O'Melveny Academic Programs
As tangible evidence of O'Melveny's enduring commitment to supporting higher education in our communities, the Firm has established scholarships and built strong ties to our namesake O'Melveny Elementary in Los Angeles and to other schools at the secondary, college, and postgraduate levels. The prizes reward the scholastic achievements of deserving young people in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Beijing, and Shanghai. Additionally, O'Melveny attorneys and staff in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York mentor high-achieving students and scholarship recipients. During the past 15 years, the Firm has contributed over US$3.2 million toward more than 1,300 scholarship awards and devoted many hours to hundreds of students who excel academically but need a helping hand to realize their dreams of attending college or becoming practising lawyers.
The Warren Christopher Scholarship Awards
Established in 1992 to honor the former Secretary of State and our Senior Partner Warren Christopher, the Christopher Scholarships are annual, four-year college grants to 10 sophomores from high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The nominees, one each from the more than 50 high schools in the District, are evaluated for their academic promise, community service, and financial need. To claim their scholarships upon graduation, the 10 Christopher Scholars must maintain high academic performance throughout high school. Additionally, students who were nominated but not selected, and their schools, receive smaller grants.
The O'Melveny Scholarship Programs
Los Angeles
O’Melveny & Myers LLP and O’Melveny Elementary School have enjoyed a long-standing special relationship as part of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Adopt-a-School Program. O’Melveny established the program in 1991 to encourage students to stay in school, to succeed academically, and to continue their education after high school.
The Firm has also established the O’Melveny & Myers Scholar Mentor Program where the scholars are paired with an O’Melveny attorney or staff member designated by the Firm to offer guidance and support in connection with the students' academic pursuits.
The O’Melveny Scholarship Program has offered more than 125 needy children from O’Melveny Elementary a helping hand in realizing their dream of attending college. Many have graduated from universities such as MIT, Brown, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, USC, and UCLA.
New York
O’Melveny’s New York Scholarship Awards were established in 2003 to encourage high school juniors from the city who embody the values of uncompromising excellence, distinctive leadership, and a commitment to community service to continue to excel and gain admission to college. Each year, a total of 15 eleventh-grade students from five public high schools representing each of the New York City boroughs are selected as O'Melveny Scholars after an application and interview process based on grade point average, attendance, enrollment in college preparatory classes, financial need, and community involvement. The Scholar from each school with the best high school record receives a college scholarship that is renewed annually. The two other Scholars receive smaller annual grants.
In 2007, the Firm implemented a mentoring program in which O'Melveny lawyers are paired with the 15 O’Melveny Scholars. The mentoring program is designed to foster even stronger relationships with both the O’Melveny Scholars and the participating high schools. The mentors assist the Scholars with the college application process by proofreading their applications and essays and helping them set academic goals.
San Francisco
The O'Melveny Scholarship Awards program in San Francisco was established in 2006 for the students of San Francisco's Balboa High School. During the inaugural year, three students—one from each of the three grades—were named O’Melveny Scholars. Currently, one tenth grade student from Balboa High who best exemplifies our firm values of excellence, leadership, and citizenship is selected from a group of three nominees.
Shanghai and Beijing
In Shanghai, a total of nine junior undergraduates and second-year graduates from the three leading Shanghai law schools, Fudan University School of Law, the East China University of Political Science and Law, and the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade School of Law, received O'Melveny Legal Scholarship Awards.
In Beijing, a total of 12 junior undergraduates and second-year graduates are selected from the five leading Beijing law schools, Peking University, University of International Business and Economics, Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, and China University of Political Science and Law, for the Legal Scholarship Awards.
All recipients complete a rigorous application process that includes recommendations, review, and an interview by committees comprised of distinguished legal professionals, law professors, and representatives from the Firm.