International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that Jeeyoon Chung, a second-year student at Columbia Law School; Katheryn Maldonado, a second-year student at William & Mary Law School; and Matthew Shields, a second-year student at Harvard Law School, are the winners of the Weil 2L Diversity $15,000 Fellowship awards for 2019. All three winners will be Summer Associates in the New York Office.

Announced in February 2012, the Weil 2L Diversity Fellowship is open to students who are enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school and intend to practice law in a major city of the United States. Eligible students must have successfully completed their first year of a full-time J.D. program, with an expected graduation date of spring 2021.

Jeeyoon Chung received a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages (French, Italian and Spanish) from Johns Hopkins University in 2016. While she was an undergraduate, Jeeyoon interned at a law firm in South Korea, assisting trial counsel in complex international corporate law cases. Prior to law school, she spent her time as a third grade teacher with Teach for America at Booker T. Washington Academy in Connecticut. Jeeyoon is currently a staff member of Columbia Law Review and President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. She can also speak four different languages.

Katheryn Maldonado received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut in 2015. She went on to receive her Master of Arts in International Studies with a concentration on Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies in 2017. During her time as an undergraduate and graduate student, Katheryn participated in several diversity initiatives including, the Search Committee for Associate Vice President for Diversity and the Vice Provost’s Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion, and served as the Resident Assistant for Social Justice Education. Currently, Katheryn is a part of the Dean’s Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion as well as Social Chair of the Black Law Student Association. This past summer, Katheryn worked as a Judicial Intern at the Southern District of New York, as a part of the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program.

Matthew Shields received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, magna cum laude, at Columbia University in 2010. During his time as an undergraduate, he was a Mellons May Undergraduate Fellow and John W. Kluge Scholar. After graduating in 2010, Matthew was Associate Producer at Interstate and Founder and Producer of Zeit Films. Prior to law school, he was an SEO Law Fellow at an international law firm in New York. Matthew currently serves as Co-President of Harvard Law School Lambda and as a member of the Black Law Students Association.