USC Gould School of Law Student Kiara Khalid Receives Barnes & Thornburg Diversity Scholarship

LOS ANGELES – Kiara Khalid, a first-year student at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, is the 2022 recipient of Barnes & Thornburg’s 1L Diversity Scholarship. Khalid will be a 2022 summer associate in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

“I am blessed to be the recipient of the 2022 1L Diversity Scholarship at Barnes & Thornburg! I strongly value diversity and equity in the legal profession and look forward to joining a firm that reflects those same values. I am excited to develop my legal skills and build a network of talented attorneys,” Khalid said. “I am honored to spend this summer alongside the genuine and inspiring attorneys I’ve had the pleasure to meet thus far and I eagerly anticipate my journey with Barnes & Thornburg.”

Khalid is active in several groups at Gould and is a member of the Barbara F. Bice Public Interest Law Foundation, Black Law Students Association, Worker’s Rights Clinic, and the Women of Color Collective. During her time as an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, Khalid served in several academic leadership positions, including as chair of a higher education conference for black high school students in Los Angeles.

She is also deeply involved in the Los Angles community, volunteering for Worker’s Rights Clinic, Legal Aid Foundation, and Pre-law Outreach Program. 

“We are delighted Kiara decided to join us this summer. Separate and apart from her excellent academic achievements and strong interpersonal skills, Kiara impressed us with her demonstrated, long-standing commitment to diversity and social action activities,” said Matthew O’Hanlon, the firm’s Los Angeles hiring partner. “Kiara personifies what we are looking for in a diversity scholar, and we are all very excited to have the opportunity to work with her this summer.”

The scholarship is open to first-year law students with a demonstrated commitment to positive change on the diversity, inclusion and equity (DEI) front and to contributing meaningfully to the DEI goals of Barnes & Thornburg and the legal profession. 

“Our scholarship has a long-standing history of attracting and promoting the retention of amazing diverse talent. We are beyond excited to have Kiara join us as one of our 2022 scholars, as she typifies why this scholarship exists,” said Dawn R. Rosemond, the firm’s diversity partner.

With more than 700 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, Boston, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.