New York University School of Law announces that Clifford Chance LLP has become the first law firm to name a scholar within a ground-breaking diversity program at the Law School. The first Clifford Chance Scholar in the An-Bryce Program at NYU Law will be named in May for the 2006-07 academic year.
“Our partnership with NYU School of Law’s An-Bryce program is one of the cornerstones of our commitment to diversity at Clifford Chance,” said Craig S. Medwick, Regional Managing Partner of the Americas. “We firmly believe the legal community should reflect the diversity of our society so that we can provide an environment that maximizes each person’s development and enables us to best serve our clients and the community at large.”
Through the An-Bryce Scholarship Program, the Law School is committed to making the best possible legal education available to outstanding J.D. students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom have struggled against incredible adversity to excel in their academic pursuits. The Program provides full-tuition scholarships and also offers programming and mentoring aimed at assuring that the scholars will feel at home at the highest levels of the legal profession. Clifford Chance US LLP is providing a new full-tuition scholarship.
NYU Law Dean Richard Revesz expressed great enthusiasm about the endowment of the new Scholarship. “We are extremely pleased to welcome the support of Clifford Chance US LLP. The An-Bryce Program attracts extraordinary students of diverse backgrounds who have overcome great disadvantage. Programs such as these provide the best way to bring genuine diversity to the legal profession. We are very grateful to our colleagues at Clifford Chance US LLP for helping us to expand the pool of scholars within the An-Bryce Program.”
A combination of factors continues to sustain many barriers to mobility faced by disadvantaged Americans, including youth seeking access to quality legal education. Even the most accomplished students from disadvantaged backgrounds find their progress barred by the rising cost of tuition. Yet getting through the financial barrier and attending NYU solves only part of the problem. Students from disadvantaged families must compete, in law school and in the profession, with students whose superior family resources continue to provide them with an edge in professional information and networks. To address these problems, scholarship programs must focus on both merit and need and must consist of more than putting checks in the mail.
The An-Bryce Scholarship program was founded by Law School Trustee Anthony Welters (‘77), now president and CEO of AmeriChoice, and his wife Beatrice in 1998. Of all of NYU School of Law’s scholarships, it is unique not just in its attention to academic/professional qualifications, but also because it includes a special program component that not only recognizes the adversity that some bright and promising students are faced with, but also seeks to create a unique community among An-Bryce scholars that will last well past graduation. The students selected are not just talented, but are also motivated by the promise of contributing diverse perspectives to the field of law.
Clifford Chance LLP
An ambition to be the world’s premier law firm underpins our business strategy. We aim to achieve this goal through sustained investment in managing knowledge and information, and by creating a working culture in all our offices that enables our people to offer consistently high standards of client service. As the world’s largest law firm, we embrace responsibilities that extend beyond our client work. By endowing the Clifford Chance Scholarship in the An-Bryce Program at NYU Law, as well as through active programs of pro bono, arts, and charitable initiatives, all our people are encouraged to develop strong links with the communities in which we work.
NYU School of Law
NYU School of Law has a mission of global reach and impact. In a short period of time it has moved into the handful of schools at the very top tier of legal education in the United States and in the world. The Law School has achieved this by seeking to lead, by blazing distinctive paths. Its diverse faculty has produced extraordinary legal scholarship and influenced the key public policy debates concerning law and legal institutions. It offers a premier education in U.S. law in conjunction with an unmatched exposure to international legal systems; and it has provided exemplary support and encouragement for public service. The Law School’s great success has greatly influenced both how the top peer institutions conceive legal education and how some of the most marginalized peoples experience the possibility of a just world.
Major funding for the An-Bryce Scholarship Program has been provided by The An-Bryce Foundation and Clifford Chance US LLP. General support is provided by other friends of NYU School of Law.