Last modified: Thursday, April 1, 2010
Inaugural Stewart Fellows to gain hands-on legal experience in India
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Six students at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law have been selected for summer internships in India as Milton Stewart Fellows in the law school's Center on the Global Legal Profession. This unique program offers students experiences in a variety of settings, including highly reputed law firms; rights-based, non-governmental organizations; and the Indian Solicitor General's Office.
Maurer School of Law Milton Stewart Fellows (l. to r. from top): Erin Mihalik, Nick Dau-Schmidt, Renee Turner, Zachary Holladay, Jillian Rountree, Erica Oppenheimer.
"The Maurer School of Law is engaging in a pioneering initiative. Through our strong, long-time relationships with lawyers in a range of sectors, we are following through on the law school's commitment to be a leader within American legal education by making India of primary focus," said Professor Jayanth K. Krishnan, the Charles L. Whistler Faculty Fellow and head of the India Initiative at the Center on the Global Legal Profession.
"The program is in keeping with the center's mission of developing our students' ability to practice in the globalized legal environment as business lawyers, public servants and social change agents," Krishnan said. He noted that funding for the internships was assembled in just five months through the generosity of alumni, foundations, and law firms. In particular, he highlighted the many contributions of alumnus Milt Stewart who, in addition to his philanthropy, also donated his time to travel to India to assist in finalizing the internship opportunities for the students.
"The students' exposure to the systems, practices and culture of the world's largest democracy will expand the set of opportunities for their employment when they are ready to enter the job market," said Professor William Henderson, a Harry T. Ice Faculty Fellow and director of the Center on the Global Legal Profession.
All of the Stewart Fellows will be second-year students at the Maurer School of Law in the fall of 2010. Following an intensive acculturation session in May during which they will be introduced to India's legal system, they will spend a good portion of the summer working in New Delhi.
The Stewart Fellows are named for Milton Stewart, JD '71, of Portland, Ore., whom the Law School honored in 2009 by naming the Comparative Legal Professions Program after him. The goal of this program is to immerse students in global markets that are booming centers of commerce, politics, and social change. The 2010 Stewart Fellows are:
- Nicholas Dau-Schmidt, who will serve as an intern at the law firm of J. Sagar Associates
- Zachary Holladay, who will intern at Jagori, an NGO focused on empowering the rights of women in India
- Erin Mihalik, who will spend her internship at the Self Employed Women's Association-Bharat, an NGO focused on empowering the rights of women in India
- Erica Oppenheimer, who will work for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Suroff & Company, India's largest law firm, followed by an internship at the Indian Solicitor General's Office
- Jillian Rountree, who will be employed by the Clarus Law Firm
- Renee Turner, who will serve as an intern at The Dalit Foundation, an NGO focused on empowering the rights of the lowest castes in India, followed by an internship at the law firm of Lalit Bhasin & Company.
The NGO internships have been made possible through a strong partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program and its director, Kathy Sreedhar. The NGO interns will also be further designated as Holdeen Scholars.
Additional information about the Center on the Global Legal Profession may be found at https://globalprofession.law.indiana.edu/, and contributions to fund future Stewart Fellows can be made through:
Arthur M. Lotz Office of Alumni and Development
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
211 S. Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
Contributions may be made on line at the IU Foundation Web site for IU Maurer Law donations.
