Lightfoot Announces 2023 Diversity Scholarship Recipient
June 14, 2023
Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC has selected Ashley Antony, a rising 3L student at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law, as its 2023 Diversity Scholarship recipient. Antony will receive a $10,000 award and a spot in this year’s summer associate program.
“As a firm, we are committed to ensuring our firm hires and develops the most talented lawyers from all manner of diverse backgrounds,” said hiring partner Haley Cox. “This is a core principle at Lightfoot and a crucial task for our profession. We see the scholarship as one of a number of tangible ways in which our firm can move the needle and are delighted to award it to Ashley this year.”
Antony, whose family immigrated to Houston, Texas from India, is pursuing a career in litigation. As a first-generation American, she credits her parents for helping her develop a global, comparative viewpoint when solving problems and analyzing issues — including legal questions and systems. During her undergrad studies at Tulane University, Antony focused on healthcare and gender equity issues. She felt becoming a lawyer was the best way for her to leverage her interests and strengths.
“The best way to effect long-term impactful change is through the law,” Antony said. “I thought about law school and felt it was the best way to connect all of my passions, facilitate change and do something positive.”
As a woman of color, Antony sought a firm for her clerkship that placed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the forefront of its culture. She said that during her interview process for the scholarship, she felt that Lightfoot embodied this tenet and would be a positive space for her to learn and thrive in.
“During my interview, the Lightfoot partners I spoke to clearly said they are open to more women and people of color coming in and starting initiatives from the ground up,” Antony said. “If you give agency to those individuals, it’s an exciting thing to be a part of.”
Antony added that she is excited about the one-on-one mentoring experience Lightfoot’s summer program provides, as well as the opportunity to live in Birmingham and learn more about the city and its legal community. In addition to working at Lightfoot, Antony will also be clerking at the Harris County District Attorney’s office to gain hands-on experience working from a prosecutorial perspective.
Lightfoot launched its diversity scholarship in 2021 to further its commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. In pairing the scholarship with a summer clerkship position, Lightfoot hopes to provide recipients with an understanding of what it’s like to work at a leading litigation boutique. The firm’s unique, hands-on program allows participants to engage in the day-to-day experience of life at the firm, including the opportunity to work on client matters and learn from some of the most experienced trial lawyers in the country.
More information on the Lightfoot diversity scholarship and application requirements can be found on the firm’s website.
