Rochester Legal Diversity Clerkship Program

2017 Application

Return this application to:

Mary Beth Feindt

Program Manager

Monroe County Bar Association

1 W. Main St., 10th Floor

Rochester, NY14614

Tel:585.402.7189

Fax:585.546.1807

Rochester Legal Diversity Clerkship Program

Program Overview:

The Rochester Legal Diversity Clerkship Program is co-sponsored by the MCBA (through its Diversity Committee), the Rochester Black Bar Association (RBBA), and the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA). Since 2005, this program has sought to increase diversity in the legal profession in the Rochesterarea by attracting first-year law students to work in paid positions with Rochester-area lawfirms and other legal employers.

Evaluation Criteria:

Candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Academic achievement
  • Work experience
  • Involvement in relevant professional and community activities
  • Connection to Western New York and/or interest inpracticing in the Rochester community
  • Contribution to diversity
  • Writing skills
  • Interview/interpersonal skills

Application Specifics:

  1. Application: Eligible first-year law students are required to submit an application, current resume, undergraduate and law school transcripts, a personal statement and the designated writing sampleby February 1, 2017.
  2. Interview: Based on the application materials submitted, qualified candidates are invited to Rochester for an interview conducted by members of the Diversity Committee.Students must secure their own transportation to Rochester for the interviews, to be held on Saturday, February 18, 2017.
  3. Selection Process: After the interviews, the Diversity Committee reviews students based on the criteria described above, and then selects the students who will receive offers, along with alternates.
  4. Offers: Selected students receive an offer of placement with a particular organization and are given three days to accept the initial offer* (there is no discussion of monetary terms at this point). If an offer is declined, the position will be extended to an alternate. Students who decline offers will not be given the option of an alternate placement.

* Employers may require that additional information be provided before an offer is made.

APPLICATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN

2017ROCHESTER LEGAL DIVERSITY CLERKSHIP

Please return this Application, with the requested documents attachments.

PART A:General Information

1.Please submit a current resume. This should include all undergraduate and graduate enrollment as well as significant employment from undergraduate studies to current. Your resume should also include all relevant contact information. Please label your resume as Attachment A and attach to this Application.

  1. If offered a position, would you be able to present documentation of your U.S. citizenship or proof of your legal right to work in the United States?

______Yes______No

  1. Where you heard about this program (check all that apply):

[ ]Law School Career Placement Office

[ ]Former Clerkship participant

[ ]Other ______

PARTB:Personal Statement

Please prepare a personal statement discussing (a) how your diversity has affected your life and view of the legal profession, and (b) how you would contribute to creating a more diverse legal community in Rochester.The statement should be double-spaced and no more than 700 words. Please label this statement as Attachment B and attach to this Application.

PART C:Legal Writing Sample

This application packet contains a question for which you must prepare a written legal argument. Your argument must be typewritten, double-spaced and no more than 1,000 words. You must confine your argument to the facts (and any facts that logically follow). You are to rely solely on the authorities that have been cited in the hypothetical unless otherwise indicated. Writing samples should not be reviewed by professors, other law students or others as these should be completely independent work products. Please label this submission as Attachment C and attach to this Application.

PART D:Undergraduate, Law School,and any Post-Graduate Studies Transcripts

Please submit an official undergraduate transcript with this application, or arrange to have one sent directly from your undergraduate institution to the MCBA Program Manager. Please also submit a law school transcript. An unofficial version is acceptable but, if you are invited to interview, you must submit an official transcript by February 13, 2016.Please label your transcripts as Attachment D and attach to this Application.

PART E:Interest in Practicing in Rochester

Please identify any connections you may have to Rochester and explain why you are interested in practicing law in Rochester this summer and after graduation from law school.

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PART F:Statement of Agreement and Commitment

  1. I understand that the primary purpose of this program is to afford students an opportunity to obtain valuable clerkship experience. I understand that an offer of further employment after the clerkship is completed is neither promised nor guaranteed and that the decision to make such an offer rests solely with the firm or entity that employs me for the clerkship. The Monroe County Bar Association will play no role in such decision.
  1. I understand that it is my responsibility to ensure that all required forms and supporting material reach the office of the Monroe County Bar Association by the due date and time set forth on the cover page of this application. The Monroe County Bar Association may reject my application if it is not submitted in a timely manner.
  1. I understand that the program to which I am applying is intensive and requires my full-time commitment. Upon acceptance of a clerkship position, I agree that I will not work any other job during the clerkship period that will impact my ability to fulfill my commitment to the firm or entity that employs me. Such commitment may include working hours outside of standard business hours, i.e., in the evenings or on weekends. The Monroe County Bar Association discourages clerks from working a second job that also may impede the clerk’s ability to learn more about the Rochester area and enjoy its many summer activities. I further agree to complete the program in its entirety in accordance with the schedule established by the firm or entity that employs me.
  1. The information provided by me in this application is complete, true, and accurate. I understand that any misrepresentation or omission may be cause for disqualification or result in expulsion from the program.
  1. I understand that participation in the clerkship program is contingent upon my eligibility to remain in law school and my acting at all times in an ethical manner.
  1. I understand that the information submitted in this application will be shared with the Monroe County Bar Association Diversity Committee and some information may be shared with supporting bar associations and clerkship employers.
  1. If for any reason I must leave the program, I will call and notify the Monroe County Bar Association.

