MCCA® is pleased to announce its second class of fellows and scholars under the Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr., Scholarship Program. The program was founded to prime the diversity pipeline by helping law students meet their financial needs, in addition to exposing them to a group of leaders who can help mentor and successfully guide their early entry into the profession. MCCA's goal is to help produce a diverse group of young lawyers who are prepared to lead and reshape the legal profession.
Through the Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr., Scholarship Program, MCCA has committed over $380,000 to its second class of 18 students, which represents the largest single financial commitment ever made by a legal association in support of diversity scholarships. Ten corporate fellows will receive $10,000 per year for each of their three years of law school, and eight students will receive a scholarship award of $10,000. All will receive our ongoing professional development support, including an invitation for a paid internship in a leading corporate law department.
These law students, and the organizations that are sponsoring them, embody the diverse perspectives and experiences that MCCA advocates in the legal profession. Join us in congratulating these award recipients. We also sincerely thank the organizations noted below for sponsoring these law students.
 | Baker Botts L.L.P. Fellow | |
| Student: | Arturo Villarreal, Jr. | |
| Law School: | University Of Texas School of Law | |
| Undergraduate School: | University Of Texas-Pan American | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.59 | |
 | Crowell & Moring LLP Fellow | |
| Student: | John Oh | |
| Law School: | Boston College Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | University of Utah | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.84 | |
 | Crowell & Moring LLP Fellow | |
| Student: | Jessica Corsi | |
| Law School: | Harvard Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | Georgetown University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.67 | |
 | The Groom Law Group Fellow | |
| Student: | Lisa Gonzalo | |
| Law School: | Fordham University School of Law | |
| Undergraduate School: | Rutgers University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.9 | |
 | Crowell & Moring LLP Fellow | |
| Student: | Kerry Jefferson | |
| Law School: | Fordham University School of Law | |
| Undergraduate School: | Arizona State University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 4.0 | |
 | Johnson & Johnson Fellow | |
| Student: | Frank Chen | |
| Law School: | The University of Michigan Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | University of California-Irvine | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.81 | |
 | Microsoft Corporation Fellow | |
| Student: | Grace Adjuroa | |
| Law School: | The University of Michigan Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | Wayne State University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.78 | |
 | Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Scholar | |
| Student: | Dionna Little | |
| Law School: | Harvard Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | Washington University-St. Louis | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.6 | |
 | Microsoft Corporation Fellow | |
| Student: | Michael Anderson | |
| Law School: | University of Pennsylvania Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | University of Washington-Seattle | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.64 | |
 | Kelley Drye Collier Shannon Scholar | |
| Student: | Tanisha McCullen-Manning | |
| Law School: | Thurgood Marshall Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | Texas Southern University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.65 | |
 | Microsoft Corporation Fellow | |
| Student: | Willie White | |
| Law School: | North Carolina Central University's Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | North Carolina A&T State University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 4.0 | |
 | King & Spalding LLP Scholar | |
| Student: | Shannon Wilson | |
| Law School: | New York University School of Law | |
| Undergraduate School: | Emory University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.78 | |
 | Schering-Plough Corporation Fellow | |
| Student: | Ami Parekh | |
| Law School: | Yale Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | Williams College | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.81 | |
 | Marriott International, Inc. Scholar | |
| Student: | Jazmine Abadia | |
| Law School: | Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington | |
| Undergraduate School: | Pennsylvania State University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.81 | |
 | Adorno & Yoss, LLP Scholar | |
| Student: | Melanie Baptiste | |
| Law School: | University of Pennsylvania Law School | |
| Undergraduate School: | Spelman College | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.8 | |
 | Patton Boggs LLP Scholar | |
| Student: | Haris Khan | |
| Law School: | Boston University School of Law | |
| Undergraduate School: | University of Maryland | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.92 | |
 | Baker & McKenzie LLP Scholar | |
| Student: | Samorn Selim | |
| Law School: | University of California-Berkeley School of Law | |
| Undergraduate School: | University of California-Berkeley | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.88 | |
 | Wheeler Trigg Kennedy LLP Scholar | |
| Student: | David Lewis | |
| Law School: | Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington | |
| Undergraduate School: | Hampton University | |
| Undergraduate GPA: | 3.57 | |
REMARKS OF MICHAEL E. FLOWERS TO THE ENTERING MEMBERS OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY MORITZ COLLEGE OF LAW CLASS OF 2009
In addition to adding my own welcome and congratulations to each of the members of the Moritz College of Law Class of 2009, I pose a question to each of you.
What would you say, but more importantly, what would you do, if I told you at the end of your three years here at the Moritz College of Law you will be entrusted with the single most powerful economic force in the world? The first thing you might say is that I must be mistaken because surely anything of that magnitude dealing with the economy must be found in the Fisher College of Business here at Ohio State or somewhere within the domain of our number one competitors, the accountants.
