September 29 – Reed Smith LLP today named Eric Huang, a second-year student at Northwestern University School of Law, as winner of its prestigious 2016 Diverse Scholars Award.

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. Huang will intern in Reed Smith’s Chicago office.

“Eric’s academic drive, commitment to diversity and professionalism are exemplary,” said Deborah Broyles, Reed Smith’s Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion. “His dedication to community service and his determination to become an attorney while contending with formidable challenges are indisputable. Reed Smith is pleased to recognize Eric’s accomplishments and support his progress toward attaining a law degree and joining our profession with the 2016 Diverse Scholar Award.”

Huang graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he was a Community Scholar and was active in the institution’s DC Schools Project and Language Exchange Program. His undergraduate studies also included a period of study abroad at International Christian University in Tokyo in 2010-2011.

A second-generation American raised in the Chinatown community of Chicago, Huang tutored immigrant middle school and high school students in English as an undergraduate at Georgetown. As a law student, he has volunteered at the Chinatown Pro Bono Legal Clinic and served as a poll-watcher to ensure the protection of voting rights. He is native speaker in Cantonese Chinese and has an advanced knowledge of Japanese.

“Growing up in a household supported by a single mother, I was privileged to travel abroad quite often because of my mother’s job as a travel agent specializing in overseas vacations,” said Huang. “These early travels opened my eyes to diverse cultures and shaped my career interests and goals. My study-abroad experience in Japan further contributed to my understanding and appreciation of diversity and the importance of the rule of law. I am grateful to Reed Smith for recognizing my commitment to diversity, financially supporting the completion of my law degree, and providing me with an outstanding summer associate learning opportunity in Chicago. I am confident this will be a formative experience in my legal career.”

As a result of his outstanding undergraduate record in academics and community service, Huang was offered a scholarship from the Japanese government to pursue graduate study in Japan. Unfortunately, personal issues required him to remain in the United States to support his family. Before entering law school, he was a data and agency analyst at National Tax Search, LLC, a Chicago company that provides commercial and residential property tax management services to clients across the United States.

At Northwestern School of Law, Huang is active in the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, International Law Society, and the Journal of International Law and Business. He serves as a writing coach providing ESL services to international students.

Huang completed a summer legal internship with the National Football League in New York before beginning his second year of study at Northwestern in Fall 2015.

Reed Smith’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative, of which the Diverse Scholars Award is an integral component, 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 a successful enterprise. It works continuously to foster an inclusive environment that supports the growth and development of all of its people, and by extension, the firm as a whole.

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 26 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, entertainment and media, shipping and transport, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing and technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.

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