Expanded 2024 Maine Diversity Summer Associate Program Now Accepting Applications
PORTLAND, Maine - Now in its sixth year, the Maine Diversity Summer Associate Program is seeking first-year (1L) law students for its 2024 summer class.
Stemming from a shared commitment to supporting and expanding diversity and inclusion opportunities in the legal profession, D1L founders and current participants Bernstein Shur, Brann & Isaacson, Drummond & Woodsum, IDEXX, Jackson Laboratory, L. L. Bean, Pierce Atwood, Preti Flaherty, Unum, Verrill, and WEX are pleased to welcome Martin’s Point Health Care to this year’s program.
A workforce comprised of professionals with different backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, and talents is not only essential to growth and stability, but also critical to providing outstanding client service and a better work environment for attorneys and staff. The D1L initiative focuses on building a diverse legal community in Maine by attracting a diverse pool of first-year law students from across the country for a 10-week paid summer internship at one of the participating organization’s Maine locations.
The first-year law students accepted to the program will have the opportunity to experience legal practice and life in Maine, participate in professional development programs, and build their social and business networks within the participating organizations and the larger legal community. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to build a stronger, more diverse community of legal professionals in Maine.
Sydney Smith, a student at USC Gould School of Law and a 2022 D1L program participant stated, “The Maine D1L program was the best possible way that I could have spent my first summer of law school. The practical, hands-on experience that I gained during just 10 weeks prepared me so well for my future career, supplementing my legal education in ways that my first year of doctrinal classes could not. The program—and my firm in particular—is full of knowledgeable, helpful, welcoming, and overall fantastic people!”
Manuel Alejandro Sanchez-Wong, a Boston College Law School graduate and a 2021 D1L program participant, stated, “Being part of the Maine D1L program has had an incredible impact in my life, personally and professionally, and it has been, by far, one of the best things that has happened to me since I emigrated to the U.S. six years ago. Thanks to this program, I learned about practical legal issues that cannot be learned in a classroom. The attorneys shared their knowledge and made me feel like I was a valuable member of the firm. Thanks to them and the D1L program, I reaffirmed my passion for the legal profession.”
The open application process begins on November 13, 2023, and will continue on a rolling basis until December 29, 2023. Candidates must have an excellent academic record, exceptional writing ability, strong analytical and interpersonal skills, and demonstrated self-confidence. The program will run from May 28-August 2, 2024.
Interested students should submit a cover letter, resume, current law school transcript, and a brief personal statement concerning their commitment to diversity and inclusion and/or why they believe diversity and inclusion are important in the legal profession.
Interviews will occur on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, and offers will be extended in February. Please click here for more information and application instructions.
All program participants are equal opportunity employers, and all qualified applicants will be considered.
###
