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Godfrey & Kahn Announces Fellowship in Law and Diversity Scholars Program Recipients

January 22, 2008
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (January 22, 2008). The law firm of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. today announced the recipients of its Fellowship in Law and Diversity Scholars programs.

The Fellowship in Law recipients are Marvin Bynum, Marquette University Law School, and Andres Cerritos, University of Wisconsin Law School. The Diversity Scholars recipients are Shaurodipto Bagchi, University of Iowa College of Law; Brittlynn Hall, University of Michigan Law School; and Ryan Murguia, Northwestern University School of Law.

In 2004, Godfrey & Kahn established a fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Law School to provide recipients with a full-tuition scholarship for each of the three years he or she is enrolled in law school, along with mentoring by Godfrey & Kahn attorneys and employment as a summer associate at the firm. In 2006, Godfrey & Kahn established a second fellowship at Marquette University Law School. The selection of fellowship recipients are mutually determined by Godfrey & Kahn and the participating universities and designed to promote diversity within the law school student body.

The Diversity Scholars Program offers a $2,500 scholarship to first-year law students at the University of Michigan, University of Iowa and Northwestern University for use as a partial tuition payment during the student's first year of law school. The program is part of Godfrey & Kahn's ongoing diversity initiatives.

"We are pleased to offer these two programs to law-school students. We strongly believe in fostering a firm-wide culture that values and promotes attorneys and staff of diverse backgrounds. Our diversity program is not just about race or gender, but promoting unique backgrounds with talents that shine to make our law firm the best it can be for our employees and our clients. All of the recipients are talented and hard-working students and we are delighted to help them prepare for their future in law," said Rick Bliss, managing partner of Godfrey & Kahn.

Success Stories

"One of Godfrey & Kahn's main goals for the fellowships is to keep talented young professionals here in the state of Wisconsin and to provide the state with successful attorneys who have diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives. We achieved this goal with two recent additions to the firm," said Bliss.

C. Wade Harrison, 2004 fellowship recipient from the University of Wisconsin Law School, joined the Labor & Employment Practice Group in the Madison office in September 2007. Monica Santa Maria, 2005 fellowship recipient from the University of Wisconsin Law School, will join the Litigation practice group in the Madison office in September 2008.

Fellowship Recipients

  • Andres Cerritos, an incoming first-year student at the University of Wisconsin Law School, is the third recipient of the Godfrey & Kahn Fellowship in Law at the University of Wisconsin. Cerritos is a 2003 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where he received a bachelor's degree in business management. Cerritos graduated with business department honors and received the 2002 NCAA's GLVC Academic Athlete of the Year award.
  • Marvin Bynum, an incoming first-year student at Marquette University Law School, is the second recipient of the Godfrey & Kahn Fellowship in Law at Marquette. Bynum is a 2006 graduate of Arizona State University, where he majored in English literature and minored in history. Bynum was a member of the Dean's List in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for two semesters.
Diversity Scholars Program Award Winners

  • Shaurodipto Bagchi of University of Iowa College of Law, received his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Maryland. He was on the Dean's List in 2006, received a certificate of Academic Achievement from the department of Economics and was a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
  • Brittlynn Hall of University of Michigan Law School earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in philosophy and law at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She was an honors student, Spanish discipline honors student and a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. She is active in the Black Law Students Association.
  • Ryan Murguia of Northwestern University School of Law received a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University, where he was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society. He is active in the Northwestern University Latino Law Student Association.

Founded in 1957, Godfrey & Kahn maintains offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton, Green Bay and Waukesha, Wis.; Washington, DC; and Shanghai, PRC. With more than 190 attorneys, Godfrey & Kahn provides legal and business advice to clients ranging from small businesses and governmental entities to large privately and publicly held national and international companies. For more information, please visit the firm's web site at www.gklaw.com.
 

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