The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Louis Stokes Scholars Program is an amazing opportunity for college-bound high school seniors, college students, and law students.
Students will experience the practice of law “up close and personal” through paid summer internships and mentoring by Cleveland area attorneys. Internships provide practical, real-world experience for students while helping them explore career fields. Additionally, students who intern will develop new skills, make great connections, and become excited about the field of law.
This opportunity is made possible by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA) in conjunction with the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE), College Now and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation.
Successful applicants – who will be known as Stokes Scholars – will be matched for an 8 week paid summer internship with one of several Cleveland area law firms, the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas or Cuyahoga Court of Domestic Relations, or with an area legal nonprofit such as Legal Aid, the Cleveland Law Library, or the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.
Each Stokes Scholar will be assigned an attorney mentor – a Stokes Scholars Mentor – who will guide the Stokes Scholar through their internship and provide career counseling.
Participation is limited to students who are graduates or will be graduates of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District or the East Cleveland City Schools (Shaw High School). Those graduating from high school in 2013 must have a 3.5 GPA to be eligible. There is no college GPA requirement for submission of an application for those in college, though GPA may be a factor in selection.
Applications are available through Mary Groth of the CMBA (mgroth@clemetrobar.org) or Patrick Britton of NOCHE (pbritton@noche.org). The deadline for applications is April 15, 2013.
The Stokes Scholars Program is named after Louis Stokes, a CMBA member and attorney most recently in practice with the law firm of Squire Sanders. He is a former Congressman who represented the Cleveland area for over three decades (’68-’99), after being elected the first African-American elected to Congress from Ohio. He and his brother Carl – the first African-American elected mayor of a major city – rose to the heights of political power from humble beginnings as residents of Cleveland’s Outhwaite public housing projects. A graduate of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, he is the recipient of numerous awards for his public and community service as well as for the practice of law.