the nation’s top law students for their second-year tuition, as well as a paid summer associate position between their second and third years of study. Honorees are selected on the basis of their academic accomplishments and commitments to diversity, inclusion and community.
“Claudia and Andrew will be among the future leaders of the legal profession,” said Tyree P. Jones, Reed Smith’s Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion. “Their commitment to academic excellence, their diverse backgrounds, and their determination to succeed in the face of very formidable challenges and obstacles will serve them and this profession well. Reed Smith is pleased to recognize the accomplishments of these exceptional young professionals along their paths to future career and personal success with a Diverse Scholar Award.”
As a high school student, Claudia immigrated to the United States from Mexico, without her parents, in search of education. Despite limited proficiency in English, she excelled academically, enrolling in and graduating with honors from Elmhurst College before earning a Master’s degree in public administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and accepting a position as a law clerk at the United States Railroad Retirement Board.
“After I entered law school as an evening student in 2011, my family, which by then was in the United States, had to face the serious illness of two family members,” said Claudia. “And, while it has been challenging to work full time, care for my family members, and pursue academic excellence, Reed Smith’s recognition of these experiences through the Diverse Scholars award only strengthens my resolve to obtain my law degree and pursue a career in a prestigious, diverse global law firm.”
En route to college and law school, Andrew overcame obstacles of a different kind that are experienced by many young African American scholar-athletes. Andrew was a three-sport, 7-letter high school athlete in Western Pennsylvania, so many expected his athletic success – but not his academic prowess.
“This experience has shaped my views on diversity as there will not be more diversity until expectations change.” Andrew also notes that, “One of the biggest challenges for diverse students is not having access to successful professionals who look like us. I had no contact with or exposure to African American lawyers as a child and no attorney encouraged me to consider becoming a lawyer. I have a mission to ensure other young diverse students – at a very early age – know that law is a realistic career possibility for them.” As a result, Andrew mentors four diverse students interested in law or higher education, and he pledges to continue to contribute to diversity by making himself available.
Reed Smith’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative, of which the Diverse Scholars Award is an integral part, embodies the firm’s core values of integrity, quality, teamwork and respect, performance, innovation and improvement. The firm recognizes that diversity at all levels is a sign of the success of a successful enterprise.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 25 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute-resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, technology and media, shipping, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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