Expressnews
January 2023: Students with financial need from India will have support to earn a graduate law degree from Seattle University School of Law’s highly regarded Master of Laws (LLM) Program, thanks to a generous gift from the Satya and Rao Remala Family Foundation.
This program – named the Remala Family Scholarship – will provide a full-tuition scholarship to one Indian student each year so they can complete their degree. The scholarship is open to meritorious students who demonstrate financial need. In addition to tuition, the Remala Family Fellows will receive academic support and mentoring to ensure the best possible experience and opportunity for success.
“We are proud to support Seattle University School of Law’s efforts to build a bridge with India and its future law practitioners,” said Rao Remala, who leads the foundation with his wife, Satya. “The spirit of this scholarship aligns perfectly with our family foundation’s efforts to give aspiring Indian students access to first-rate higher education programs, so they can build better lives for themselves like I was able to do.”
“The Remala Family Scholarship will enable us to attract and teach the next generation of leaders in law from India,” saidAnthony E. Varona, dean of the law school. “The RemalaFamily Fellows who receive these scholarships in the years to come will benefit from life-changing opportunities here at Seattle U Law to move their careers forward and benefit their communities. In addition, the presence of these outstanding scholars at Seattle University will enhance our intellectual life and deepen our engagement with India, the world’s largest democracy.”
Seattle U Law’s LLM Program offers two options. A tech focused LLM in Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, enables lawyers and recent law graduates to develop specific expertise in a variety of legal areas, including privacy law, data and cybersecurity, Internet law and digital commerce, financial technology, and artificial intelligence. Also available is a general LLM in American Legal Studies, which serves foreign-trained lawyers and graduates of non-U.S. law schools who want to learn U.S. law and/or sit for qualifying exams to practice law in the United States.
“The globalized nature of commerce and technology in India means that attorneys need experience handling cross-border legal issues. Students in Seattle U law’s LLM Program gain valuable knowledge and training in these and other issues,” said Sital Kalantry, associate dean of graduate studies and international programs and associate professor of law.
The Remala Family Scholarship application is posted on Seattle U Law’s website.
A high-powered delegation from Seattle University recently visited India, including the President President Penalver, Dean of the law school Anthony E. Varona, Dean of the engineering school Amit Shukla, Dean of the business school Joe Phillipsand Vice Dean of the business school Madhu Rao. They metvarious stakeholders, policy makers and education leaders to further enhance the institution’s already strong connect with the country.
The India Center for Law and Justice, founded by Kalantry and based at Seattle U Law, promotes engagement with India through exchange programs and the hosting of distinguished speakers and conferences of legal scholars and lawyers from India and the U.S. It has also spearheaded the development of innovative fast-track dual degree programs with leading law schools in India – including Jindal Global Law School – where students are able to complete both an Indian law degree and an American law degree.
The Satya and Rao Remala Family Foundation was established by Rao Remala and his wife Satya, with their daughters Srilataand Srilakshmi managing the day-to-day operations. Originally from India, Rao benefited greatly from his education. He emigrated to the United States in 1981 to work for Microsoft, becoming the 29th employee overall and the first from South Asia. During his 21-year career, he reported directly to Bill Gates and worked on many of the company’s best-known products, including Windows and Office. Since retiring from Microsoft, he has shifted his focus to angel investing and philanthropy through the auspices of his family’s foundation. He is currently with Cronus Ventures, a Bellevue-based venture capital firm founded by former Microsoft executives.
