ORANGE COUNTY, CA- Fifty-three students have been placed as interns at Orange County law firms and law-related businesses participating in the Project SELF (Summer Employment in Law Firm) program, providing low-income, minority high school juniors a hands-on summer internship. Sylvia Mendez, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, was the keynote at the Recognition Dinner on August 3.
Participating law firms include:
AlvaradoSmith, Santa Ana, a certified minority-owned law firm known for its multicultural diversity.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Irvine, a global law firm with more than 1000 lawyers, named the 2010 Litigation Department of the Year by The American Lawyer magazine.
Jones Day, Irvine, ranked among the world's largest law firms with 2,500 lawyers, specializing in corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance.
O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Newport Beach, an international firm named to The American Lawyer’s 2010 A-List, which recognizes the nation’s most elite law firms.
Rutan & Tucker, LLP, Costa Mesa, California’s largest full-service law firm in OC with nine partners listed in the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers.
The paid, eight-week internship, beginning June 21, 2011, will offer the opportunity to learn basic office skills, participate in a day in court, work alongside professional lawyers and provides exposure to professional career fields. Since inception in 1995, 561 students have participated in Project SELF.
For more information about Project SELF, contact Nancy Garcia, OCBF Associate Director at (714) 480-1925 ext. 108 or at ngarcia@ocbarfoundation.org.
Media inquiries contact Jess Block, Media Relations, at 909-706-8525 or JessBlockPR@gmail.com.
ABOUT PROJECT SELF: Project SELF (Summer Employment in Law Firm) provides minority high school juniors the opportunity to have an eight-week paid summer internship at a law firm while gaining valuable educational and work experience. The program is a collaboration between two non-profits: the Orange County Bar Foundation (OCBF) and the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (OC-ALA). The Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) assisted in Project SELF’s inception in 1995 and has continued to support the program. A Project SELF Recognition Dinner will be held on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at the Hilton Irvine.
ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY BAR FOUNDATION (OCBF): OCBF is a non-profit organization committed to keeping at-risk youth out of jail, in school, healthy and drug free through education, counseling and mentoring. http://www.ocbarfoundation.org/
ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS (OC-ALA): OC-ALA is a membership association that provides educational and networking opportunities to improve the quality and competency of legal administrators. OC-ALA has more than 145 members in the Orange County Area and is a chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, which consists of over 10,000 members worldwide. http://www.orangecountyala.org/
ALL 2011 PROJECT SELF PARTICIPATING LAW FIRMS AND LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS:
Irvine:
• Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
• Crowell & Moring
• Dorsey & Whitney LLP
• Fisher & Phillips LLP
• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
• Haynes and Boone, LLP
• Hodel Briggs Winter LLP
• Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP
• Jones Day
• Malcolm Cisneros, A Law Corporation
• McDermott, Will & Emery
• Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
• Palmieri, Tyler, Wiener, Wilhelm & Waldron LLP
• Payne & Fears LLP
• Rus, Miliband & Smith, APC
• Troutman Sanders LLP
• Wesierski & Zurek LLP
Santa Ana:
• Alvarado Smith
• Callahan & Blaine
• First Legal Support Services
• Green & Hall
• Legal Aid Society of Orange County
• The Traut Firm
Costa Mesa:
• Latham & Watkins LLP
• Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
• Michael Maguire & Associates
• Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
• Rutan & Tucker, LLP
• Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
• Snell & Wilmer LLP
• Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart, APC
Newport Beach:
• CresaPartners
• Irell & Manella LLP
• Minyard Morris LLP
• Nelson Hittelman LLP
• Newmeyer & Dillion, LLP
• O'Melveny & Myers LLP
• Orange County Bar Association
• Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson
• Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth
• Travers Realty Corporation