Shook Scholars Institute Readies Diverse Law Students for Success

Shook is offering a new diversity and inclusion intensive fellowship for law students to impart the high-level skills necessary to become an accomplished and thriving lawyer. The Shook Scholars Institute will premiere this fall to a select group of minority and LGBTQ law students who will participate in a trial boot camp, as well as sessions on how to be an effective lawyer, gain deposition skills, learn success strategies for diverse lawyers and build a career in law.

The Shook Scholars Institute will give law students the opportunity to work with Shook trial attorneys, litigators and leaders in a small group. After the conclusion of the program, Shook lawyers will continue to mentor Institute participants until they graduate. 

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for law students to gain real-world insight from some of the nation’s leading trial lawyers and litigators,” said Shook Partner and retired Jackson County Circuit Judge Jon Gray, who served as a judge on the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of Missouri for 20 years and is leading the trial program component of the Institute. 

Shook is recognized for its law student programs;Vault ranked Shook among its 2019 Best Law Firms for summer associate development and the firm is recognized among the nation’s top law firms for diversity and inclusion. 

"We're excited to launch the Shook Scholars Institute for law students nationwide," said Shook Director of Strategic Diversity Initiatives Kori S. Carew. "Law school and the transition to the practice of law can be overwhelming."