Hunton Andrews Kurth Awards $25,000 Scholarship and Clerkship as Part of New Pathfinders Scholarship Program

Trailblazing scholarship established for outstanding first-generation law students

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is proud to announce the inaugural scholarship recipient in the firm’s newly established HuntonAK Pathfinders Scholarship Program. Aasees Kaur, a 2L first-generation law student at American University Washington College of Law, has been awarded a $25,000 scholarship and will participate in a 10-week, paid Summer Clerkship in Summer 2023. The HuntonAK Pathfinders Scholarship Program aims to attract outstanding first-generation law students to the private practice of law while helping them to be successful in law school through both work and mentorship experiences afforded by the program.

“Aasees is a talented individual with an impressive work ethic and is well-deserving of this honor,” said Rudene Mercer Haynes, a firmwide hiring partner. “Hunton Andrews Kurth believes it is critical to not only make the legal profession accessible to talented individuals, but to also, as a global law firm, be a leader in promoting and enhancing diversity and inclusion across the board. This scholarship, strictly for first-generation students, is one of the first of its kind and we are honored to help lead the way.”

The HuntonAK Pathfinders Scholarship stemmed from a winning submission at the firm’s annual “Hackathon” or brain-storming competition where summer associates were challenged to create strategies to enhance diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. The result was the development of the  firm’s First-Generation Pathways program, a pilot program aimed at providing mentoring to first generation law students. The program consisted of a series of conversations between lawyers at the firm and first-generation law students at schools located in Florida.

“It is an honor to be recognized and receive this scholarship,” said Aasees Kaur, inaugural HuntonAK Pathfinders Scholarship recipient. “I am the first in my family to attend law school and am so appreciative of this opportunity to learn from and work alongside Hunton Andrews Kurth’s talented attorneys.”

In order to qualify for the scholarship, students had to meet the following criteria:

• Currently enrolled as a second-year law student in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school
• Top 33% of Law School Class
• First-generation Law Student (defined as a first person in your immediate family to receive postsecondary education)
• Legally eligible to work in the United States

The recipient is awarded with the 10-week Summer Clerkship and a $25,000 scholarship payable in three installments after acceptance of the 2L Offer, after acceptance of the entry level offer and upon joining the firm full-time.