International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that Travis Cabbell, a first-year student at Harvard Law School; Ryan Johnson, a first-year student at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law; and Jianing Zhao, a first-year student at Cornell Law School, are the winners of the Weil progressive 1L Diversity $30,000 Fellowship award for 2022. The three winners will be Summer Associates in the Dallas and New York offices.

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 U.S. 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 2024, and who intend to practice law in a major city of the United States.

Travis Cabbell received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in May 2018. During his time as an undergraduate, he was Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cornell Lending Library and Co-President of the Scholars Working Ambitiously to Graduate (S.W.A.G). Travis currently serves as an Editor for the Harvard Journal of Legislation, and Sub-citer for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. He is also a member of Harvard’s Black Law Students Association. This past summer, Travis was an SEO Law Fellow at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Ryan Johnson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Management from the University of Findlay in May 2021. During his time as an undergraduate, Ryan was a NCAA student athlete in Varsity Baseball. He was also a member of the Alumni Board of Governors Student Representative for the College of Science. Ryan currently serves as a 1L representative for the Restructuring & Bankruptcy Law Group and Student Efforts to Rejuvenate Volunteering (Animal Rights and Environmental Justice). He is also a member of the Black Law Students Association, Diversity Coalition and Intellectual Property Law Society. Before entering law school, Ryan was a summer intern at Jackson Lewis P.C. in New Orleans, LA.

Jianing Zhao received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Slavic Languages and Literature, summa cum laude, from Princeton University in June 2020. During her time as an undergraduate, Jianing minored in Archaeology, Theater, and Digital Humanities. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa upon graduation. Jianing currently serves as the President of Video Games Law Association, the Treasurer for the National Lawyers Guild, and the Social Chair for International Law Students Association. She also works as a legal extern on post-conviction relief and civil rights this semester. Before entering law school, Jianing worked as a Marketing & Operations Associate for a Fintech start-up.