LexisNexis Fellowship Program Announces New Cohort and Dramatically Increases Funding and Participation in Its Second Year

Fellowship program announces 2022 cohort of 18 exceptional candidates and will now award $180,000 to Historically Black College or University Law School Consortium students

NEW YORK – LexisNexis Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of information and analytics, today announced the second cohort for its LexisNexis Fellowship Program, which has grown to 18 candidates – 50% more than the program’s inaugural year. To make this expansion possible, the company’s leadership has committed $180,000 – 50% more than what was originally pledged in 2021. The increase in financial support and participation is a direct result of the program’s overwhelming success in its first year.

The LexisNexis Fellowship Program was launched in 2021 by the African Ancestry Network (AAN) and LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation as a part of LexisNexis’ commitment to eliminate systemic racism in legal systems and build a culture of inclusion and diversity at the company. The program was created in partnership with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Law School Consortium (HBCULSC), and this year’s fellows were selected from a large and competitive applicant pool representing all six law schools. The 2022 cohort includes:

• Florida A&M University College of Law: Nicolle Londono and Amari Roberts
• Howard University School of Law: Oyinade Adebayo, Aquilla Gardner, Joanne Louis and Talia Thomas
• North Carolina Central University School of Law: Dominique Douglas and Zuri Ward
• Southern University Law Center: Marian Anderson, Antavis L. J. Chavis, Brianna Joaseus, Lauren Skarupsky and Edrius Stagg
• Thurgood Marshall School of Law: Mikel Brown and Kristina Hall
• University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law: Nija Bastfield, Alexus McNeal and Songo Wawa

“Our fellows come from diverse backgrounds and have already achieved many significant accomplishments. The Fellowship is a convergence of their talent and passion to advance the rule of law with the power of LexisNexis products and technology to study and solve complex challenges. Their efforts will make an immediate impact and inspire many for generations to come,” said Ronda Moore, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at LexisNexis Legal & Professional.

Each fellow will be awarded $10,000 and spend nine months engaging in a unique experience that will accelerate their career, develop their leadership skills, and create opportunities to make a real difference. As with last year, LexisNexis employees will work with fellows on projects with the shared goal of implementing solutions to eliminate systemic racism in our legal system while advancing the four key elements of the rule of law – equality under the law, transparency of law, an independent judiciary, and accessible legal remedy.

“Advancement of the rule of law favorably impacts societies—including their most vulnerable members,” said Ian McDougall, President of LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation. “Any system becomes fairer and more equitable when the four key elements are enhanced.”

The cohort will participate in a Fellowship Innovation Retreat in Raleigh this May, where they will partner with the LexisNexis product team to uncover how technology can accelerate equity by utilizing LexisNexis products to bolster their projects. Additionally, the fellows will provide reciprocal consultative feedback to the product team on ways to further innovate for equity.

Virtual programming that showcases the fellows’ work will be shared with all LexisNexis employees, the HBCU schools and other key partners. At the culmination of the fellowship, fellows will present the results of their individual projects to LexisNexis CEO Mike Walsh, the executive team, and the HBCULSC deans.

Those interested in reading the findings from the 2021 fellowship cohort can download the report or watch video testimonials from fellows and mentors about the program.

Editor’s Note: Photos of the 2022 Fellowship cohort available upon request.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional^®provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis^®and Nexis^®services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 10,500 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

The African Ancestry Network (AAN) is organized as an official network for employees of African descent at RELX. AAN embraces RELX corporate diversity initiatives aimed at improving the company’s competitiveness by increasing the representation, development, promotion, and retention of black employees. 

About LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation

LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which has the mission to advance the rule of law around the world. The foundation efforts focus on the four key elements of the rule of law: transparency of the law, accessible legal remedy, equal treatment under the law, and independent judiciaries.

Media Contacts

Dana Greenstein
Director, Corporate Communications
LexisNexis Legal & Professional
212-448-2163
dana.greenstein@lexisnexis.com

Eric Sokolsky
Plat4orm PR
908-288-7201
eric@plat4orm.com