Diversity: Pipeline

diversity

Pipeline

MTO has taken steps to increase the “pipeline” of students from diverse backgrounds who will be applying to law school and subsequently entering the legal profession. We participate in a number of pipeline programs, including the following:

We are proud to be partners with For People of Color, Inc. in conducting an annual workshop devoted to empowering people of color who desire to enter the legal profession. At the workshop held each spring, our lawyers share their insights into the law school application process as well as their own experiences as law school students. Past student participants at FPOC workshops have subsequently attended some of the nation’s best law schools and have become associates at major law firms.

We are also proud to be a sponsor of the Los Angeles Urban Debate League, which is affiliated with the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, an organization devoted to promoting debate programs in urban public schools across the country. Debate has been shown to have meaningful results in enhancing literacy and graduation rates in high schools. MTO partners Bart Williams and Henry Weissmann co-chair the Los Angeles Advisory Board which has partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District in bringing urban debate league programs to a number of the city’s secondary schools. MTO managing partner Sandra A. Seville-Jones is a member of the board.

For college-age students we offer the MTO Fellows Program. This program offers up to four full-time positions in the firm’s Los Angeles office to students of diverse backgrounds who have recently graduated from college and plan to attend law school. It is designed to expose them to the practice of law at the highest level. MTO Fellows work closely with attorneys and paralegals, participate in a wide range of educational activities outside the firm, and receive a stipend to take an LSAT preparation course.

In 2006, we became a sponsor of the UCLA Law Fellows Program, an innovative outreach program aimed at encouraging and preparing minority undergraduates and recent graduates to attend law school.

The firm is also a proud sponsor of the American Bar Association’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program. The program, sponsored by the ABA’s Section of Litigation, provides minority and financially disadvantaged law school students an internship with federal and state judges throughout the country. MTO partner Lisa Demsky is the attorney coordinator for the Los Angeles JIOP program.

Spotlight

MTO Fellows
MTO Fellows Program: Innovative Diversity Outreach

Launched in 2007, the MTO Fellows Program offers full-time positions in the firm’s Los Angeles office to students of diverse backgrounds who have recently graduated from college and plan to attend law school. Fellows work closely with attorneys and paralegals, participate in a wide range of educational activities outside the firm, and receive a stipend to take an LSAT preparation course.

“The strength of the MTO Fellows Program lies in the independent nature of the fellows, who are free to use this opportunity to immerse themselves in areas of law about which they are most passionate.” - MTO Fellow Farida Ali.

“As someone who has faced and overcome many adversities in life, the MTO Fellows Program has reinforced in me the belief that with hard work and perseverance, the sky is the limit, regardless of who you are or where you come from.” - MTO Fellow Azure'De Wilkins.

“I became an MTO Fellow to gain a more holistic understanding of the law, the way it is practiced and of the people who practice it. My proudest moment has been testifying at arbitration and helping secure damages for our client.” MTO Fellow Justin Iwata.