Seven recent Texas high school graduates with an interest in a future of law learned this week that they are receiving a huge boost in achieving their dreams.
Vinson & Elkins announced that four students from Houston, two from Dallas and one from Austin are recipients of the firm’s annual V&E Scholars Program, which provides $10,000 in college funding to the seven students. V&E Scholars are also offered summer internships with the large Houston-based corporate firm for all four years.
A ton of potentially great legal talent is left on the sidelines because young people had no mentors, no role models and no financial abilities to position themselves for success.
A growing number of law firms, corporate legal departments and legal organizations offer scholarships to students from low-income families and from disadvantaged and under-represented communities. Over the next three months, The Texas Lawbook plans to highlight organizations and individuals who step up to improve diversity in the pipeline.
Working diligently to increase diversity and inclusion in the legal profession is not radical. Lawyers, firms and organizations that strive to achieve diversity in the legal profession are going to be praised and highlighted in The Lawbook. So please, send me the details if your firm or organization offers scholarships or help to students in financial need. The Lawbook is establishing a web page dedicated exclusively to promoting scholarships and recognizing those offering the much-needed assistance.
Also in this edition of P.S., The Lawbook recognizes several law firms that support the South Asian Bar Association of Dallas and its fundraising for a charity that helps South Asian victims of abuse.
V&E Scholars
V&E started the Scholars program in 1990 to provide assistance to those in “underserved, lower-income and disadvantaged communities.” Since then, 196 students have received $1.85 million in scholarships from V&E.
“V&E is deeply committed to developing future lawyers and leaders and developing the pipeline is very much part of the mission,” V&E Chief Talent Officer Hy Pomerance told The Texas Lawbook. “We do this to help ourselves and to help the legal profession.”
Pomerance said that about one-fifth of V&E Scholars end up practicing law.
There are several prominent V&E Scholars, including former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, Mountaintop Consulting CEO Precious Owodunni and University of Houston assistant dean for student affairs Monica Mensah.
The 2024 V&E Scholars are:
Paulete Mbuangi is a graduate of Navarro Early College High School in Austin. The team captain of her school’s girls’ basketball team two years in a row and a Boys and Girls Club member for four years, Mbuangi is attending Tyler Junior College in the fall.
Nina Ude, a graduate of the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, is attending Pitzer College this fall. President of her school’s robotics club, president for the Townview Black Student Union, and a lawyer for her school’s mock trial team, Ude is a consistent volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank. “As a first-generation student, the road to college was a daunting task, Ude wrote. “From keeping up with deadlines, narrowing down my choices, and writing essays, I was overwhelmed by how difficult choosing a college would be. And once I finally chose, the next obstacle was how I would find the money to pay for it. I spent the entirety of my spring semester applying for scholarships. After multiple rejections and simply not even hearing back from most organizations, it was easy to lose hope. So when I finally found the V&E Scholarship, it sounded too good to be true.”
Jiyi Liew graduated in first in a class of 572 at J. J. Pearce High School in Dallas and she is attending the University of Texas at Austin this fall. “Not only will the scholarship provide financial support for me and my family, it will familiarize me with law and provide a foundation for my journey to becoming a lawyer,” Liew wrote.
Nhung Huynh, a graduate of Elsik High School in Houston, is attending the University of Texas at Austin this fall. President of her school’s Speech & Debate team, Huynh was president of her 2024 Class, and Committee Chair of the National Honor Society. “I am eager to learn about the legal community and use the knowledge gained from this experience to make a difference in the world,” she said.
Devon Stevenson is a graduate of The Village School in Houston and is attending the University of Texas at Austin. Stevenson was team captain and varsity quarterback for the school’s football team and captain for his school’s debate team. He also was chosen by Nord Anglia Education to represent The Village School at the United Nations Summit. Stevenson said the V&E Scholarship allows to pursue “becoming a lawyer and helping those who can’t protect themselves.”
Aishwaryaa Udeshi, a graduate of Houston’s Dulles High School, is attending Princeton University. Udeshi founded the Afghan Refugee Girls Code and is the youth co-chair for Keep Texas Beautiful. She also received the Girl Scouts of America Gold Award.
Valeria Perez is a graduate of Westside High School in Houston and is attending Yale University this fall. Perez was the president for her school’s Ecology Club, a youth leader in Mi Familia Vota Houston and an EMERGE HISD Fellow. “From a young age, I’ve been able to discern the power law holds in keeping systems of order,” she wrote. “A power that holds the capacity for both harm and good.”
SABA Gala
The Dallas chapter of the South Asian Bar Association held its annual gala two weeks ago to raise funds for CHETNA DFW, a non-profit dedicated to assisting South Asian victims of domestic violence.
SABA Dallas President Abhi Dubé, who is a partner at Baker McKenzie, said 200 people attended the gala at the Texas Discovery Gardens.
Dubé said SABA chose CHETNA as its charity in 2024 because the organization “plays a crucial role in helping victims of domestic violence and abuse.”
“CHETNA provides resources from housing to legal assistance to victims,” Dubé said. “In the South Asian community, speaking up about being victims of abuse is difficult.”
Speaking at the gala, CHETNA President Rashmi Sethi shared personal stories of abuse that Dubé described as “deeply disturbing.”
“We have to do something to help this organization and the work they are doing,” he said.
Law firms and supporting the event through sponsorships included Baker McKenzie, Haynes Boone, Cole Schotz, Willkie Farr, FTI Consulting, Kirkland & Ellis, Gibson Dunn, Jones Day, Patel Law Group, Platt + Richmond, Conley Rose, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Sidley, Slater Matsil, Jackson Walker, Wick Phillips, O’Melveny and Kastl Law.
To learn more about CHETNA, click here: https://chetna-dfw.org/.