2011 Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship recipient Antonio Ingram graduated from Berkeley Law in 2014. The Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program is one of the Justice & Diversity Center’s signature programs, with a track record of easing the financial burden of law school for more than 100 law students in 22 years. Ingram’s post-law school career trajectory demonstrates the value of providing these scholarships to support the next generation of diverse attorneys.
After graduating, Ingram joined the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster. In 2016, he left the firm to pursue a federal judicial clerkship in New Orleans for the Honorable Ivan L.R. Lemelle in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Ingram describes his district clerkship as an invaluable experience and encourages more diverse law students to apply to clerk at the federal level. “During my year at the district court there were about 20 law clerks across 10 judges and I was the only clerk of color,” Ingram recounted. He enjoyed supporting his judge and the nuts and bolts of cases from start to finish.
After his district clerkship, Ingram moved to sub-Saharan Africa and lived in Malawi as a Fulbright Public Policy Fellow for 10 months. He served as a special assistant to a high-ranking prosecutor in Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau. Ingram provided legal research and writing support for ongoing cases as well as leading corruption prevention trainings for local government officials. Ingram explained, “Working for a foreign government in Africa was a transformative experience. I learned how to adapt to a very different cultural environment and office culture. It was challenging at times but it definitely made me grow into a more culturally competent professional.” During his tenure at the Anti-Corruption Bureau he was selected to travel to Abuja, Nigeria as part of the Malawian delegation for the 8th Commonwealth Review Meeting of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa. He was able to collaborate with lawyers and policy makers all across the continent to address ubiquitous issues of corruption.
Next, Ingram moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he pursued a second federal judicial clerkship for Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Fourth Circuit covers the states of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland and has the highest proportion of African-Americans in its appellate jurisdiction. However, Ingram explained, “During my clerkship term we only had two African-American clerks on the Fourth Circuit out of about 45 law clerks. We need more diverse lawyers to clerk so that we can have a judiciary that reflects the population it serves.” Ingram loved getting to work on tough issues with his fellow co-clerks and working together to find legally sound answers.
After completing his Circuit Clerkship, Ingram decided to return home to the Bay Area. He joined the San Francisco office of Boies Schiller Flexner. He explained, “I am excited to join a generalist firm. I have wonderful and diverse colleagues that work together to help our clients find solutions for complex problems.” Ingram expressed gratitude for his varied professional experiences but also excitement to deepen his roots back in the Bay Area.
Interested in learning more about JDC’s Scholarship Program? Visit www.sfbar.org/scholarship. Applications are currently accepted. The deadline to apply is April 17, 2020.
About the author:
Antonio L. Ingram, II is an associate at Boies Schiller Flexner, focusing on complex litigation in federal and state court. He is a 2011 recipient of the Justice & Diversity Center’s Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship.
