First-Generation
Law Student Scholarship

The First-Generation Law Student Scholarship was established through collaboration with Jessie K. Liu, partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, to support law students who are the first in their families to pursue a legal career. AEF applauds their important decision to attend law school, oftentimes in the face of difficult obstacles stemming from being the first in their families to do so. The First-Generation Law Student Scholarship aims to bridge opportunity gaps in the legal industry and promote a more inclusive legal community.

AEF greatly appreciates and thanks Ms. Liu for her generous donation and continued support of the AEF mission. Her commitment and dedication to the APA community and to the future of the legal community as a whole is truly inspirational. AEF expresses immense gratitude for her dedication to the APA community and to the future of the legal community as a whole.

AEF is pleased to announce that the recipients of the First-Generation Law Student Scholarship for 2024-2025 are Lallane Guiao-Seng and Katelyn Zou!

Lallane Guiao-Seng is a current 2L at the University of Connecticut School of Law who has previously completed a Master’s in Public Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Lallane is the second of five siblings raised by a Filipino immigrant father and a Pacific Islander mother in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to public service and perseverance. As the only sibling to independently pursue higher education, Lallane earned a full-ride scholarship to Wesleyan University where she received her B.A. in Government. 

Proudly village-raised and community-grown, Lallane has dedicated her post-undergraduate career to public service, currently working for the state of Connecticut under the Auditors of Public Accounts. Previously, she spent four years as an auditor for the Office of the Public Auditor in the CNMI before transitioning to a clerk for the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. During her time at the District Court, she drafted and published the Court’s second edition of its Pro Se Handbook.

She has been active in various Filipino and Asian-Pacific Islander associations and remains passionate about public service and paying it forward. Her long-term goal is to become the first bi-racial Asian and Pacific Islander woman to serve on the federal bench. Lallane is also actively involved in the law school, serving as an Associate Editor for the Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal, Parliamentarian for the Student Bar Association, and Treasurer for APALSA.

Katelyn Zou is a current 2L at UCLA Law specializing in Environmental and Public Interest Law. Having graduated college in only two years over the pandemic with a double major in Political Science/International Relations and Sociology from UC San Diego, she is excited to finally be on campus. As a child of immigrant parents, she is deeply motivated to both work with and give back to her community. During her 1L summer, Katelyn served as a Law Clerk in the Senior Outreach Department at Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm focusing on human and poverty rights, where she earned a strong recommendation for her dedication and impactful work. 

Katelyn is particularly interested in environmental justice and addressing climate change through legal avenues. She currently works as a Research Assistant on the Advancing Methane Regulation Project at the UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Her active involvement in campus organizations further highlights her leadership and commitment to her peers, serving as the Secretary and a mentor for APILSA, an editor for two journals, a volunteer at El Centro Legal's Tenants' Rights Project, and 2L Representative for the Student Bar Association.

Previous winners include:

Muhammad Ali Ilahi, 2022-2023 Recipient of the AEF First-Generation Law Student Scholarship

Amy Lyons, 2022-2023 Recipient of the AEF First-Generation Law Student Scholarship

Arshi Baig, 2021-2022 Recipient of the AEF First-Generation Law Student Scholarship

Annie Dang, 2020-2021 Recipient of the AEF First-Generation Law Student Scholarship