Each year, the firm provides $20,000 to one or more outstanding law school students in the United States who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The award supports the honoree’s law school-related expenses, and the firm also provides a paid summer associate position at Reed Smith between the student's second and third years of study.
“Jalen Brown and Zainab Rahami epitomize the qualities and characteristics it takes to be a great lawyer and embody the drive and perseverance required to be Deborah J. Broyles Diverse Scholar,” said John Iino, Reed Smith’s Global Chair of Diversity & Inclusion. “We commend them for their academic achievements and commitment to their communities and look forward to having them join us next summer.”
The 2017 Deborah J. Broyles Diverse Scholars
Jalen Brown, Loyola University School of Law
Jalen Brown excels not only in the class room, but also in the community. A student in the top 10% of his class at Loyola University School of Law, Jalen has been selected to be an academic tutor for upcoming academic year and has joined the staff of the Loyola Consumer Law Review and is a member of the Moot Court Honors Appellate Advocacy Program.
In addition to his academic acumen, Jalen has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to community service. His service began through his work at church through grade school and high school. As an undergrad at the University of Illinois - Champaign, Jalen served on the philanthropy committee of his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi. In law school, he has continued to devote time to service projects, including helping to feed the homeless and volunteering for MLK Family Health Day, and this year, he will be mentoring inner-city students at a local community college. As a result of his dedication to helping and empowering others, he was awarded the Schiff Hardin Diversity Scholarship for the 2017-18 year, for his commitment to diversity.
Zainab Ramahi, UC Berkeley School of Law
You would be hard pressed to find a candidate who has demonstrated more commitment to diversity and inclusion in the spirit of our Deborah J. Broyles Diverse Scholar Award than Zainab Ramahi. After graduating from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, ON, Zainab co-founded Muslim Social Services, an organization that strives to support refugee and racialized newcomers in her local community, including responding to issues related to the resettlement of over 1,500 Syrian refugees in the region where the organization operates. Zainab also served as project architect for the Studio Impact curriculum development program where she trained youth identified as “disengaged” in the language of systems thinking. In 2013, she participated in the Equinox Summit which brought together global experts in education to explore how to best bridge gaps in high school education. Zainab also developed an anti-oppression training handbook during her participation as an action group leader with the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group. Bear in mind that all of this was accomplished before she enrolled in law school.
Zainab’s academic credentials are equally impressive. She is earning Honors and High Honors in the vast majority of her law school classes at UC Berkeley School of Law, while actively participating in an extensive list of student groups and organizations. She serves as the Equity & Inclusion Chair for the Coalition for Diversity at the law school, Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law and Co-Director for the Prisoner Advocacy Network, in addition to active participation in nine other student organizations. Zainab also received a CAIR – California Scholarship from the Islamic Scholarship Foundation her first year of law school.
Since its inception, Reed Smith’s Diverse Scholar’s Program has awarded scholarships and summer associate positions to 14 law school students, 6 of whom are currently practicing at Reed Smith. For more information about the Deborah J. Broyles Diverse Scholars Program and how to apply, please visit diversity.reedsmith.com.
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