News Release

Criminal Defense Bar Announces 2012-13 Student Diversity Essay Competition and Diversity Summer Fellowship Program

Washington, DC (November 30, 2012) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is pleased to announce its annual Diversity Task Force Student Essay Competition and Diversity Summer Fellowship Program.

This is the fifth year of NACDL’s Diversity Student Essay Competition. All students enrolled in the 2012-13 academic year and in good academic standing at an accredited law school are eligible to enter the competition which offers prizes of cash, recognition, publication in NACDL’s renowned monthly magazine, The Champion, and more. For a full description and contest rules, please visit NACDL's website here. The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2012. Through this essay competition, NACDL and its Diversity Task Force challenge students’ issue spotting, analysis and writing skills.

Now in its fourth year, NACDL’s Diversity Summer Fellowship Program is seeking up to three (3) Minority Law Fellows to match with exceptional, experienced, criminal defense attorney members for up to eight (8) weeks working in a criminal defense law practice. Eligibility information and an application form are available online at NACDL's website here. The deadline for applications is January 7, 2013. Through the Fellowship Program, NACDL and its Diversity Task Force aim to support diversity in the next generations of criminal defense practitioners.

For more information about these important initiatives, please contact Geneva Vanderhorst, chair of NACDL’s Diversity Task Force, at genevalaw@yahoo.com.

Contacts

Ivan J. Dominguez, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, (202) 465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.