SBL offers Indiana University scholarship to young lawyers

As part of its Mentorship Programme for young lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) in collaboration with the Indiana University Maurer School of Law has announced a Scholarship fund of $59, 888 to young lawyers who wish to participate in the Indiana University Maurer School of Law LL.M degree programme under the  “SBL Scholars Program” 2018.

In a statement released by the SBL Young Lawyers Committee, the Chairperson of the committee, Olubukola Olabiyi stated that interested persons are expected to apply for the scholarship, which will cover costs for Tuition & Fees, Accommodation, Health Insurance and a budget for miscellaneous expenses.

“The Scholarship which covers only the total cost of earning an LL.M degree at the Maurer School of Law also includes the opportunity to serve as a research fellow at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law’s Stewart Center on the Global Legal Profession and is only open to Young Lawyers who are active members of the SBL,” the statement disclosed.

In the same vein, all applications, which will be submitted to the “SBL Scholars Programme Selection Committee”, should be received by Friday, 30th March 2018.

According to the organisers, each candidate is expected to have successfully secured an LL.M Admission with the Indiana University Maurer School of Law as well as meet the requirements set out in the SBL Scholars Program criteria, set out hereunder. The applications are also to be accompanied by a thousand-word paper with the title: “How my work will be enhanced by a postgraduate degree at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law”.

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is said to run one of the oldest LL.M. programs in the United States. The law school is currently ranked 11th among public institutions in the United States and 30th overall by U.S. News and World Report. It recently received an A+ rating from The International Jurist magazine for its LL.M. program in all four rating categories. The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is one of only two schools in the U.S. to achieve this distinction. The law school is located in Bloomington, on Indiana University’s flagship campus.

Further, the Stewart Center’s mission is to engage in first-rate scholarship and research, examining the legal profession from both an empirical and global perspective. The Center’s faculty serves as a resource on issues related to the legal profession for the bar, bench, corporate citizens, and public servants in the United States and globally; and critically, the Center’s mission includes training the students to become adept at practicing in this globalising legal environment.

The Center aims to create a new approach for educating students about the legal profession; with the hope to prepare students who are aware of the pressures and influences on the profession. It seeks to have them study the best research on issues currently affecting lawyers, such as globalisation, the commoditization of legal services, increased lateral mobility, shifts in generational attitudes, heightened cost pressures from clients, the diverse role of lawyers in business, the decline of civil trials, and the growing awareness of the importance of such skills as emotional intelligence.

Criteria for Scholarship Qualification are as follows:

1. The “SBL Young Lawyers’ Committee Post-Graduate (LL.M) Scholarship 2018” is free to enter. It is open to all Young lawyers who are a maximum of 7 years post call to the Nigerian Bar and who are active and participating members of the SBL interested in pursuing a postgraduate degree in aspects of business or commercial law;

2. Applicants must fulfill ALL the criteria for admission into the Indiana University Maurer School of Law LL.M. program;

3. Applicants must be Nigerian citizens up to and including the age of 32;

4. Applicants must be working in a law firm or as in-house counsel, in a corporate entity and must have graduated with a Second Class, Upper Division (2:1) either from the university or from the Nigerian Law School. Persons already possessing post-graduate degrees from any tertiary institution will not be eligible for this grant;

5. Applicants must have verifiably participated in, at least, one SBL Annual Business Law Conference or activity as well as must be in Good Standing with the NBA (must have paid Bar Practising Fees, SBL Membership Dues and NBA Branch Dues as and when due);

6. Applicants must have neither a record of professional misconduct nor criminal allegations/conviction and upon application, submit character and professional references from their current employer signed by a Partner or the Head of Legal/General Counsel/Company Secretary of the law firm or company respectively;

7. Applicants must submit a “Formal Application” and a written essay of no more than 1000 words on the subject: “How my work will be enhanced by a postgraduate degree at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law”. The text should be double-spaced and each paper must contain the author’s name and professional contact information on the front page;

8. Applicants must submit a sworn affidavit from any superior court deposing to his/her clear willingness to immediately return to Nigeria on completion of this postgraduate degree;

9. This $59,888 USD Scholarship to Young Lawyers will cover only costs for Tuition & Fees, Accommodation, Health Insurance and a budget for miscellaneous expenses. Applicants must therefore also provide satisfactory evidence to support their other ancillary costs including but not limited to logistics, feeding and flight costs, etc.;

10. Applications and Essays must be sent by e-mail, preferably as Word documents or in PDF format to “The SBL Scholars Programme Selection Committee” at the SBL Secretariat ([email protected]) on or before close of business on Friday, 30th March 2018;

11. The SBL Scholars Programme Selection Committee will consist of the Officers of the SBL. They will screen the applications and essays primarily on the basis of professionalism, precision and clarity of thought, legal argumentation, research, style, logic, originality and overall quality of content. An international, rather than a strict domestic approach would be appreciated. Factors such as financial need and geographical diversity may also be considered;

12. It is planned that the SBL will communicate the Scholarship Committee’s decision to the winners and possibly any additional finalists by the end of April 2018 at the e-mail address indicated by them in their Applications; and shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview which they must attend with original copies of all relevant credentials, their resumes and international Passport data pages. This is to enable them commence the Summer Start Programme in July 2018;

13. The decision of the SBL Scholars Programme Selection Committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The decision will also be published on the SBL website;

14. Employees of the SBL, Relatives of SBL Council and Executive Committee Members or any SBL Committee and members of the SBL Scholars Programme Selection Committee are excluded from the competition;

15. PLEASE NOTE: If you are awarded the SBL Young Lawyers’ Committee Post-Graduate (LL.M) Scholarship, you will be required to provide evidence of successful admission to the Indiana State University, Maurer School of Law;

16. PLEASE NOTE FURTHER: if you are awarded the SBL Young Lawyers’ Committee Post-Graduate (LL.M) Scholarship you will be required to confirm your participation by providing proof of your ability to travel and copies of your travel documents; and

17. Successful Applicants will be expected to have read and accepted all the above rules.