Susman Godfrey is pleased to announce 25 recipients of this year’s Susman Godfrey Prize, an award given to first- and second-year law students of color who have demonstrated academic excellence and overall achievement. Recipients receive $5,000.
“These exceptional law students have demonstrated focus, creativity, and, above all, a relentless commitment to excellence—all foundational principles of our firm,” said Susman Godfrey Co-Managing Partner Vineet Bhatia. “We are thrilled to celebrate the recipients of the Susman Godfrey Prize, now in its sixth year, and congratulate them for their dedication to the legal community.”
Launched in 2021, the Susman Godfrey Prize is open to students of color from eligible law schools who are finishing their first or second year of their program and who have been nominated by a law school professor or administrator. The nominees initially are evaluated based on their resumes, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. After being narrowed down to a group of finalists, winners are selected after being interviewed by a team of lawyers from the firm.
“The prize is one of many ways we aim to support positive change in the civil trial profession,” said Co-Managing Partner Kalpana Srinivasan. “We look forward to seeing these aspiring lawyers’ continued accomplishments in their legal careers, in the courtroom, and beyond.”
Click here to meet the 2026 Susman Godfrey Prize winners. They include:
- Farah Afify; 1L, Yale Law School
- Oswaldo Ambrosio Lomeli; 1L, Stanford Law School
- Melissa Barales-Lopez; 1L, Yale Law School
- Susana Barragan; 1L, Yale Law School
- Suzanne Castillo; 1L, Yale Law School
- Danna Castro-Galindo; 2L, Yale Law School
- Justin Chock; 2L, Yale Law School
- Nicolas Coleman; 1L, Stanford Law School
- Shanice Guthrie; 2L, Yale Law School
- Stephanie Lai; 1L, Yale Law School
- Alexis Lefft; 1L, UCLA School of Law
- Emily F. Liu; 1L, Stanford Law School
- Frederick Liu; 2L, Yale Law School
- Shyam Madhani; 2L, Yale Law School
- Riley Martinez; 2L, Stanford Law School
- Uma Menon; 2L, Yale Law School
- Yuko Nogawa; 2L, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Karolyn Raj; 2L, University of Texas School of Law
- Chaka Tellem; 1L, Yale Law School
- Summia Tora; 2L, Yale Law School
- Liz Tran; 2L, Yale Law School
- Trinh Truong; 2L, Yale Law School
- Kia Turner; 2L, Yale Law School
- Liyu Woldemichael; 1L, Harvard Law School
- Alex Zhao; 2L, Harvard Law School
