Congratulations to our 2024 scholarship winners Victoria Esparza and Taylor Ingram!

Victoria Esparza is a first-year law student at the University of California Berkeley School of Law where she is associate journal editor for the Berkeley Latine Journal of Law & Policy. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and Spanish from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In her personal essay, Victoria wrote about her experience as a child escaping violence in Mexico and moving to the United States. “After my tourist visa expired within six months of moving to the United States, I resided in the country as an undocumented immigrant for ten years. For years, I lived in constant fear of deportation. Beyond that, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to attend college or pursue a career.

“I’ve channeled my experiences with the immigration system as an undocumented to mentor undocumented students and individuals, sharpen my advocacy skills, and work on immigration policy.” She hopes to “support the needs and dreams of undocumented immigrants in the United States by pursuing a legal education. As a future attorney, I bring with me my passion and ambition to be part of the changemakers working towards providing those in the shadows with a fair chance to live and succeed in the land of opportunity.”

Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar highly recommends Victoria, writing: “Victoria is my former Staff Assistant who worked in my Washington, D.C. office… Over the time that I worked with Victoria, I witnessed her commitment to public service and her eagerness to learn, grow, and contribute to our country. She will continue being a positive asset to our country and her respective field. She has much to offer to our country and is deserving of obtaining the needed support to accomplish her long-term goals of being a legal advocate for underrepresented communities.”

CLICK HERE to read Victoria’s essay

Taylor Ingram, a first-year student at the University of Idaho College of Law, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with cum laude honors from the University of Nevada, Reno, where she was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. Taylor served as co-chair of the 10th Judicial District Court Historical Committee, researching and developing the biographies of former 10th Judicial District Court judges to memorialize them in the local courthouse and museum. In the summer of 2021, she completed an internship in the Elko County District Attorney’s Office, shadowing attorneys in court proceedings, assisting with legal research and documentation, and evaluating recorded calls of inmates for possible incriminating statements for trial preparation.

Taylor wrote in her personal essay about how, from a young age, she wanted to be a lawyer in work in the criminal justice system. “This is largely due to my family’s history of public service. My dad, a member of the Choctaw Tribe of Oklahoma and now retired, served in the United States Marine Corps, then worked in law enforcement, and was eventually elected Sheriff of Churchill County, Nevada. My mom is the Director of Pre-Trial Services in Churchill County, and my older brother, Tyler, is the elected district attorney for Elko County. I am proud of my family’s service, and I wish to continue that tradition.”

Senior Judge Archie Blake of the Nevada Third Judicial District Court recommends Taylor “without reservation… Taylor has the educational foundation to be a successful law student/lawyer, but she also has strong family connections in the legal community. I have known and worked with Taylor’s family in the legal field for over 30 years. [She] has the essential tangible motivation to be a valued member of the legal community.”

CLICK HERE to read Taylor’s essay

April Franklin, a first-year student at Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, N.C. She has worked in the family caregiving industry in administrative roles as a support specialist and an educational program developer. She plans to pursue a career in African-American Elder Law. She wrote: “This scholarship would aide in my mission of changing the landscape of the legal field by helping to break down some of the financial barriers that many minorities like myself face when pursuing educational opportunities.” CLICK HERE to read April’s essay.

The Dr. J. Clay Smith Jr. Diversity in the Legal Profession Scholarship aims to promote diversity in the legal profession and to encourage racial and ethnic minority students to pursue a legal education and complete law school. The Foundation of the FBA awards at least one $15,000 scholarship to a first-year law student, disbursed over three years of the student’s enrollment at an ABA-accredited law school. The recipient will also receive a complimentary FBA student associate membership.

The Diversity in the Legal Profession Scholarship is named in memory of Dr. J. Clay Smith Jr., the Federal Bar Association’s first African American president. Dr. Smith’s long career in public service included serving as associate general counsel for the Federal Communications Commission, commissioner and then interim chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and dean of Howard University School of Law. He is the author of Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844–1944, published in 1993 with a foreword by Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court’s first African American justice. In September 1981, Dr. Smith presented to the Washington Bar Association a paper he wrote about Louis Mehlinger, a senior attorney with the Department of Justice and the first black member of the FBA (1944). “As the twentieth century closes and as the twenty-first century is born, the Federal Bar Association must continue to be faithful to the principle of race and sex diversity in its leadership ranks at the local and national levels.”

The Foundation wishes to continue Dr. J. Clay Smith Jr.’s legacy by encouraging racial and ethnic minority students to apply for this scholarship. Applicants must exhibit high character and professionalism in their personal, professional, and academic lives as demonstrated in application materials.

Applicants must complete:

  • Online application
  • Personal essay
  • Unaltered college transcript (official or student copy)
  • Law school enrollment verification
  • Two letters of recommendation (these may include professors).

Letters of recommendation may be submitted with the online application or by the recommender to foundation@fedbar.org (make sure your name and “Diversity Scholarship” appear in the subject line (i.e., B Smith_Diversity Scholarship). Law school enrollment verification may be a letter or certificate of enrollment or current class schedule (this is NOT your letter of admission).

The deadline to submit the scholarship application and the required documentation is November 1. Contact foundation@fedbar.org with questions.