On October 19, the law school recognized its newest first-year Multnomah Bar Association (MBA) Fellows: Wren Anthony, Connor McRobert, and Daniella Cardinale-Weinberg.
The MBA Fellows Program is a highly selective program designed to diversify the Oregon State Bar and foster the success of diverse students in their legal education. The program provides fellows with a guaranteed ten-week summer internship during their 1L year and a $15,000 minimum stipend for their work. Fellows also receive a $20,000 scholarship from the law school for every year of education. Throughout law school, the program also provides fellows with judicial mentorship, access to networking opportunities, and access to other professional development opportunities to strengthen interviewing, networking, and various other professional skills.
The MBA Fellows program was co-founded by attorney Jollee Patterson, Emily Templin Fox, and Adele Ridenour, who wanted to increase access to justice in Oregon through enhancing the diversity of the bar and encouraging diverse law students to build fulfilling legal careers in Oregon. “So many of us saw a need to nurture a more diverse Oregon bar, and that starts at law school,” explained Patterson. “This program has been remarkably successful, and MBA Bar Fellows are highly sought out by Oregon law firms and other legal employers. We are so pleased to partner with Lewis & Clark Law and the University of Oregon Law to mentor these outstanding students.”
The MBA Fellows Program is made possible through the joint partnership between Lewis & Clark Law School, the Multnomah County Bar Association, and University of Oregon School of Law, with support provided by sponsoring employers. Each law school may only select a small number of fellows per year. Students are selected for their demonstration of outstanding potential for success in the legal profession, their strong commitment to or interest in practicing law in Oregon, and their contributions of diversity to the Oregon State Bar. In addition to the new 23-24 cohort, current Lewis & Clark Fellows include Emilia Saporiti ’24, Nick Mercado ’24, Allison Sandhu ’24, Celeste Williams ’24, Amitav Kamani ’24, Brian Aguilar ’25, Anna Hong ’25, Andy Newton ’25, and Kate Schultehenrich ’25.
The support for this program is sponsored by many generous employers. Past years’ Summer Sponsors included Dunn Carney, KinderCare, Lane Powell, Markowitz Herbold, Multnomah Bar Association/Federal Defenders, Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation/Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Professional Liability Fund, and Stoel Rives.
