Diversity Scholarship

The California Bar Foundation is committed to building a California legal profession representing the communities it serves and serving the communities it represents.  

The Foundation’s Diversity Scholarship financially supports newly admitted law students from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession and committed to attending law school in California.  Rising first-year law students are invited to apply by the beginning of the summer prior to commencing their first semester of law school. 

The Diversity Scholarship provides $7,500 in restricted funding intended to cover costs associated with attending law school (i.e., tuition, fees, books and related education expenses).

_Diversity Scholarship Fund

_The Foundation recognizes top scholars with named scholarships in honor of donors who make generous, multi-year commitments to the Diversity Scholarship Fund.

Diversity Scholarship Honor Roll

Click here to see the Diversity Scholarship Honor Roll - recipients from 2008-2012.

2013 Diversity Scholarship Application

Application Deadline 
Please note that the application deadline for the 2013 Diversity Scholarship has passed. Winners will be notified in mid-August. 

Check back in Spring 2014 for information about the 2014 Diversity Scholarship Application Process. 

For additional information, please contact Natalia Merluzzi at (415) 856-0780 or nmerluzzi@calbarfoundation.org

2012 Diversity
Scholarship Recipients

CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW 

Samantha Shine McPherson
Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP Scholar
Samantha wants to become a lawyer so she can protect victims of crime, just as she was protected as a child. Samantha was only a year-and-a-half old when her father, a San Diego police officer, was sentenced to 56 years in jail for raping multiple women. With her father out of her life, Samantha and her mother rebuilt their family, but their hopes for normalcy were shattered when Samantha’s stepfather molested her. At 17, she testified against him for crimes he had committed several years before. When he was sentenced to five years in jail, she was on her way to college. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles and intends to become a federal prosecutor. Samantha is not ashamed of the events that have transpired in her life, rather she uses them to motivate her each and every day.  

LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL 

MavEryck Langford Stevenson 
Manatt Scholar 
MavEryck’s commitment to public service started in the United States Army. After being wounded in the line of duty, MavEryck was honorably discharged. Having lost the use of his left hand and vision in his left eye and wheelchair bound, doctors told him that he would never walk again. At 22, he took his first steps. At 42, he graduated Deans’ list from California State University at Fullerton. Now, after working at the State of California’s Employment Development Center, he aspires to be an administrative law judge. His goal is to ensure that all Californians receive fair and equitable treatment under the Unemployment Insurance Code.  

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW 

Dr. Ruijuan (Whitney) Hao
UPS and Morrison & Foerster LLP Scholar
Whitney is the first from her village and first from her rural region in China to graduate from college and study abroad. Although her parents could not read or write, Whitney dedicated herself to her studies. She finished at the top of her class at Hunan University. Then she earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of California, Riverside. Whitney appreciates the opportunities she had throughout her educational career, and she has supported other foreign students aspiring to achieve the same goals.  

STANFORD LAW SCHOOL

Denise Ballesteros
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation Scholar
By ten years old, Denise had already achieved a higher level of formal education than her mother, who along with their family emigrated from Mexico. Even as a child, Denise put in extra effort to ensure she received a quality education. She traveled several miles each day to her grandparents’ house in order to catch a bus to a better public school than the one in her neighborhood. Her diligence paid off, and Denise graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in Chicana/o Studies and International Development. Denise is committed to practicing public interest law in her hometown of East Los Angeles. 

Nicole Marquez 
Arnold & Porter LLP Scholar
As a woman of Chinese, Korean, Irish, Mexican and Native American descent, Nicole benefits from having a multiethnic perspective in her immediate family. The varied narratives of her relatives and her own experience with both racism and acceptance have inspired her passion for creating a more equitable and just society. Since earning her degree in International Relations and International Economics at John Hopkins University, Nicole has worked on policy initiatives to combat human trafficking. As a policy associate, she developed statewide strategic plans and advocated for national legislative change. Nicole plans to practice in the field of international human rights law. 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, SCHOOL OF LAW 

