KU Law students selected for Douglas County Legal Diversity Fellowship
LAWRENCE – Two University of Kansas School of Law students have been selected as the 2024-2025 fellows for the Douglas County Legal Diversity Fellowship. Nathan Felema and Rossiel Reyes, both second-year law students, will be working with local businesses in Douglas County during the upcoming academic year.
During this fellowship, Felema and Reyes will work to improve their understanding of a diverse body of legal practice and support the work of Stevens & Brand L.L.P., Kansas Holistic Defenders and the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Service.
“This fellowship is very important for the significance it carries in encouraging diverse legal students to aspire to reach positions and set goals that the history of the profession may not have wanted them to aim for,” Felema said. “I am excited for this upcoming school year and to really dive into new spaces of law and how to navigate them.”
Felema was born and raised in Seattle but hails from San Bernardino, California. Rossiel, from Great Bend, is co-president of the student ambassadors and is the secretary of the Hispanic American Law Student Association (HALSA) and a member of First Generation Professionals.
“As KU Law continues to recruit and accept a more diverse student body, it is equally essential to provide support and resources to ensure our success. For first-generation law students, our presence in the legal field comes with both a sense of pride and frustration as we navigate this confusing path,” Reyes said. “Our presence is necessary to combat the many biases in the legal field by offering different viewpoints gained from our lived experiences.”
The fellowship was created in collaboration with local law firms, businesses and courts in Douglas County. It is a yearlong paid internship for diverse KU Law students to do legal work with both a private and public employer in the county.
“We were honored to participate in the DCLDF last year and are excited to partner with KU Law again this year in this valuable program,” said Brad Finkeldei, Stevens & Brand L.L.P. managing partner. “This fellowship provides practical experience for law students from underrepresented populations, which we hope will foster a greater diversity of backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints in our local legal community.”