Congratulations to our 2017-2018 Marin County Bar Association Legal Scholarship recipients. The application narratives were compelling, with all of the winners demonstrating a commitment to global change through their legal service projects. Our administrative partner, 10000 Degrees, recruits from law schools and reviews eligibility before forwarding the applications to our Scholarship Committee members, who determine the awards. Marin Community Foundation manages the scholarship funds for us.

A big thank you to those who donated at our annual Installation Gala to help fund next year’s scholarship students. We are still collecting pledges and donations and need your help to continue to provide the same level of scholarships to deserving recipients. Every single donation has a direct impact by helping an awardee meet the financial challenges in pursuing a legal career.

Please consider donating by writing a check for any amount you can afford, made out to “10000 Degrees” with “MCBA Legal Scholarship” on the memo line. Mail checks to:

MCBA
101 Lucas Valley Rd., Suite 326
San Rafael, CA 94903

Or you can donate online by credit card to 10000 Degrees by visiting here. Make sure you designate the donation to MCBA Scholarship Fund in the dropdown menu.

Our three MCBA Legal Scholarship recipients for 2017-2018 are:

Dannielle Antone is a Marin County native who attended elementary and high school in Mill Valley, CA. She obtained her B.A. in Economics from Pitzer College and worked for three years prior to attending Berkeley School of Law. Dannielle is a 3L and an active participant in several affinity groups and organizations. Dannielle previously served as the President of the Women of Color Collective and currently mentors 1L students who, like Dannielle, are the first in their family to attend college. She has worked on the Berkeley Business Law Journal, and as an intern in the Berkeley International Human Rights Clinic where she had the opportunity to travel to Uganda to assist with an international human rights matter. She spent her 1L summer at Legal Aid of Marin in an effort to give back to the community she grew up in. She currently works for the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy as a graduate fellow and is the chair of the Women in Business Law mentorship program. Dannielle says that being a scholarship recipient has significantly helped her in achieving her dream of obtaining a law degree and allows her to spend more time focused on her studies and participating in her community to promote equal access to the legal system.

Janeene Iles was born and raised here in Marin County. She attended UC Berkeley during her undergraduate years, and is now completing her final year of law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Currently, she is studying in Paris, France completing a dual-degree program. In May 2018, she will graduate with a Juris Doctor degree and Master’s in European Law. She first became interested in the legal profession when she was orphaned by it. In February of 2009, approaching her high school graduation, she lost her parents to substance abuse and the criminal justice system. Now she is the first in her family to attain a Bachelor’s degree and will be the first in her family to attain a J.D and M.A. “Receiving this scholarship is truly a blessing for which I am so grateful. Your support and confidence in my future success means so much to me and has helped me in achieving my dreams. I will continue to strive to make my family, friends, and community proud.” Janeene has received an offer to work at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP after graduation.

Lucia Diaz is the first scholarship recipient from a Southern California law school after MCBA expanded its eligibility criteria to fund law school at any California school rather than just Northern California. Lucia attended San Rafael High School and is now a 2L at California Western School of Law. She first knew she wanted to practice law when she witnessed her classmates participating in mock trials when in high school. “I was so intrigued by the adversarial system and found it fascinating. Beyond my curiosity, personal matters were also forces that led me to learn some of the ins and outs of immigration law. I now find myself nearing the finish line of my legal academic career and am excited to be able to help…people understand how to navigate the law, particularly immigration law.“