Introducing Our Amazing MCBA Scholarship Recipients

Julie Cervetto

MCBA founded its Legal Education Scholarship in 2011 under the leadership of MCBA President Otis Bruce. The vision was to establish a scholarship fund to help deserving law students connected to Marin County with their law school expenses. Seeded with an initial $50,000, the fund has provided 41 scholarships to 53 recipients to date. Every year, MCBA is proud to advance the legal careers of these accomplished students and to continuously expand the ranks of the MCBA Legal Education Scholarship alumni.

Alejandra Chumbes, 3L - USF School of Law

Ms. Chumbes is actually a return recipient of the Legal Education Scholarship, and now as a 3L at USF Law School she is looking forward to launching her legal career in Employment Law.

Ms. Chumbes grew up in Peru and immigrated to the United States at a young age. Immigrating to the United States and being raised by a single mother had its challenges, especially as it came to navigating the educational system, where she felt that she had to shrink her dreams because of the financial realities she faced. However,

Ms. Chumbes started her college career at Community College and, with the help of mentors and persevering through many obstacles, she was able to transfer to UC Santa Cruz and finally obtain admission to law school.

As a first-generation, low-income law student, Ms Chumbes has worked at Legal Aid of Marin, where it has meant a lot to her to make legal services accessible and advocate for low-income Marin County residents. Last summer, Ms. Chumbes was a summer associate in the labor and employment practice at the McDermott law firm So, MCBA is again pleased to offer her another Legal Education Scholarship this year.

Natalie Dybeck, 2L - UC Law, San Francisco

Natalie is back for a second year as one of our scholarship recipients, and it is very well deserved. She is a 2L at the University of California School of Law, San Francisco, where she serves as staff editor of the Environmental Law Journal, serves as Director of Professional Development of the Women’s Law Society, and coordinates an alumni mentorship program.

She intends to pursue a career in environmental law, with an emphasis on combating climate change and promoting environmental justice.

Natalie grew up in Marin County and is a graduate of San Marin High School. Prior to law school, she served on the staff of Congressman Jared Huffman. She has also worked with the Marin County Fire Department on wildfire prevention programs.

This past summer, Natalie served as a law student intern in the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section of the California Attorney General’s office in Sacramento.

Natalie is on a great trajectory for an outstanding legal career. We are delighted to provide some encouragement and financial support to help her achieve her goals

Max Friend, 1L -Berkeley Law

Max is in his first year at Berkeley Law. He is a graduate of Redwood High School and Williams College, where he played varsity lacrosse and majored in mathematics.

His interest is in criminal justice and public interest law, and he already has a formidable resume in those fields.

During college, he was an intern with the Innocence Project Northwest. Between college and law school, he worked as an intern investigator with the Brooklyn Defender Services in New York, as a paralegal in the Habeas Corpus Resource Center in the Bay Area, and as an afterschool tutor in math, writing and social sciences at under-resourced schools in San Francisco.

Max is currently a Workers Rights Clinic Counselor at Legal Aid in Berkeley. He is founder and co-leader of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and he serves as District Leader for the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist Organization.

We are fortunate to have stellar candidates like Max for these scholarships. We wish Max every success in pursuing his career in criminal justice and public interest law.

Alexandria Kozak, 3L - Golden Gate University

Alexandria Kozak is another repeat recipient for the Legal Education Scholarship, and, as a 3L, she is aspiring to be a family law attorney.

Although Alexandria had of becoming an attorney during her undergraduate years, law school was a daunting thought, especially in light of the fact that she would be the first in her family to graduate with a law degree. So, Alexandria proceeded to start her legal career as a paralegal and legal assistant, which included working at the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. This experience provided her with a good foundation to make the decision to attend law school.

She has worked as an intern at Legal Aid of Marin and at a Women’s Employment Rights Rights Clinic as a Certified Law Student representing a client through mediation. This year she has also been able to author an article on Labor Trafficking, which will be published in one of the Law Reviews.

So MCBA is again pleased to offer Alexandria another Legal Education Scholarship this year.

Nicholas Saloma, 1L -UC Law, San Francisco Property.

Nicholas Saloma is a first-time recipient of the Legal Education Scholarship as a 1L at University of California Law, San Francisco. He aspires to be a civil litigation attorney with an emphasis in Real Property.

Although Nicholas grew up under some challenging circumstances, he strived to obtain a college education with an undergraduate degree n Philosophy and English, Cum Laude. He is the first in his family to attend college in the United States. MCBA is pleased to offer Nicholas Saloma a Legal Education Scholarship this year.

Congratulations to all of our MCBA Legal Scholarship recipients! And our great appreciation to the generous donors to the Scholarship fund. We raised nearly $30,000 at MCBA's Installation Dinner & Legal Scholarship Fundraiser. This will enable us to continue to support other law students in the future.