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Signature of Applicant Date

PART C

LEGAL WRITING SAMPLE

This exercise will require that you write a short legal memorandum.Please read the following fact pattern and analyze in response to the question below using only the provided cases.

From:F. Douglas, Partner

To:Diversity Clerkship Candidate

Date:Thursday, December 1, 2016

Subject:Analysis of Ownership of UofR River Campus and Susan B. Anthony House

The University of Rochester (the "UofR"), is based on land along the Genesee River on a plot of land known as the River Campus. The Susan B. Anthony House, located at 17 Madison Street in Rochester, the house where Susan B. Anthony ("Anthony") lived and worked from the mid-1800s until her death in 1906. In 1919 Eastman Kodak founder George Eastman ("Eastman") purchased the Susan B. Anthony House to honor Anthony and commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment that year. In 1921, Eastman acquired the land that is now home to the River Campus from Oak Hill Country Club, relocating the golf course to Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester, and began construction of the new campus. The land was deeded to the UofR when construction was complete in 1930. The UofR immediately relocated male students to the new River Campus, keeping classes for female students at its University Avenue campus until 1955.

Eastman died in 1932, creating a trust in his Will that would own the Susan B. Anthony House for the benefit of all Rochestarians and visitors to Rochester. A Susan B. Anthony museum was created at the Susan B. Anthony House featuring many writings and articles of clothing and furniture owned by Anthony during her life, including her trademark black dress and alligator purse.

Since the museum opened, UofR has assigned various history or women's studies professors to conduct research at the Susan B. Anthony House, answer the questions of visitors, and conduct lectures on Anthony's work. There has been a UofR professor on site since 1932, and the professor has always had keys to the house and maintained an office there.

The deed transferring ownership of the River Campus land by Eastman to the UofR in 1930 described 15 separate parcels of land. The lawyer who prepared the deed represented the UofR in the transaction. He was jealous of Eastman's success in the film industry and sought to cheat Eastman by including the parcel containing the Susan B. Anthony House in the property description portion of the deed. The deed was executed by Eastman and his signature was notarized, but it was never filed with the Monroe County Clerk. In fact, the deed appears to have been lost for several years.

Eastman left his residence on East Avenue and all of its contents to the UofR. UofR presidents Benjamin Rush Rhees ("Rhees") and later Alan Chester Valentine ("Valentine") resided there from 1932 until 1948. In 1948, when Valentine was moving out of Eastman's residence, he found the deed. Realizing its historical significance he had it framed and hung it from the wall of the residence. In 1949 the residence was opened as the George Eastman House (now known as the George Eastman Museum), the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and film, and the deed remained on the wall as an exhibit.

Last month a UofR student, A.B. Wambach ("Wambach"), cousin of Rochester's native soccer star Abby Wambach, was touring the George Eastman Museum when she spotted the deed. Interested in Rochester history she took a picture of it. Wanting to know more about the history of her school, Wambach sent a copy of the picture to her friend Ray Diggs ("Diggs"), a student at Cornell Law School and brother of Rochester-raised actor Taye Diggs. Diggs studied the deed and was astonished to see that the property descriptions all seemed contiguous except one. Diggs asked his Property professor for help, and the professor suggested that Diggs visit the Monroe County Clerk's office to review records of George Eastman's land holdings in an effort to determine which plots of land came from Oak Hill and where the seemingly aberrant plot of land was located. Diggs accepted the challenge and soon discovered that it appeared that Eastman had deeded the Susan B. Anthony House to the UofR. He immediately called Wambach with the news, who in turn posted a photo of the deed on Instagram and Twitter with the hash tag #UofRownsAnthonyHouse.

A reporter from Rochester’s daily newspaper, the Democrat & Chronicle, saw the tweet and wrote a story on the issue. The UofR was asked to comment on the story prior to publication.

We represent the UofR. Our client is interested in determining whether it in fact owns the Susan B. Anthony House and further wants us to confirm its ownership of the River Campus.

Please prepare a memorandum of no more than 1,000 words in length addressing the likelihood that the UofR owns the River Campus and separately addressing the likelihood that it owns the Susan B. Anthony House. You may rely on the authority listed below in your response. Please recite the facts and legal principles on which your analysis relies.

Please note that although this scenario contains some actual facts, many are fictional. For example, there is no known dispute over the University of Rochester's ownership of the River Campus and George Eastman never owned the Susan B. Anthony House. Taye Diggs has two brothers and two sisters, but none is named Ray or is believed to be a student at Cornell Law School. Abby Wambach grew up in Rochester, but she is not believed to have a cousin currently studying at the University of Rochester. Some of the dates included in this scenario are also fictional. You are encouraged to read more about Rochester history, but please limit your response to this writing exercise to the facts as presented.

Estate of Becker v. Murtagh, 19 N.Y.3d 75 (2012)

Faison v. Lewis, 25 N.Y.3d 220 (2015)

M&T Real Estate Trust v. Doyle, 20 N.Y.3d 563 (2013)

Richards v. Wells Fargo Express Co., 215 N.Y. 351 (1915)