March 08, 2017
International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that Michael Adams Jr., a first-year student at Columbia Law School, and Brandon Thomas, a first-year student at Texas Tech University School of Law, are the winners of the Weil 1L Diversity $10,000 Fellowship awards for 2017. Michael will be a Summer Associate in the New York office, while Brandon will be a Summer Associate in the Dallas office this upcoming summer.
The Weil 1L Diversity Fellowship Program, announced in October 2011, supports the firm’s overall commitment to diversity and is designed to increase the number of diverse attorneys who want to pursue careers at one of its US offices. The program was open to current students at ABA-accredited law schools who have successfully completed the first semester of their first year of a full-time J.D. program, with an expected graduation date of spring 2019, and who intend to practice law in a major city of the United States.
Michael Adams Jr. received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Maryland in 2015. During his time as an undergraduate, he served as Co-President and Treasurer of the Black Honors Caucus. He was awarded with a fully funded U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Commission Summer Institute award, where he studied the history and culture of Bristol through rigorous coursework, research, presentations and community service related to the slave trade in England. Michael also worked as an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Honors College Teaching Assistant his senior year at the University of Maryland. As a Teaching Assistant, he consulted students on the complex business challenges of their startup ideas, graded papers, and led events for 40 students each semester. Last summer, Michael was a Sponsors of Educational Opportunity (SEO) Intern at a major law firm in their Washington, D.C. office. Most recently, Michael was elected Treasurer of the Black Law Students Association at Columbia Law School.
Brandon Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Texas State University in 2016. While he was an undergraduate, Brandon was appointed to Texas State University’s Judicial Hearing Board by the Dean. In this position, Brandon advised students on the University’s code and policy, and heard students’ cases for appeal of sanctions issued by the University. Brandon was also the former president of Greater Community First Baptist Church Youth Department, where he performed outreach for the less fortunate people in the surrounding community. Since 2012, Brandon has worked as a Support Staff Intern for Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. In this role, Brandon has assisted attorneys in mock trial preparation and cross-examinations for actual trials, and trained legal secretaries as well as summer and winter interns at the Firm.