Building and engaging a diverse workforce helps ensure companies have a broad range of perspectives, knowledge and skills. It’s also an essential business strategy that contributes directly to an organization’s long-term success. Read how Robert Half’s long-standing partnership with MCCA helps promote diversity in the legal profession.
For more than a decade, Robert Half has sponsored the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) LMJ Scholarship Program, a diversity pipeline program which offers outstanding law school students a $10,000 award to offset tuition expenses.
The 2022 Robert Half Scholar is Marco Linares Cordero. In addition to the financial award, Marco has the opportunity to work with MCCA leaders as he prepares for a legal career. He is enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and is expected to obtain his Juris Doctor degree and a Wharton certificate in management in 2024.
A future leader with a unique perspective
Marco was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 13. He graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University (FIU) in 2020 with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international relations.
As an undergraduate at FIU, Marco was a peer mentor and teaching assistant for Professors John William Bailly and Angela Puentes-Leon in the Honors College department. That is where he developed an interest in constitutional law which influenced him to pursue a legal education.
Before attending law school, Marco worked as a paralegal in a Miami-area labor and employment law firm. He also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Andrea R. Wolfson, a Miami-Dade County judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, where he gained insight into the criminal court system.
Marco is interested in contracts and international law and is working with a large law firm this summer. Of all his accomplishments, Marco is most proud of being the first person in his family to have made it this far educationally. “The LMJ Scholarship enables me to focus on my studies and give back as much as I can to my community,” he says.
Advancing inclusion in the legal profession
The LMJ Scholarship Program demonstrates firsthand the importance of programs that promote pathways to diversity.
“The leadership skills and academic excellence that students like Marco possess are vital to a successful career in law,” says Jamy Sullivan, executive director of the legal practice group at Robert Half. “We greatly value the opportunity to partner with organizations like MCCA to identify future leaders and help them achieve their career goals.”
Jean Lee, MCCA president and CEO, notes that the goal of the LMJ Scholarship Program is to champion the hiring, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys and help close the demographic gap in corporate legal departments and law firms.
“Having the ability to provide financial assistance to these students, with help from Robert Half and other corporate sponsors, is a positive first step to achieving greater diversity in the legal profession,” says Sullivan.
MCCA’s LMJ Scholarship Program is open to diverse students interested in a corporate law career and diversity and inclusion issues. It provides financial support for first-year law students who are financially disadvantaged and pursuing a Juris Doctor degree. Program recipients receive a $10,000 award for their first year of law school.
In addition, MCCA connects LMJ Scholars with peers, alumni and mentors who are available to provide professional support, such as guidance on addressing academic or personal obstacles that arise over the course of their legal career.
Learn more about inclusion at Robert Half.
