Receiving the 2019 Armonica Law Student Grant are the following: From Lewis & Clark Law School – Ollie Caron-Noble and Dixy Iglesias From the University of Oregon School of Law – Fernanda Douglas and Ravyn Goss From Willamette University College of Law – Bridget Lawson and Dina Rivera The Foundation is pleased to offer this grant in honor of late Foundation Board member Armonica Gilford. The grant is available to students in their final year at one of the three Oregon law schools. Applicants must intend to practice law in Oregon and demonstrate a commitment to the Foundation’s goals through their personal volunteer or educational experience. Annually, up to six recipients are selected from Oregon law schools to receive a textbook grant in the amount of $1,000. In addition to the monetary grant, each recipient is matched with a female judge or attorney, who serves as the student’s mentor for the year. Those who identify as women and/or as members of … [Read more...] about Congratulations to 2019 Armonica Law Student Grant Recipients!
Deadline Extended to October 18 for Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant Application
Parents who are in their final year of law school and plan to sit for the February 2020 Oregon bar exam should consider applying for the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant. The deadline to apply has been extended to October 18. The bar exam grant is named in honor of Vernellia R. Randall, who has made a lasting contribution to the Foundation and is playing a significant role in the efforts to give women and minorities greater access to the justice system. This grant is available to parents with children under the age of 18. The Foundation will heavily consider the ages and number of children of the applicant with special consideration to students with children under the age of 6 or with special needs, and to those who are single custodial parents. Applicants must be in their final year of law school and intend to practice law in Oregon. The current amount of the grant is $5,000. For more information and the online application form, click here. … [Read more...] about Deadline Extended to October 18 for Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant Application
Thanks from Armonica Grant Recipient April Stone
2018 Armonica Law Student Grant recipient April Stone recently shared her thoughts on what it means to be among those who receive the grant: "As you know, attending law school requires an increasingly daunting financial obligation, especially for students like me, who are raising a child during law school. I could not be more delighted to have been awarded a grant to assist with the expense of textbooks. The grant provided a significant offset against my school expenses, which in turn has allowed me to provide a little more to my family this year. I decided to pay your generosity forward and donate the texts that I purchase with the grant to other law students in need after I use them." The Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation is pleased to be able to recognize April Stone with the 2018 Armonica Law Student Grant. … [Read more...] about Thanks from Armonica Grant Recipient April Stone
2019 Fellows Program Recipient Announced
The Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation (OWLF) is pleased to announce its selection of Legal Aid Services of Oregon as its 501(c)(3) public interest organization partner in the Multnomah Bar Association's Fellows Program for 2019. This is the first year of the MBA’s Fellows Program, which focuses on enhancing the diversity of Multnomah County’s legal community. The OWLF mission is to educate and support women and minorities in accessing and participating in the justice system. LASO provides free civil advocacy and representation to low-income Oregonians on a variety of poverty, gender, and racial justice issues and is dedicated to eliminating barriers to access to justice for underserved populations and cultural communities. OWLF will provide the $10,000 stipend for one Fellow’s 10-week summer internship following their first year of law school. LASO has committed to providing the Fellow with whom it ultimately pairs a meaningful work experience and mentorship. Next summer’s … [Read more...] about 2019 Fellows Program Recipient Announced
Britanie Martinez is Awarded the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant
The OWLS Foundation is pleased to award a Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant to Britanie Martinez. The grant is given in honor of Vernellia R. Randall, who has made a lasting contribution to the Foundation and is playing a significant role in efforts to give women and minorities greater access to the justice system. Britanie is the single custodial parent of a three-year-old. She graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in May 2018 and will take the July bar exam. Britanie is an only child and the first person in her extended family to go to college. She is passionate about immigration and criminal defense law and fighting for clients, including minorities and those in poverty, who deserve quality legal representation. [Post by Terri Kraemer, reprinted with permission from the Summer 2018 issue of the Oregon Women Lawyers AdvanceSheet.] … [Read more...] about Britanie Martinez is Awarded the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant
Dayna Jones Awarded the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant
Congratulations to Lewis & Clark law student Dayna Jones! She is the recipient of the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant, which is being awarded by the OWLS Foundation for the February 2018 bar exam. Ms. Jones has focused her studies on environmental justice and Native American Law, while parenting her two children, 10 and 2 years old, during her law school career. Dayna says the following about receiving this award: “Receiving the Vernellia Randall Bar Exam Grant takes a weight off my shoulders that I cannot describe. As a working mother with two children, I constantly balance the stress of financing law school and paying for the roof over our heads; this task is more difficult than most can ever know. Preparing for the bar exam is a difficult process shared by all applicants, but preparing for the bar exam while taking care of children and working is a horse of a different color. Receiving the Vernellia Randall Bar Exam Grant will allow me to focus on the important … [Read more...] about Dayna Jones Awarded the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant
2016 Armonica Grant Recipients
Congratulations to this year's Armonica Grant recipients: From Lewis & Clark: Tessa Copeland and Laura Koistinen From University of Oregon: Jen Penaherrera and Angela Rico From Willamette: Gabriela Perez-Mendoza and Bailey Moody Each law student recipient receives a monetary grant in the amount of $1,000 and is matched with a mentor judge or attorney. … [Read more...] about 2016 Armonica Grant Recipients
Beatrice Grace Thanks the OWLS Foundation for Supporting Her Dream
Beatrice Grace, a new lawyer, 2015 UO Law School graduate and proud member of OWLS, is a grateful recipient of two OWLS Foundation grants during her final year of law school — the Armonica Law Student Grant (2014) and the Vernellia Randall Bar Exam Grant (2015) — for the financial relief they brought her family: Last year, my family and I were entering a real crisis. At the end of my last year of law school, the ability to study for the bar presented a huge hurdle. I had no way to pay my bills, my rent. I was looking at having to work 12-hour shifts in the ER while trying to study and raise my two children as a single parent. Not passing the bar was an unthinkable option. It would have been a terrible hardship for my family. We had all worked so hard to get me to this point. I am the first person in my family to go to law school and the first person in my family to get an advanced degree. Now, this last mile seemed for all practical purposes impossible. For the first time, I … [Read more...] about Beatrice Grace Thanks the OWLS Foundation for Supporting Her Dream
‘Thrown a Lifeline’: Grant Recipient Expresses Appreciation
I am extremely grateful to have received the Vernellia R. Randall Grant. When I was just two semesters from graduation, my children’s father died of cancer. I had to figure out how I would manage. I crunched a very tight budget. I figured out that I could graduate if I cut expenses to the bare minimum. I had already given up hope of taking the bar in July when I received the amazing news that I had been awarded the Vernellia R. Randall Grant. I was sitting at my desk at work when I got the news and tears were in my eyes. It was good news, really good news. I had been thrown a lifeline by the Oregon Women Lawyer’s Foundation. I’ve graduated on time, and I am taking the bar review classes. Because of your kindness and the Vernellia R. Randall Grant, I hope to be a member of the Oregon Bar this fall. Thank you so much. Heather Murray July 2014 … [Read more...] about ‘Thrown a Lifeline’: Grant Recipient Expresses Appreciation
Grant Recipient Tells What a Difference It Made
I came to Portland as a single mother of two. Balancing school, work, children, and home has been challenging. The Foundation grant was immediately important to me because I had been reading textbooks in the library but I did not own any of the books for my open-book exams. The grant was a lifeline. I was able to buy books that I could tab, write notes in, and fill with Post-Its. Being able to graduate and work in the legal profession will allow me to do the work which I believe in and be able to support my family. I am very, very grateful to Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation. … [Read more...] about Grant Recipient Tells What a Difference It Made
