1Ls: 2024 Larry D. Thomspon Fellowship Program
LARRY D. THOMPSON LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
As one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies with over $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, PepsiCo leverages diversity, equity, and inclusion as a competitive business advantage – one that fuels innovation, attracts world class talent, and fosters valuable relationships with customers, consumers, and the communities in which we operate worldwide. Accordingly, PepsiCo is proud to honor its former general counsel, Larry D. Thompson, with a summer fellowship designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession and advance PepsiCo’s goal of supporting the development of professionals from diverse backgrounds, particularly, first-generation,[1] first-year law students.
Throughout his career, Mr. Thompson has been a steadfast champion of diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession and a mentor to countless attorneys. While at PepsiCo, he began the company’s outside counsel diversity initiative, which enables PepsiCo to engage law firms that share our goal of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession, including the legal talent pipeline. Prior to his tenure at PepsiCo, while serving as Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Thompson led the U.S. Department of Justice’s diversity initiative to recruit individuals with a wide range of racial, ethnic, economic, and geographic backgrounds to the Department. Through this fellowship, PepsiCo is focused on continuing Mr. Thompson’s legacy of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession.
Fellowship Program
Now in its ninth year, the Larry D. Thompson Legacy of Leadership Fellowship Program will award fellowships to first-generation,1 first-year law students who will also be part of the 1L Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Scholars Program. The 2024 Fellowship Program will feature a collaboration between PepsiCo and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (“Weil”). Fellows will complete a ten-week program in total. The program will begin with seven weeks with PepsiCo based in either Purchase, NY or Plano, TX beginning on May 20, 2024, followed by three weeks with Weil in the firm’s offices in either New York, NY or Dallas, TX. Fellows will also be invited to participate in the 2024 LCLD 1L Scholars Virtual Experience, which begins on June 4, 2024. Thompson Fellows will receive a weekly stipend of $2,000, subject to applicable withholdings.
Thompson Fellows will have the opportunity to work on projects and with attorneys across various PepsiCo offices, as well as the opportunity to work with Weil attorneys across the firm. The fellowship curriculum will include guest speakers, seminars, and opportunities to work in various areas, such as:
- Corporate Governance, Finance & Securities
- Litigation
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Employment
- Human Rights
- Privacy
- Intellectual Property
- Regulatory
- Compliance & Ethics
- Public Policy & Government Affairs
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
During the PepsiCo portion of the Program, each fellow will be assigned an attorney mentor and provided with real, hands-on assignments in support of the PepsiCo business. To learn more about the Program and hear from our past Fellows about their experiences at PepsiCo, please visit PepsiCo Larry D. Thompson Legacy of Leadership Fellowship 2019 Experience.
Required Qualifications
- First-generation,1 first-year law student (anticipated graduation date in 2026), in good standing at an ABA-accredited law school in the U.S.
- Strong academic achievement
- Excellence in oral and written communication skills
- Be eligible to work in United States without work authorization sponsorship now or anytime in the future
Application & Deadline
The following materials must be submitted as one combined .pdf file to PepsiCoThompsonFellowshipProgram@pepsico.com no later than February 9, 2024:
- Resume
- Essay: In 1,000 words or less, please describe how you contribute to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession
- If selected for an interview, candidates may be asked to provide first-semester law school grades
- Optional: No more than one letter of recommendation from a professional or academic reference
- When e-mailing application materials, please indicate in your email your preference between the New York and Texas offices.
PepsiCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Female / Minority / Disability / Protected Veteran / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.
Our Company will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable laws, including but not limited to, San Francisco Police Code Sections 4901 – 4919, commonly referred to as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance; and Chapter XVII, Article 9 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, commonly referred to as the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.
If you’d like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please download the available EEO is the Law & EEO is the Law Supplement documents. View PepsiCo EEO Policy and our Pay Transparency Statement.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com
[1] Defined as a student whose parent(s) or legal guardians did not complete a four-year college or university degree.
