Future Attorneys of America Scholarship Winner: Martin McSherry

The second year of the Future Attorneys of America Scholarship would prove to be almost as difficult as the first year, in that choosing an appropriate candidate was so difficult. Having found what we felt was the perfect candidate for our first year’s recipient, it seemed impossible that we could do so well in finding the Answering Legal Foundation’s second candidate, that would live up to the deserving, outstanding, and achieving nature of Irene Hong, last year’s winner. Since winning the FAAS, Irene, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, has joined DLA Piper in Palo Alto, just as she said she would. We wish Irene well in all of her endeavors. However, we feel that we have selected an incredible candidate once more.

This year’s winner of the Future Attorneys of America Scholarship is Columbia University Law School Student, Martin McSherry.

Martin is an exceptional student, but his leadership qualities were what made him stand out to us. During his time in undergraduate at George Washington University, he led the Executive Board for the GW Pre-Law Student Association, and founded the GW Justice Journal, where he was Editor-in-Chief. This Journal published 2-3 articles every week on matters regarding domestic and international legal developments, with a special focus on criminal justice issues.

Martin also was a Campaign Director for GW College Democrats, and organized voter registration drives, phone banks, and an overnight campaign trip for Democratic candidates across the country, and even worked as a legal assistant in a law office, clerked at the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and interned for the Office of the Attorney General. “It seemed to us that Martin just can’t stay away from the legal system, but obviously in a good way!” said Marketing Director of Answering Legal and Answering Legal Foundation Board Member, Michael Garcia. “His passion for the law is on display with his accolades, volunteer work, and work history.”

Our CEO, Brooke Shatles, had this to say, “Being that Martin’s intentions for entering the legal profession are so altruistic, it is hard to say any candidate would be more deserving. He isn’t in it for the money, the power, or the respect that comes alongside being a lawyer, he’s really in it for the people whose day to day struggles we often don’t think about. His interest in programs that provide relief for less privileged families, solution seeking for homelessness, and other national public programs are proof of his selfless desire to become a lawyer. It was also so inspiring to learn how hard Martin worked to gain acceptance to his dream school, the Columbia University School of Law. We are excited and proud to have chosen such a deserving, selfless, and driven candidate for this award.”

We have also been excited to learn that Martin has accepted an offer to join Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP next year, a firm known for its strong litigation practice and commitment to pro bono work. They sound like a great fit for Martin’s skills and ideals.

Our board members look forward to meeting with Mr. McSherry to present him with his award, enjoy some great conversation, and of course, give him a check for the scholarship award amount, $5,000.