Hugo Cabrera
Board of Directors Scholar
Hugo grew up in, as he describes it, “California’s Third World”, the Eastern Coachella Valley. His mother and father moved from bustling Mexico City to a quiet nature preserve in the Mojave Desert. Hugo traveled several miles a day to attend a public school where every student was labeled “at-risk”. His love of the written word propelled him out of poverty and into the Department of Arts and Media Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Since college, he has worked at Univision television station, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Center for Investigative Reporting. His most challenging and rewarding job was his most recent experience as an advocate for mentally and physically disabled prisoners. Hugo plans to use his talent and experience as an advocate for California’s Latino community.
 

Salmon Hossein 
Kilpatrick Townsend Scholar
Salmon was voted as one of “7 Bruins who Will Change the World” because he already has. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, he fought against intolerance, the cultural and religious insensitivity he experienced because he was Afghan. He educated his fellow classmates by engaging them in volunteerism. Salmon started the United Afghan Club, which raised over $50,000 to feed orphans, build wells, open libraries, and provide clothes and school supplies for students in Afghanistan. He is honing his leadership skills as he earns his master’s degree from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Salmon will practice public interest law upon graduation.  

Nicole Johnson 
The Morrison & Foerster Foundation Scholar
Sitting in sweltering 100-degree heat waiting for her mother to finish a tribal council meeting, Nicole realized her mission in life. She had to help Native American tribes, like her own, attain financial stability through implementation of clean technology. At Saint Mary’s College of California, Nicole studied Environmental Science and organized energy saving competitions among the student dormitories. While in college she also worked as a Cleantech Intern at Morrison & Foerster LLP, her sponsoring firm. Already accomplished in her field, Nicole looks forward to becoming an expert in clean technology solutions.  

Emily Ly
Gibson Dunn and Frederick and Christine Brown Scholar
The child of Chinese immigrants, Emily was the first in her family to attend college. At the University of California, Berkeley, she excelled academically as well as a leader on campus and in the community. She improved dormitory conditions across University of California campuses as the Communications Coordinator for the Residence Hall Assembly. She also served the larger Bay Area Community as an AmeriCorps’ JusticeCorps Program Intern. Emily, herself, provided access to justice by assisting nearly 300 pro se litigants, including individuals with limited English proficiency and cases involving children. She is committed to working with underserved communities, and will continue this work as a lawyer. 

Cesar Valdez
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Foundation Scholar
Immigrating to the United States left an indelible print on Cesar. Barely four-years old at the time, he still remembers riding on his mother’s lap for the 36 hour bus ride from Durango, Mexico. He grew up in overcrowded and under-resourced schools. And although his own trajectory changed when he was enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, as both a Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholar, Cesar remained connected to his roots. At Berkeley he studied immigration and social inequity and volunteered as a tutor for low-income high school students. When he earned a scholarship to pursue a qualitative research project, he chose to study HIV/AIDS services for Latino migrant workers. Cesar plans to return to Los Angeles as a public interest attorney to serve his community.  

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS, SCHOOL OF LAW (KING HALL) 

Elisa Gonzalez
Calvo Fisher & Jacob LLP Scholar
Elisa was two years old when she and her family emigrated from Mexico to East Los Angeles and into a small twobedroom home with nine other people. Her parents struggled working several low-wage jobs while Elisa and her sister endured overcrowded public school classrooms. Elisa watched her cousins, classmates, neighbors, and friends get lost in gangs and drugs. Knowing that her parents had sacrificed so much for her, Elisa surrounded herself with positive role models. When she went to the University of California, Davis, she became a mentor herself. She volunteered in her community to ensure children received quality dental care and tutored homeless youth. Elisa is committed to returning to Los Angeles to work as a public interest attorney.  

