ACC STL Kicks Off 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Summer Internship

July 27, 2021 (St. Louis) – The Association of Corporate Counsel, St. Louis Chapter (ACC STL), the pre-eminent professional development organization serving in-house counsel, kicked off its 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Summer Internship Program with 11 law school students participating.

The ACC STL Diversity Internship Program, which started in 2012, provides participants with meaningful exposure to in-house practice. Law school students who participate in the program will learn about the various areas of legal advocacy and general corporate practice that in-house counsel handle, as well as the relationship between providing business and legal advice to clients in a variety of substantive areas.

“The Diversity and Inclusion Summer Internship Program has been an initiative the ACC St. Louis chapter has been very dedicated to in the last several years. Diversity and inclusion efforts must be continuous and thoughtful to enact systemic change. This program allows for one immediate way for our chapter to make steps towards that change, as it gives us the opportunity to do the important work of mentoring and supporting law students who are typically underrepresented in the legal profession,” said Vikas Sunkari, ACC STL 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Summer Internship Program Chairperson, and Senior Legal Counsel, System Legal Affairs for SSM Health.

The 2021 ACC STL Diversity Summer interns include:

• Alexa Belancourt-St. Julien, University of Missouri School of Law, will intern at Ameren.
• Jada Flynn, Saint Louis University School of Law, will intern at RaboBank.
• Joshua Johnson, University of Missouri School of Law, will intern at Wells Fargo.
• Erich Kaletka, Washington University School of Law, will intern at Ameren.
• Justin McPherson, Saint Louis University School of Law, will intern at Bunzl.
• Mackay Miner, Saint Louis University School of Law, will intern at ICL.
• Abhijit Nair, Saint Louis University School of Law, will intern at MiTek.
• Zara Saiyed, University of Missouri School of Law, will intern at Charter Communications.
• Maria Villegas Bravo, Washington University School of Law, will intern at AT&T.
• Matthew Warren, University of Missouri School of Law, will intern at Washington University.
• Sarah Zanola, Washington University School of Law, will intern at Emerson Electric.

Each Diversity Summer Intern is also matched with an in-house attorney mentor, who is an ACC STL member.

“Through the internship program, we hope to increase diversity and inclusion in the St. Louis legal community as these students continue forward in their careers and join law firms and corporate legal departments in the region. We seek to give these students meaningful and immersive experiences in their summer internships and to provide additional educational and networking opportunities throughout the summer and sometimes beyond,” added Sunkari.

Contact:

Ann Marie Mayuga, AMM Communications

314.485.9499

annmarie@ammcommunications.com

About the ACC STL:

The Association for Corporate Counsel of St. Louis (ACC STL), the pre-eminent professional development organization serving in-house counsel, was founded in 1987. The St. Louis chapter has more than 550 members who represent more than 100 organizations. During its 30-year-history, the ACC STL has been recognized as one of the leading chapters in the country by the national Association of Corporate Counsel with having received the 2017 and 2019 Gold Level Award and selected for the 2018 Best Membership / Recruitment Award. To learn more, please visit, https://www.acc.com/chapters/stlouis/.