Starting in Fall, 2022, for Law Students who will have
completed at least one semester of law school before Fall of 2022.
(Not for incoming 1L’s or graduating 3L’s.)
($500 per semester, $1,000 total annually)
This scholarship is provided by BRINK LAWYERS PA, one of Northwest Minnesota’s oldest and largest law firms. Located in Hallock, Minnesota, at the northern end of the Red River Valley, since 1934 BRINK LAWYERS has represented individuals, businesses, and units of government throughout the greater valley, and practices almost every area of the law in both Minnesota and North Dakota.
This scholarship recognizes the current serious crises of lack of representation (especially for the poor and underserved) in the Northern Valley caused by the slow decline in the number of attorneys. In this rural area, as current attorneys retire or otherwise leave practice, fewer and fewer young attorneys come to replace them. One goal of the scholarship is to support prospective attorneys who might be inclined to consider practicing in the Northern Valley.
Current law students attending a Minnesota law school are eligible to apply if they have successfully completed at least one semester of law school and are otherwise in good standing.
Preference will be given to students who currently are (or previously were) residents of Kittson, Marshall, Roseau, Pembina, Cavalier, or Walsh counties (the “Northern Valley”), or who can demonstrate some family, spouse or other connection to the Northern Valley.
Secondary criteria for applicant evaluation include interest in rural practice, service to the rural community, practical legal experience, and overall scholarship. (Scholarship will be considered only if applicants are deemed to be otherwise equal in other criteria.)
One $500 scholarship will be awarded in each spring for the Fall semester again each fall for the coming Spring semester. A successful applicant may re-apply for one or more subsequent awards through their final semester.
Applicants should supply a brief application letter (no more than two pages) clearly addressed “NORTHERN VALLEY SCHOLARSHIP” setting forth their current law school enrollment and their: 1) ties to the Northern Valley; 2) career goals; 3) service to the rural community; 4) practical legal experience; and 5) overall scholarship. Applicants are encouraged to attach a brief resume (no more than one page) to supplement the application letter. Applicants should not include any data that might reveal their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation.
Please submit your application letter to Jeffrey W. Hane at BRINK LAWYERS PA, 234 Birch Ave. So., Hallock, MN 56728, or by email at jeff.hane@brinklawyers.com. All application letters must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15th, 2022.