No, this economic force that I am talking about has been placed into the hands of lawyers and it is the rule of law—which, simply stated, is a system of transparent, predictable, understandable, and fair rules and institutions that facilitates efficient and just societies. Still you might ask what does the rule of law really have to do with the economy and wealth creation? The answer is everything. And the reason is because the rule of law has been described as the foundation of prosperity.
In January of this year in a speech given at Hillsdale College, Steve Forbes, the editor-in-chief of the highly regarded Forbes business magazine, set forth his five principles of economic and prosperity.1 What do you think was his first principle of prosperity? Do you think it was to have the Congress or the White House controlled by one particular political party? Do you think it was to have the Federal Reserve system pursue a particular type of monetary policy? No, neither of these made it onto his list of principles of prosperity.
Although Steve Forbes is not a lawyer, first and foremost among his principles of prosperity was the rule of law. I believe Steve Forbes listed this as his first principle because his other four principles of prosperity: property rights, low taxes, simplified business formation process, and free trade-all flow from this one very important principle.
Without an understood and equitably enforced system of laws, Steve Forbes' principles of prosperity two through five could not be achieved.
I have been privileged to see the rule of law serve as an economic and opportunity driver in six countries on the continent of Africa. As a member of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Africa Law Initiative Council, I have participated in a number of rule of law programs and initiatives aimed at helping emerging democracies in Africa secure the economic benefits of a transparent system of laws and legal remedies. The governments and the members of the business community of many of these countries have come to realize that investment capital is more easily attracted to a region of the world where contracts are respected and enforced and where corruption among judges and other elected officials is not encouraged or tolerated. The ABA is also involved in similar rule of law initiatives in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.
While I and others have sought to export the rule of law to other parts of the world, there is, of course, ample need for us to recommit ourselves to the rule of law here in the United States. The opportunity for the rule of law to have its positive economic impact is just as great here in our country. That is because success in America is increasingly about economic opportunity and access to capital. It is obvious that in a capitalist society, those without capital or access to capital are at an extreme disadvantage.
While today the rule of law must be brought to bear on the economic inequalities that remain in our society, in the 1950s and 1960s it was the adherence to the principles of the rule of law that led the courts to require that the legislature and the executive branches of our government enact and apply the law fairly to all citizens regardless of their race or color.
While civil rights are important, to fully participate in and enjoy the benefits of a free market society, the law must create an environment where economic opportunity is widely available. I believe that this view was supported in a speech given last week by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association. During that speech, Justice Kennedy said, "The rule of law must be coupled with the right to improve human existence."2
The aftermath of the Katrina hurricane exposed the depth and pervasiveness of poverty in many of the cities of the Gulf region devastated by that natural disaster. The poor in those communities had the civil rights that were secured for them by the victories won during the civil rights movement, but in many instances they lacked the economic means to make those rights truly meaningful.
What the survivors of the Katrina hurricane need and what we as lawyers can do is to provide the economic stimulus that often flows from the ability of the rule of law to level the opportunity playing field. That is, lawyers can play a critical role in making sure that the rebuilding effort in the Gulf region creates economic opportunities for all. This will be especially important in the awarding of government construction contracts and making government sponsored business funding opportunities evenly available. In my own legal practice, I have seen what the rule of law can do to spur entrepreneurship when small and emerging businesses are able to compete with and gain market share from larger more well established businesses. These new businesses are able to thrive because the law prohibits those things that have been labeled as unfair competition or constitute an illegal restraint of trade.
Skilled and committed lawyers can use their training to help empower and bring into the economic mainstream a large group of our fellow citizens who have been previously disconnected from the dominant economy. Once these individuals become participants in the legitimate economy, they will have a vested interest in preserving all of the positive aspects of our society.
The rule of law is an ongoing process-not a destination. As a result, lawyers and the legal system must remain vigilant, if we are to preserve its benefits. The recent convictions of Ken Lay, the former CEO of Enron, and other executives of companies of the Enron era, show that our country's commitment to the rule of law is still firm. Without going into the merits of whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was the appropriate response, it is clear that Congress and the American people were sufficiently outraged by the type of corporate misconduct that was displayed by Enron and others, that Congress wanted to send a message to Corporate America and to the world that this type of corruption and disregard for the rule of law will not be tolerated.
Finally, if we want to defeat terrorism and truly unite all Americans here at home, it will be through the advancement of the rule of law both here and abroad that we will accomplish these important goals. Societies that do not embrace the rule of law enable terrorism to grow and tend to repress the free exchange of ideas and information that lead to innovation and wealth creation. Individuals trapped in these societies are without hope and are more inclined to use the desperate tactics of terrorism as they seek to alter their existence. Your personal commitment to upholding the rule of law will be necessary if we are to continue to enjoy the benefits of this great nation and live in peace with the rest of the world.
Michael E. Flowers is a partner at Bricker & Eckler LLP.
NOTES
- See Hillsdale College, Imprimis, Vol. 35, Number 3.
- See ABA Journal eReport, "Freedom Hangs in the Balance," Aug. 7, 2006.
From the November/December 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®