About Us

MISSION

Bridging The Gap Scholarship (“BTG”) is modeled on the principle of increasing minority representation in the AmLaw 100, the world’s largest law firms (commonly referred to as “Big Law”). BTG aspires to pioneer action towards increasing diversity and inclusivity in AmLaw 100 ranked firms in the USA modeled by the data published in the 2021 American Bar Association Statistical Report and the 2021 National Association for Law Placement which shows that minority associates represent less than 7% of AmLaw firms. The organization provides assistance to minorities with the objective to democratize access and equal opportunity for minority law graduates to join AmLaw with financial support and guidance from minority associates working in AmLaw firms.

EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATION OF MINORITY ATTORNEYS

The Bridging the Gap Scholarship is designed to maximize the potential of each scholarship recipient—empowering them to change the trajectory of their lives. By providing scholarships and mentorship during the most crucial parts of the law school application process, we assist candidates in obtaining admission to the Top-20 Law Schools to improve their chances of working in Big Law.

“Big Law” is a colloquialism used to refer to the largest firms in the legal field. These firms are included and ranked annually on the AMLAW 100. Big Law firms often have hundreds or even thousands of attorneys on staff, along with domestic and international offices to provide their clients with a bevy of legal services. Big Law receives significant attention in the legal industry, and these law firms are often associated with prestige. First-year law school graduates who become associates at large law firms typically earn starting salaries between $170,000 to $215,000.

Historically, Big Law has struggled with recruiting and retaining diverse talent. In recent years, the industry has made major strides in improving diversity. According to the American Lawyers 2022 Diversity Scorecard, the total number of minority attorneys rose to 20.2%, up from 18.5% in 2021 and 17.8% in 2020. The number of minority partners also climbed, reaching 11.9%, up from 10.9% in 2021, and the percentage of minority nonpartners hit 26.7%, up from 24.6% in 2021. While this shows promise and improvement, far more needs to be done to reach a point where law firm diversity matches the diversity of their local and global communities.

Unfortunately, the key issue hindering the growth of diversity in Big Law is the same factor that warrants its prestige and benefits: selectivity. Entry-level opportunities in Big Law are generally restricted to a select group—students from the Top 20 law schools or students in the top 10% of the class from lower-ranking law schools. Because law schools have also struggled to recruit candidates of color, it is inherently more difficult for people of color to join the ranks of Big Law.

This reality highlights the importance of The Bridging the Gap Scholarship. By providing financial resources and mentorship to pre-law candidates applying to law school, BTG maximizes the potential for people of color to enter top law schools and subsequently, enter the ranks of Big Law. Many qualified minority pre-law students were unable to show that they have the capacity to attend a top law school or work in Big Law solely because they could not afford to apply to law school or take an LSAT preparatory class. BTG seeks to change that reality and serve as the bridge for the next generation of minority pre-law students to cross into the realm of Big Law, so that they too can pay it forward and change the legal industry.

Offering a scholarship can be amazingly complex, but we provide a better, easier way. Offering mentorship in addition to monetary awards helps see students through from start to finish. We provide resources needed to enter into law school and then provide the requisite support to thrive while there.

EXECUTIVE BOARD

IMANI N. MAATUKA

President

For Imani Maatuka, the practice of law has always been about something bigger than the courtoom—it's about creating pathways, lifting communities, and building a more equitable future.

Imani Maatuka is a commercial litigator, entrepreneur, and community leader who brings creativity, precision, and purpose to every facet of her work. She currently serves as the Managing Partner of the Dallas Office of Maatuka Al-Heeti Emkes LLC, where she represents clients in complex commercial disputes. Her experience spans SEC and DOJ investigations, state attorneys general enforcement, False Claims Act litigation, product liability, trade-secret disputes, and multidistrict litigation. She has successfully defended companies in industrial accident litigation, represented public corporations in fraud matters, and maintains an active pro bono docket focused on veterans’ advocacy and habeas corpus relief.

Imani has been recognized among The National Black Lawyers’ “Top 40 Under 40” (2024) and was recently named one of Just The Beginning’s “5 Under 40” Legal Professionals, honoring outstanding young lawyers who exemplify excellence, leadership, and service in the legal community. Beyond her casework, Imani is an engaged member of the Dallas Bar Association, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and the J.L. Turner Legal Association and recently served as an associate of the Higginbotham Inn of Court.

