Two Touro Law Students Receive NYC Bar Diversity Fellowships

Touro Law Center is pleased to announce that first year students Jeanine Joseph and Aliza Anwar received New York City Bar Diversity Fellowships. Aliza Anwar received placement with the New York City Law Department and Jeanine Joseph secured employment with Perkins Coie.

“I am especially proud of these students for this tremendous accomplishment. These fellowships are quite competitive and both Aliza and Jeanine should be commended for their achievements. I am sure they will be great ambassadors of Touro Law as they work this summer in the legal field,” said Dean Patricia Salkin.

Aliza Anwar is a first year, full time student who resides in Smithtown, NY. She decided to pursue a degree in law to be able to help others and to serve as a resource between their legal matters and justice. She hopes to work in a top legal firm in New York City upon graduation. She will be working this summer at the New York City Law Department. “Being able to secure hands on experience in one of the top and active firms of New York City through this fellowship provides me with an excellent opportunity. Working with knowledgeable attorneys representing New York City, I will be learning how to tackle law suits from the beginning to the end. I am really looking forward to this opportunity,” said Ms. Anwar.

Jeanine Joseph is a first-year, full time student from Queens, NY. She became interested in the law through exposure to legal topics and writing in high school. In her first year at Touro Law she has found the experience both challenging and rewarding. She looks forward to a career where she is able to lend her talents to the legal community while working to strengthen the presence of minorities in the legal field. This summer she will be working with Perkins Coie through her fellowship. “Being a New York City Bar Diversity Fellow is such an honor and I look forward to the work that will be involved through this opportunity,” said Ms. Joseph.

The New York City Bar Association Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Lawyers has been the proud sponsor of the City Bar's Diversity Fellowship Program since 1991. Since then, more than 300 diverse and talented first year law students from eleven New York City area law schools have been given a rare and valuable opportunity: to spend their 1L summer in a law firm, or corporate or government legal department to better prepare them for careers in the law. The goal of the program is to provide first year law students from underrepresented populations the chance to spend a summer in one of New York’s most exciting legal environments.

The selection criteria for Program Fellows are demanding, including a legal writing requirement, preparing a personal statement and being interviewed by a faculty-dominated screening committee and then, if selected by that committee, interviewed again by a panel of attorneys and other school representatives. The interviewing panel also reviews the candidate's undergraduate and law school transcripts, resume, personal statement and legal writing sample. Only those who pass this final hurdle are assigned to a participating employer.

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, which has a student body of approximately 750 and an alumni base of more than 5,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

About the Touro College and University System
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/media/.