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, HASTINGS COLLEGE OF THE LAW 

Perla Edith Parra
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Scholar
Perla found her voice at five years old when she demanded her mother leave her abusive father after he threatened her mother’s life at gunpoint. After the violence ended, the turbulence began. Perla and her family relocated to California, and despite her mother working two jobs, her family moved over 25 times before she graduated from high school. She continued to speak out as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a degree in Anthropology, and again as a graduate student at Cornell, where she received her master’s degree in Public Administration. A voice for the voiceless, Perla has advocated on behalf of children and families, homeless individuals, students of color, and Burmese immigrants in Thailand. She has transcended beyond labels or geographic boundaries: she is a self-proclaimed “human being fighting for justice.” 

Denise Renee Smith
Keesal, Young & Logan Scholar
Denise is going to law school to empower her community. As a grassroots organizer, she saw firsthand the impact of an inequitable education system. After earning her degree in communications from California State University, East Bay, Denise set out to champion the most fundamental building block of learning – literacy. As an AmeriCorps service member, she promoted literacy in underrepresented communities of color by mentoring students who, like her, would become the first in their families to graduate from college. After earning her law degree, Denise plans to lead a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising literacy rates.  

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE, SCHOOL OF LAW 

Crystal Adams
Southern California Edison Scholar
Crystal’s internship in Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office sparked her interest in policy and public service. On the Hill, she became the Senator’s point person for issues related to the public school system. Crystal attended briefings and served as a liaison at hearings hosted by the Department of Education. When she returned to Claremont McKenna College after a semester in the capitol, she took her newfound knowledge and applied it in the real world as an Upward Bound tutor. She mentored low-income students who needed additional support to get into college. As a lawyer, Crystal plans to create policy that will benefit underrepresented communities. 

Tiffane King
Lim Ruger Foundation Scholar
Seven years ago, Tiffane suffered a nearly fatal spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed. A former professional dancer, her life was completely changed. Tiffane embraced the challenge and dedicated herself to helping others who have sustained life-altering injuries. She served as a mentor for the Center of Restorative Exercise. She also applied the business expertise she learned at the University of California Riverside to start Pretty F.A.C.E. Organization, which provides wigs to cancer patients and burn victims. Tiffane will use her law degree to further champion the cause of people with disabilities.  

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, SCHOOL OF LAW 

Julio C. Navarro
SNR Denton Scholar
Julio lost his cousin and older brother to drug addiction, a vice that too many of his peers in East and South Central Los Angeles fell victim to. Already on a successful path as a Military Police Officer for the United States Navy, Julio decided not to be derailed by the tragedies and instead, use them as motivation to make sure he never wasted his potential. After being discharged from the army, he enrolled in community college then attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned degrees in Ethnic Studies and Legal Studies. Building on his law enforcement background, Julio intends to become a prosecutor.  

Jasmine Phillips
Sidley Austin Scholar
Jasmine became an activist the day she found a noose hanging in the library at the University of California, San Diego. She had always been involved, but now she had a call to arms. Jasmine had to combat the racism she experienced at her own college campus and the inequality blacks faced across the country. She became deeply involved in university policy reform regarding diversity admissions and campus culture. Jasmine intends to concentrate her legal studies on Critical Race Theory and work on issues related to mass incarceration.  

UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF LAW 

Claude Denver Durden, Jr.
SDG&E & SoCalGas Scholar
Claude’s interest in reforming harsh, unfair laws stems from his experience as a foster youth, who bounced around from one foster home to the next, always subject to new and oftentimes unfair house rules. At a time when most foster youth are either homeless or incarcerated, Claude was college bound. He was 18 when he emancipated himself, enrolled in community college, started a job, and found a mentor. He graduated from the University of California, Riverside, with a degree in Psychology and Law and Society. He plans to work in the area of regulatory law.  

UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF LAW 

Perisha Milan Wallace
Fenwick & West LLP Scholar
Perisha plans to help children whose parents are incarcerated, because she can relate. Her father has been in prison since she was a baby. Raised by her grandmother in a high-crime community, Perisha knew she had to stay focused on success to forge a way out. When Perisha enrolled at Spelman, she was active on campus as well as in her community. She found her passion and her calling while volunteering at an organization that provides support for youth whose parents are incarcerated. Perisha plans to use her legal education to do juvenile defense work.