Bremyer clerkships bring law students to Kansas towns

While many KU law students flocked to firms in large cities for their clerkships last summer, a new program in the KU School of Law helped Tina Hardin, c’04, opt for one in Ottawa, population 11,921 – about 1.8 million fewer people than the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Working at Anderson & Byrd LLC in Ottawa gave Hardin opportunities to work on a greater variety of legal issues and the chance to get to know clients better, she said.

“One case in particular involved writing wills for a couple who had been married 60 years,” said Hardin, a second-year law student. “We traveled to the farmhouse to have them sign the wills, and they delighted in showing us around their home. This is an experience that I doubt many clerks in Kansas City or Wichita would be likely to share.”

It’s the kind of opportunity John Bremyer, c’41, l’46, had in mind when he developed a $500,000 fund at KU Endowment for the Bremyer Summer Clerk Scholarship. The purpose of the scholarship is to enhance the summer clerkship salary offered by firms in non-metropolitan areas. The program aims to make the firms financially as attractive to students as firms in major metro areas, which often offer higher salaries for clerks.

Bremyer, an attorney in McPherson, said he hoped the scholarship would allow the best KU law students to clerk in small firms and experience the life of a smaller community.

In 2005, the program helped support 10 students in clerkships in Ottawa, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Chanute, Salina, Syracuse, and Cimmaron. Beginning in 2006 firms in all Kansas counties except Douglas, Johnson, Wyandotte, Shawnee and Sedgwick will be eligible for the program.

Aaron Oleen participated in a clerkship at the Salina firm of Clark, Mize & Linville, Chtd. Oleen grew up in a small town but doubted whether such an environment could support a stable legal career.

“I was able to accept a clerkship in Salina without worrying that I might return with a bad experience and mounting school debt,” Oleen said. “In fact, I had a great time in Salina, and I learned that one doesn’t have to practice law in Kansas City or Wichita to enjoy a secure and fulfilling career.”

The Bremyer scholarship is managed by KU Endowment, an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university and one of the largest.