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Don't Delay - Get Involved with the Diversity Clerkship Program through the State Bar of Wisconsin! Are you looking for ways to introduce diverse law students to your practice area? Do you scratch your head and bemoan the fact that diverse law students do not apply to your law firm or insurance company? Everyone talks about the importance of increasing diversity in the defense bar and making sure all feel welcome and included, right? Well, our State Bar has a fantastic program that is actively addressing this very issue. Look no further! The Diversity Clerkship Program is a 10-week (paid) summer clerkship for first-year law students at both UW Law School and Marquette University Law School. Law students from diverse backgrounds are matched with employers who sign up. You just pay the student whatever you would pay for any other law clerk you might hire (the pay varies depending on the size of the firm or the company, of course). My law firm has been involved with this program for several years and we have had the pleasure of working with outstanding law students every summer. Several students have stayed on part-time once the summer is over. These students are put through a rigorous application process to be accepted into the program. After a day or two of interviews, akin to speed dating, the employers rank the students, and the students rank the employers. There is then a ‘match’ made, with great effort made to give the employers one of their top few picks. The program is always looking for interested employers. Students have had to be turned away in the past because there were not enough participating employers. In my opinion, this simply should not happen. You prefer hiring 2L students over the summer, you say? Think again. I have been in charge of our law clerk program for nearly 20 years. I can honestly say that the quality of the law clerk work is not dependent on whether they are 1L or 2L. Rather, this is entirely student specific. The deadline for employer commitments is January 12, 2023. For more information, visit https://www.wisbar.org/aboutus/forlawstudents/pages/diversity-program.aspx, or contact Kim Burns at [email protected] or Katie Castle-Wisman at [email protected]. Author Biography: Patricia (Patti) Epstein Putney is a Shareholder at Bell, Moore & Richter, S.C. in Madison. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Bryn Mawr College in 1984 and her Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1989. She moved from New York City to Madison in 1995. Patti's practice area relates to the defense of all types of civil litigation. This includes defense of physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals in medical malpractice cases, as well as in licensing, disciplinary and credentialing disputes. She regularly defends personal injury and wrongful death actions, including automobile accidents, premises liability, products liability, insurance agent negligence as well as insurance coverage disputes. Patti has had numerous jury trials throughout the state, has litigated in federal courts and appellate courts and has argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Patti is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Defense Counsel, and the Dane County Bar Association. She also started a group called “Lawyer Moms” for working women lawyers with children.
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