Two Touro Law Students Selected as 2015 New York City Bar Association Diversity Fellows

Touro Law Center students Ingrid Tatiana Medina and Alexis Bullard have been selected as 2015 New York City Bar Association Diversity Fellows. Ms. Medina will be working with New York Life Insurance Company and Ms. Bullard will be working with Bank of New York Mellon. 

“Ingrid and Alexis are outstanding examples of the high caliber students who attend Touro Law Center. We are proud of their accomplishments and look forward to the great work they will do this summer and the wonderful experiences they will have that will help to shape their professional identities,” said Dean Salkin.

Ms. Medina, a first-year full time student, has been interested in studying the law since high school. She grew up in a family with a single immigrant parent and was inspired at an early age to support others and make a difference in the lives of those around her who needed help. She has had legal internships since high school, including interning at Albany Family Court. While earning her undergraduate degree with honors at Siena College, she was the president of the Pre-Law Society and was selected as a distinguished legal fellow at the Feerick Center for Social Justice. Ms. Medina says, “I am grateful for the abundance of opportunities I have received as a 1L and the support and guidance that is easily accessible. My passion has always been to help human trafficking victims and immigrant children. Now, I am excited to be exposed to Corporate Law. After graduation, I look forward to making an immediate impact, and I am confident that resources such as this Fellowship will prepare me to succeed in a law career.”

Ms. Bullard, also a first-year, full time student, has always loved the law and was inspired by watching her mom become the first African-American woman elected District Court judge on Long Island. Alexis says, “I was always in love with the law, ever since I was a little girl. I was lucky enough to watch my mom become the first African-American woman elected District Court judge on Long Island. She inspired me to believe that the world is truly my oyster, and in a field where people who look like me are scarce, I am empowered and dedicated to create change and be an example for those who may not see this career as an opportunity available to them. A career in the law is the perfect path for me.” While earning her undergraduate degree with honors from Binghamton University State of New York, she was an active member of the Thurgood Marhsall Pre-Law Society. She looks forward to pursuing a career in criminal prosecution or corporate law in the state of New York.

Since 1991, more than 300 diverse and talented first year law students from eleven New York City area law schools have been given the opportunity to spend their first year summer in a law firm, or corporate or government legal department to better prepare them for careers in the law. The goal of the Fellowship Program is to provide first year law students from underrepresented population the chance to spend a summer in one of New York’s most exciting legal environments.

The selection criteria for Program Fellows is demanding, including a legal writing requirement, preparing a personal statement and being interviewed by a faculty-dominated screening committee at their respective law school. Having met these requirements, candidates are interviewed again by a panel of attorneys and other school representatives. Only those who pass the final hurtle are assigned to a participating employer.

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Patti Desrochers

Director of Communications

pattid@tourolaw.edu

(631) 761-7062