Santa Clara Law, regularly ranked as one of the most diverse law schools in the nation, recognizes the critical role that diversity plays in our society and the legal profession. At our annual Diversity and Inclusion Celebration, we recognize the strides that individuals and organizations have made in encouraging diversity and inclusion, and recognize the important role that scholarships and philanthropic support play in expanding access to law school.
2023 Award Winners
Social Justice and Human Rights Award
Akshay Verma JD ’06 is currently the Director of Legal Operations at Coinbase, where he’s been since April 2022. Prior to Coinbase, Verma held the same title and position at Meta, where he joined in 2018. Before Meta, Verma practiced law for seven years and then pivoted his career in 2012 to a role involving consulting and business development at Axiom Global.
Verma graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1999 with a degree in Chemistry, and later obtained his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2006. During his law school tenure, Verma dedicated himself to furthering diversity, equity and inclusion as the President of the South Asian Law Student Association. In 2005, he and three classmates founded the Santa Clara Law Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He served on the Board of the Student Chapter until graduation. Verma was also a staunch advocate for underprivileged youth, volunteering his time as a teacher for the Fresh Lifelines for Youth program, an organization aimed at reducing recidivism for incarcerated minors.
After graduating from SCU Law, Verma practiced in the environmental field at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman (2006-2008) and then at Farella Braun + Martel (2008-2012). At both firms, Verma served on the Diversity Committee, where he worked on initiatives aimed at increasing the diversity profile of incoming associates to the firms, as well as providing scholarship funds to diverse 1Ls. Verma joined the Board of the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California, serving as its President from 2012-2014
During his tenure at Meta, Verma served on the legal department Diversity Steering Committee where he spearheaded an effort to launch Meta’s Law Firm Diversity Program in 2019. The program involved a heavy data-driven approach to evaluating and improving the diversity of the firms serving Meta. Verma worked closely with the inaugural Diversity Champion firm, Kilpatrick Townsend, to launch Meta’s Legal Scholars Program, a two day event aimed at giving incoming diverse 1Ls a primer into law school life. Many of the Program’s alums are now SCU Law students.
Verma remains dedicated to SCU Law, serving as a law school Ambassador and teaching as an adjunct professor.
Organization of the Year Award
LEAP is changing the face of the legal profession by assisting underrepresented students navigate the law school application process. We do this by offering eight monthly workshops where our “fellows” learn about the process of applying to law school and they are exposed to over 40 diverse attorneys who share their career experiences. LEAP fellows are paired with both an attorney mentor and law student mentor who walk them through this law school application journey. In addition, a free LSAT course is provided to each fellow. In our three short year, LEAP has had close to a 100% acceptance rate to law schools across the country.
More information on Award Recipients page
Information about the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Scholarship
If you cannot attend the Diversity & Inclusion Celebration, but would like to make a gift in honor of Student Scholarships, please visit our giving page.
For more information, please contact Noelia McKeever at nmckeever@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4630.
For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Thi Tran at tqtran@scu.edu.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
Title Sponsor:
Platinum Sponsor:
Risë and Ulysses Pichon
Gold Sponsors:
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Silver Sponsors:
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Participant Sponsors:
Anna Han and Daniel Klein
Delbert Gee
Allen F. Moench
Mary J. Carlos
Caitlin E. Kaufman
