KU News Release

First-year law students at KU awarded diversity clerkships

Five first-year law students at KU were awarded paid summer clerkships through the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Summer Diversity Clerkship Pilot Program. They are, from left, Daniel Morris, Wichita; Helen White, Lawrence; Trinia Arellano, Fort Worth, Texas; Jomana Qaddor, Overland Park; and Vedrana Balta, Overland Park and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

LAWRENCE — The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association recently awarded summer clerkships to five students at the University of Kansas School of Law.

The Summer Diversity Clerkship Pilot Program provides employment opportunities to diverse first-year law students at KU, the University of Missouri, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Washburn University in Topeka. The effort is intended to address one objective of the bar association’s Diversity Action Plan, which states that member firms will establish one substantial hiring initiative designed to attract and retain diverse law graduates. The action plan defines diversity as including race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation and physical disability.

Participating firms offered full-time, paid jobs to nine students, five of them from KU.

Todd Rogers, director of career services at KU’s School of Law, is chair of the pilot program subcommittee. He said the program is different from the bar association’s annual Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair, which encourages diverse second- and third-year law students from the Midwest and other regions to explore job opportunities in Kansas City.

“This program is designed to introduce law firms to talented, local first-year law students with the long-term goal of increasing diverse hiring from the area law schools,” said Rogers.

One representative from each of the nine participating firms gathered in February to determine how to apply the selection criteria and to review applications. They received more than 30 applications and interviewed 19 first-year law students in late February.

KU students selected for clerkships are listed below by hometown, parents’ names, educational background and law firm they will work at.

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66044
Helen White received a bachelor’s degree in Chinese studies from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in East Asian studies from Yale University. She is the daughter of Keith and Lucy (Yuh Mei) White and a graduate of Lawrence High School. Her diversity clerkship is with Shughart Thomson & Kilroy.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Overland Park 66204 and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Vedrana Balta received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with emphasis in international business and French in spring 2006 from KU. She is a graduate of Bishop Miege High School, Mission, and the daughter of Faud Balta and Snjezana Balta of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Her diversity clerkship is with Polsinelli Shalton Welte & Suelthaus.

From Overland Park 66221
Jomana Jihad Qaddour received a bachelor’s degree in international studies and human biology from KU in spring 2006. She is the daughter of Jihad and Rouyda Qaddour and a graduate of Olathe East High School. Her diversity clerkship is with Stinson Morrison Hecker.

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita 67213
Daniel G. Morris received a bachelor’s degree in language and literature from Sterling College. He is the son of Michael and Donna Morris and a graduate of Wichita High School West. His diversity clerkship is with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

TEXAS
From Fort Worth 76112
Trinia Arellano received a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1996 from Texas Christian University. She is the daughter of Bruce and Delphine Cain and a graduate of Easter Hills High School, Fort Worth. Her diversity internship is with Van Osdol, Magruder, Erickson & Redmond PC.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
From Sarajevo
Vedrana Balta. See JOHNSON COUNTY

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