Five Law Firms Support Public Interest Scholarship Program

San Francisco — September 29, 2009 — The California Bar Foundation today announced the awarding of scholarships totaling $120,000 to 28 aspiring public interest lawyers through its Public Interest Scholarship Program. Five of the top awards are named after sponsoring law firms — Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., Milstein, Adelman & Kreger, LLP, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, and Seyfarth Shaw LLP — which have made multi-year commitments to the Scholarship Program, including $10,000 gifts in 2009. A sixth top award, named in honor of the Foundation's founding executive director, is being funded by a group of longtime friends and colleagues of Jim Pfeiffer.

"The need for legal aid attorneys who provide critical assistance to low-income Californians is tremendous, but the high cost of law school, which can leave recent graduates with upwards of $100,000 in student loans, prevents many new lawyers from pursuing rewarding but historically low-paying public interest jobs," said Foundation President Mario Camara, a partner at Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP, one of the sponsoring law firms. "Supporting the California Bar Foundation's Public Interest Scholarship Program is a critically effective way to encourage aspiring public interest lawyers to continue their education. We are privileged to join with the efforts of many prominent California law firms to help these future lawyers as part of the Foundation's efforts to ensure meaningful access to quality legal services for all Californians."

Public Interest Scholarship recipients, who are nominated by their law schools and demonstrate a commitment to public service, academic excellence, and financial need, receive scholarships of up to $7,500 to assist with tuition and related education expenses. This year's winners include aspiring public defenders, former social workers, grassroots activists, human rights advocates, and students who have dedicated countless volunteer hours to various legal aid clinics and other nonprofit organizations.

"Being an active contributor to our community is a core value of our firm, and the Foundation's Public Interest Scholarship Program enables us to invest in outstanding law students who are the public interest attorneys of tomorrow," said Joan Kupersmith Larkin, a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP and a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors. "Year after year, the Foundation's Public Interest Scholarship recipients represent the best the legal profession has to offer and give us great hope for the continued vitality of our justice system."

For the fourth year, the Foundation is also recognizing one scholar who has demonstrated a deep commitment to children's issues as the Jim Pfeiffer Scholar, in memory of the Foundation's founding executive director. The Foundation is able to honor the Jim Pfeiffer Scholar with the generosity of a group of longtime Foundation supporters who have made multi-year commitments to the Public Interest Scholarship Program.

The Foundation will distribute the Public Interest Scholarship awards at a reception featuring Hon. Carlos R. Moreno of the Supreme Court of California on Thursday, October 1, at the offices of Bingham McCutchen LLP in San Francisco. The Foundation will also award $130,000 in Diversity Scholarships to 23 California law students at the reception.

Since 1992, the Foundation has awarded more than $2.4 million in Public Interest Scholarships to more than 550 students attending 27 California law schools.

The complete list of 2009 Public Interest Scholarship winners, by law school, is as follows:

California Western School of Law
Charity A. Lazzari
Porsha-Shaf'on Venable

Golden Gate University School of Law
Jon Golinger

Loyola Law School
Veronica Brin Yuspraikh Aragon
Maria Lucinda Garcia
Justin Jones Rodriquez — Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP Scholar

Southwestern Law School
Karen Wallace

Stanford Law School
Alvaro M. Huerta — Seyfarth Shaw Scholar
Alexandra Lampert
Esther Pun
Nina Robertson
Joanna Shalleck-Klein — Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP Scholar

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall)
Sonia Rachael Marie Farber — Milstein, Adleman & Kreger Scholar
Sarah Chilim Ihn — Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Scholar
Rebecca Nichols
Samuel Weiner

University of California, Davis, School of Law (King Hall)
Christina Ahn
Rebecca Rabovsky
John Tan

University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
Jacqueline Dan
Katherine Ojeda Stewart
Alicia Virani

University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Alec Levine

University of San Francisco School of Law
Michael Romero Cagampan
Krista Henneman

University of Southern California Gould School of Law
Jessica Hewins
Matthew Watts

Whittier Law School
Alison Flowers — Jim Pfeiffer Scholar

About the California Bar Foundation
The California Bar Foundation is committed to building a better justice system for all Californians. We champion full and equal access to the justice system, invest in the next generation of California’s lawyers, educate Californians about their rights and responsibilities under the law, and promote philanthropy throughout the legal community. A nonprofit founded in 1990 and affiliated with the State Bar of California, the Foundation annually awards grants to California organizations conducting innovative law-related projects and scholarships to outstanding California law school students. For more information, please visit our website at www.calbarfoundation.org.

Media Contact:
Leslie Hatamiya
Executive Director
(415) 856-0780 ext. 303
lhatamiya@calbarfoundation.org