Firm provides three stipends for students to work with non-profits or governmental entities; 2008 recipients working at Federal Trade Commission, NY Legal Assistance Group and U.S. Court of International Trade
NEW YORK (July 28, 2008) - Giving a boost to law students seeking experience in the public sector, Venable LLP has created a new fellowship program to provide financial support and encouragement for first-year law students pursuing public service internships.
The new program, underwritten by Venable's non-profit foundation, provides $5,000 stipends to three students intending to work at a nongovernmental organization, non-profit entity or a federal, state, or local government agency the summer after their first year of law school.
Hatched in New York, the Venable Foundation Public Interest Fellowship is initially geared for students attending one of the city's many law schools. The firm stipulates only that students work for an organization located in one of the cities or regions where Venable maintains an office, including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Baltimore as well as elsewhere in Maryland and Virginia.
The first Venable Fellowships were awarded to the following three students:
- Milos Gudzowski (Columbia Law School), who is working at the Federal Trade Commission in New York;
- Elynee Whaley (New York University Law School), who is at the New York Legal Assistance Group;
- Emiliano Martin De Luca (Fordham Law) who is working at the U.S. Court of International Trade.
"We are very pleased to be launching this program, which will give a new generation of law students added support for working in a legal capacity while serving the public service," said Mark Vecchio, a Venable corporate partner in New York who is helping direct the fellowship in its first season.
"So many attorneys at Venable have distinguished public sector and government experience, either in their backgrounds or in their current lives outside the office. We are particularly attuned to the vital role that public service plays in our legal system and in shaping the career goals of young lawyers," he added.
"We hope that the fellowship will inspire more law students in New York to get involved in community and government work at the start of their careers. We also want to congratulate all three of our inaugural Venable Fellows for successfully completing their first year studies and especially for choosing to take positions at such diverse and important institutions and organizations," Mr. Vecchio said.
The three Fellowship recipients were chosen by a selection committee at Venable on the basis of their academic performance, demonstrated qualities of leadership and commitment to the use of the law to further the public good.
The Venable Foundation was founded by the firm's partners in 1983, with a mission to promote the health and well-being of the communities where the firm's clients and attorneys work and live. The foundation works to provide a financial complement to the Venable's extensive pro bono contributions to the community. With an endowment of more than $1 million, it is one of the largest law firm-supported philanthropies in the country.
The Venable Foundation supports a wide range of civic, cultural, and charitable endeavors as well as public interest law and legal education, including such projects as, regional hospitals and local chapters of national health organizations, "bridge" funding for disadvantaged families and individuals, homeless shelters, community enrichment programs, social service centers, and food programs, higher and continuing education programs, and artistic and cultural events and organizations.
One of the American Lawyer’s top 100 law firms, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia. For more, visit www.Venable.com.