Farella Braun + Martel Awards 2022 Diversity Scholarships to Bay Area Law Students

Farella Braun + Martel is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2022 Diversity Scholarship grants totaling $45,000 to Bay Area first-year law students Heidi Kong, Alyosha Maggin, and Maripau Paz.

For 22 years, the scholarships have been at the heart of Farella’s efforts to support outstanding diverse students in their first year at Bay Area law schools. The program is open to law students who self-identify as a member of a historically underrepresented community, including those identifying as BIPOC, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, disabled, and/or have a background or experience that would otherwise contribute to the diversity of the legal profession. Scholarship recipients are chosen based upon a combination of merit and financial need and preference is given to applicants who demonstrate a commitment to working and living in the Bay Area. Since 2001, the firm has awarded $545,000 in scholarships to 86 first-year law students in the Bay Area.

“Congratulations to scholarship recipients Heidi Kong, Alyosha Maggin and Maripau Paz!” said Brent Saldaña, partner co-chair of Farella’s Diversity Scholarship Committee. “It was so inspiring to learn about your accomplishments and commitment to the community. We are honored to be able to support you and look forward to celebrating your future successes.”

For the 2022 Diversity Scholarship class, Farella collaborated in the selection process with professionals from Adobe’s legal department.

“Farella’s Diversity Scholarship Committee is grateful to Adobe’s in-house counsel team for providing assistance in evaluating applications and selecting recipients,” said Carolina de Armas, senior associate and associate co-chair of the Diversity Scholarship Committee. “Adobe—a company with a long and similarly robust commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion through its Adobe For All vision —provided Farella with fresh perspectives and insights, infusing new energy and intention into one of the firm’s longest-running diversity initiatives.”

Meet the 2022 scholarship recipients:

Heidi Kong attends the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, where she is an articles team member for the Asian American Law Journal and the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law and a member of the Womxn of Color Collective, Women in Tech Law, First Generation Professionals, and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. Heidi continues her many years of community service work by contributing to the Political and Election Empowerment Project, founding a new student-led legal project to assist non-profit organizations through the process to obtain 501(c)(3) status, and leading a campus-wide effort to prevent hate crimes. Heidi earned her J.B.A. and B.A. with distinction in journalism and international relations from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she was a voice for students on campus radio and an advocate for students of color as chair of the Asian Pacific American Council and member of the Multicultural Student Coalition. She earned her M.A. in Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. As a doctoral student, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research in China. This summer, Heidi is researching intellectual property law under the guidance of Berkeley Law Professor Peter Menell and joining the Legal and Compliance team at KKR.

Alyosha Maggin attends the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. As a child of an immigrant family and lifelong resident of San Francisco, Alyosha has been a civic advocate serving the Latinx and Indigenous communities of the Bay Area. With a focus on immigration law, he intends to render adept and compassionate lawyering to underserved communities and communities of color. At Hastings, he has been involved in the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant to support clients in asylum hearings. Alyosha received his B.A., cum laude, in music arts, marketing, and production techniques from San Francisco State University and subsequently worked as an interpreter in legal services and immigration services for over six years. This summer, Alyosha is working with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Immigration Defense Unit.

Maripau Paz attends the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She is editor in chief of La Raza Law Journal and a member of Berkeley's International Human Rights Clinic. Maripau was a student fellow with Berkeley’s Startup Law Initiative and East Bay Community Law Center, as well as an SEO law fellow at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe during her 1L summer. She received the 1L Mock Trial Best Advocate award. Maripau received her B.A., cum laude, in political science and global studies from UCLA. This year, she is a 2L summer associate at O’Melveny & Meyers in New York.

Celebrating our 60th anniversary, 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 an office in the Napa Valley that is 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]