Berke Law Firm to Offer $1000 semi-annual college scholarship
The personal injury lawyers at Berke Law Firm are proud to announce they will be sponsoring a semi-annual college scholarship program. Firm founder Bill Berke stated, “We have a strong belief that prioritizing the education of the next generation is key to securing a brighter future.” With the high expenses of college in mind and seeking to ease the financial burden of the educational journey, the firm will be holding a semi-annual essay contest to grant a student the sum of $1000 to help pay for classroom supplies such as textbooks, notebooks, or even a personal computer. The contest will be held twice a year with a different essay prompt each time.
Candidates interested in pursuing the scholarship will need to submit an application containing their name, phone number, and the name of the institution they will be attending in the coming semester. This information should be contained within the body of the email, and not the essay itself. Essays should be a minimum of 450 words, and should be submitted in the .doc or .docx file format; PDFs and/or links will not be accepted. Please submit all applications to melissa.berkelaw@gmail.com, and include “scholarship” in the subject line.
- Spring deadline: December 10th
- Fall application deadline: July 10th
The current essay prompt is as follows:
In the U.S., there are over 400,000 personal injury cases each year. A study from 2015 asserts that approximately 18% of all personal injury claims which closed with payment had the “appearance of fraud.” With so many genuine cases of personal injuries each year, what could be done to minimize the number of successful, fraudulent claims?
Essays will be judged blindly and randomly by a panel of judges. Submissions should be 500 words minimum.
Scoring will be based on the following 10 point rubric:
- 5 points- Argument strength
- 2 points- Grammar and style
- 1 point- Proper Citations
- 1 point- On topic
- 1 point- Creativity
The Berke Law Firm looks forward to receiving a wide variety of submissions. Note that plagiarism of any kind will immediately disqualify applicants from all current and future contests. Winners will be notified by email, and have thirty days to accept their award. Applicants who are not selected are encouraged to reapply prior to the next deadline.
Awards will be disbursed directly to the winner’s school.