THE NBA-CLS CONCLUDES ITS SECOND ANNUAL BLACK LAWYERS MATTER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Andrew Nunes, Immediate Past Chair
(416) 865–4510
anunes@fasken.com
Connecting African-American Law Students with Career Opportunities
JULY 15, 2021 – The NBA-CLS concluded its second annual Black Lawyers Matter (BLM) Internship Program on June 30, 2021. In its second year, this program leveraged the success from 2020 to further curate opportunities for Black law students to gain valuable experience and exposure to various aspects of legal practice and opportunities to position these students for full-time employment after law school.
The program is open to all law students from 1L to recent graduates to interview with corporate legal departments and law firms for an opportunity to spend the summer learning from seasoned lawyers committed to encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in the law.
For the second year in a row, the NBA-CLS BLM program was primarily held virtually. We received over 100 resume submissions and partnered with over 20 companies to make fifteen internship placements.
Participating law firms and corporate legal departments include: Association of Corporate Counsel – National Capital Region, American Cancer Society, Amplify, BIC, Davis & Gilbert LLP, DaVita Inc, Harris Associates, Jackson Lewis P.C., Littler Mendelson P.C., Mayer Brown LLP, Nasdaq, NBC Universal, Stevens & Lee, Wynden Stark LLC.
“We are delighted with the positive impact that this program has provided to the many Black law students who have and continue to participate,” said Andrew Nunes, NBA-CLS Chair. “Although the egregious racial events of 2020 may no longer dominate current news cycles, we cannot back down in our efforts to impact positive change in our industry and society.”
In addition to managing the interview process, the BLM Program also provides $10,000 scholarships (up to the amount of $40,000) to a limited number of interns selected by the BLM Internship Selection Committee. The NBA-CLS plans to continue the program for the foreseeable future to continue building and strengthening the pipeline of Black law students entering the legal profession. In addition to identifying and recruiting corporate and law firm partners, the program’s co-chairs, LaTanya Langley and Rashida MacMurray-Abdullah, are responsible for all of the logistics to match students and guide them throughout the summer and fall by organizing professional development and networking programs to
provide insights, resources and training to complement their internship experience.
The NBA CLS brings together diverse outside and in-house counsel who seek to increase their organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. To do this, the NBA-CLS provides networking and education forums for NBA members practicing in commercial law. The NBA-CLS is also committed to serving the community and expanding the pipeline of African Americans entering the legal profession. For more information visit www.nbacls.com.
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