The Federal Circuit Bar Association (FCBA) has selected Andrea R. Johnson, Class of ‘19, as a recipient of the FCBA Founders Scholarship. The FCBA's Law School Scholarship Committee reviewed applications from current students at law schools across the country who demonstrated merit and need, as well as an interest in the legal issues pertinent to the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction. Ms. Johnson was awarded $5,000, and joined the other scholarship awardees at the FCBA annual dinner on Friday, November 16, 2018, at the Mayflower Hotel.
Raised in Columbia, MD, Ms. Johnson returned to Washington, D.C., in 2013 after earning her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech. Prior to law school, she got her start as a Client Intake Assistant for Venable LLP. She later joined GW Law’s staff in the Dean’s Office as an Executive Coordinator, and soon after began her legal studies in the evening JD program. Ms. Johnson was appointed to serve as the American Bar Association’s Law Student Liaison to the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. “Scholarships for women, minorities, and students with disabilities were a huge topic within the ABA,” she says. “I cannot underestimate how critical scholarships from organizations like the FCBA and Minority Corporate Counsel Association are, and how they have helped me.”
As a student at GW Law, Ms. Johnson is a founding member of the Business and Finance Law Review Journal and served as a student director of the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic. She was a legal extern at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy and an in-house legal intern at Verizon. She is currently a Research Assistant at GW Law.
Ms. Johnson is thankful to the FCBA. "Receiving this FCBA scholarship is extremely humbling. Copyright and trademark concerns are critical in deals involving social enterprises and traditional businesses, so learning in this area remains a priority for me in law school, and beyond," she says.
She describes her time at GW Law as “nothing short of a blessing." She will be the first lawyer in her family. After graduation, she looks forward to joining Miles & Stockbridge in their Corporate and Securities group.