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Farella Braun + Martel Awards 2020 Diversity Scholarships to Three Bay Area Law Students

April 9, 2020 Announcement

SAN FRANCISCO, April 9, 2020: Farella Braun + Martel is pleased to announce it has awarded a total of $30,000 in 2020 diversity scholarship grants to three Bay Area first-year law students.

For 20 years, the scholarships have been at the heart of Farella’s efforts to support outstanding diverse students on their way to becoming lawyers. The Diversity Scholarship program is open to 1L Bay Area law students of underrepresented groups whose background or personal experience would contribute to the diversity of the legal profession. Scholarship recipients are chosen based upon a combination of merit and financial need. To date, the firm has awarded $470,000 in scholarships to 80 local first-year law students.

“The selection committee, comprised of attorneys from Farella Braun + Martel and the legal department of Visa Inc., were tremendously impressed by all the applicants for the diversity scholarship,” said Eugene Mar, partner co-chair of the Diversity Scholarship Committee. “After a difficult selection process, we were very pleased to award our scholarships this year to Ezekiel Gorrocino, Leaje Morris, and Gabby Sergi. Their journeys to the legal field, the challenges they overcame along the way, the goals they have set for themselves, and their potential contributions to the legal profession and the community overall were inspiring. We look forward to even greater successes in Ezekiel’s, Leaje’s, and Gabby’s bright futures.”

Meet the 2020 scholarship recipients:

Ezekiel Gorrocino attends UC Hastings College of the Law. He is a member of La Raza Student Association and OUTLAW. Ezekiel earned his B.A. in public economy, and a minor in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley. This summer, he will be a clerk with the East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland.

Leaje O. Morris attends University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She is an editor for the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy and is a member of the Berkeley Policy Review Project. Leaje earned her B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gabby Sergi attends UC Hastings College of the Law. She is a member of La Raza Student Association, OUTLAW, and the Public Interest Law Foundation. She earned her B.A. in sociology with a concentration in criminology and law and society from the University of San Francisco. This summer, she will be a law clerk at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office in Oakland.

Farella Braun + Martel is a leading Northern California law firm representing corporate and private clients in sophisticated business transactions and complex commercial, civil and criminal litigation. Clients seek our imaginative legal solutions and the dynamism and intellectual creativity of our lawyers. We are headquartered in San Francisco and maintain offices in the Napa Valley that are focused on the wine industry.

Learn more about diversity + inclusion at Farella at https://www.fbm.com/diversity-inclusion/,

Contact:
Cheryl Loof
Farella Braun + Martel LLP
415.954.4433 / [email protected]

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