K&L Gates, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Team to Offer K&L Gates Diversity Fellowship

Pittsburgh – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (Pitt Law) have collaborated in the establishment of the K&L Gates Diversity Fellowship, which will provide a full-tuition scholarship to an entering student at Pitt Law for all three years of law school, as well as a paid summer associate position at K&L Gates in the student’s first and second summers of law school.

The K&L Gates Diversity Fellowship, which will begin with the Fall 2016 entering class, is the first of its kind at Pitt Law; the first such partnership in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania between a law firm and a law school; and one of the very few such partnerships in the entire country.

“Pitt Law is delighted to partner with K&L Gates in this effort to attract and support talented law students from a variety of diverse backgrounds, who will enrich the University of Pittsburgh and the communities they will one day serve,” said University of Pittsburgh School of Law Dean William M. Carter Jr. “K&L Gates’ leadership, vision, and tangible commitment of resources in establishing this partnership are truly inspiring, and I am deeply grateful for their support.”

Thomas J. Smith, the Administrative Partner of K&L Gates’ Pittsburgh office, stated: “This is a special day for K&L Gates, as we are privileged and honored to join with the University of Pittsburgh School of Law to further the cause of diversity in the legal profession in a way that strengthens our respective institutions by attracting highly talented, diverse law students and future lawyers.”

K&L Gates has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion and takes an aggressive approach in the recruitment of diverse lawyers. The firm regularly participates in a variety of programs and partnerships to attract and support top legal talent from wide-ranging backgrounds and is a sponsor and/or participant in a number of diversity-related events and organizations, including the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, the National Bar Association, ABA’s Minority Counsel Program and Commission on Disability Rights, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the National Association of Women Lawyers, the National LGBT Bar Association, and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, among others.

Formally established in 1895, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law is the oldest and largest law-school program in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pitt’s law-school program prepares its students for real-world practice through traditional legal coursework as well as experiential learning opportunities in one of its seven law clinics. With nearly 10,000 alumni, Pitt’s School of Law emphasizes practical skills training and helping its students enter the field of law as practice-ready legal professionals.

K&L Gates comprises approximately 2,000 lawyers globally who practice in fully integrated offices located on five continents. The firm represents leading multinational corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs in every major industry group as well as public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and individuals.