A proud graduate of Washington University School of Law, Imani was on the Dean’s List and received multiple distinctions, including the Dean’s Fellowship Award, Dean’s Leadership Award, Dean’s Service Award, and the Excellence Award for the highest grade in the Entrepreneurship & Intellectual Property Clinic. She also served as Publication Editor of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy.

She earned her B.S. in Journalism and Mass Communications from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, graduating summa cum laude and first in her class. As part of her studies, she participated in the International Business Development Program in China, collaborating with global Fortune 500 firms on cross-border business and litigation projects.

Outside of law, Imani is a serial entrepreneur and business owner. She founded Featuring Your Business, Inc., a multimedia production and marketing company she launched while still in high school. She also founded Lawyer Bae Travels LLC, a boutique travel company that curates custom experiences for professional travelers seeking unique, culturally rich, and luxurious adventures. The company blends precision with creative storytelling to design seamless travel plans that go beyond typical tours.

Committed to expanding opportunity and representation in Big Law, Imani co-founded The Bridging the Gap Scholarship, supporting aspiring minority attorneys pursuing corporate law careers. In a field where minorities represent less than 5%, this initiative empowers diverse talent to access resources, mentorship, and upward mobility.

Whether in the courtroom, the boardroom, or the community, Imani continues to lead with innovation, intention, and impact.

JO GBUJAMA

Executive Vice President

Raised in a single parent household by his Sierra Leonean mother, Jo Gbujama was brought up to believe that there were only two ways to change his circumstances: faith and education.

With two younger brothers looking up to him, a mother to make proud, and a community invested in his development, Jo made it his mission to achieve his full potential. In his view, the best way to pay back all who sacrificed is to pay it forward.

After a solid tenure in high school, Jo received a $1000 scholarship from the president of his local UNCF chapter to support his transition to the University of California, Riverside (UCR). With this, he invested in the resources he needed to succeed in college. At UCR, Jo graduated cum laude, served as President of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and the Black Law Student Association, Chief Justice of his Student Government’s Supreme Court, and co-founded a Black Student Task Force focused on improving the Black student experience on campus. During the course of these experiences, Jo met attorneys who introduced him to “Big Law”, reviewed his applications, financially invested in his future, and enabled him to attend the Washington University School of Law (WashU).

At WashU, Jo served a judicial extern for the Hon. Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, a judicial extern for the EEOC, a student attorney for the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, a summer associate at a Thompson Coburn LLP, and a summer associate at Littler. Additionally, Jo served as an executive articles editor of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, a competitor in the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition, Justice of Phi Alpha Delta, an executive board member of the Black Law Students Association, and co-founded the Bridging the Gap Scholarship. Upon graduation, Jo was a commencement speaker and recipient of the Dean’s Service Award.

Currently, Jo is a labor and employment attorney at Littler Mendelson, P.C., the largest labor and employment law firm. Jo focuses his practice on advising and representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. He currently serves as the Pro Bono Liaison for Littler’s San Francisco office. An active member of his community, Jo is a member of NAMI, the Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee for the National Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, a member of UCR and WashU’s alumni associations, and the Executive Vice President of the Bridging the Gap Scholarship.

ELENA LEVAN

Board Member

From organizing resource drives as a child to advocating for survivors of sexual violence, Elena LeVan has built a career defined by purpose-driven service and a commitment to justice.

Elena LeVan is a federal law clerk with a passion for high-impact litigation, who has dedicated her life to community leadership and public service. Her history of service began thanks to her mother’s leadership, organizing and leading food and resource distribution to people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey.

As an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Elena found her passion for sexual violence prevention and response. She served as the Director of Sexual Misconduct Prevention for the Student Government Association, Chair of the Title IX Student Advisory Board, and as a Policy Intern for the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Through those roles, both at the university and beyond, she advocated for change to Title IX policy and resources for survivors through direct advocacy, campus-wide campaigns, increasing first-year student training, and facilitated sexual misconduct response training for Greek life organizations. In 2020, she graduated with a B.A. in psychology in the top 5% of her class, a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, a Senior Marshal, and recipient of the Adele H. Stamp Memorial Award for leadership, service, and academics.

Continuing to follow her passion for advocacy, Elena matriculated at WashULaw where she ultimately graduated Order of the Coif and with the Dean’s Service Award, Academic Excellence Award, and the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Outstanding Graduate Award. As a participant in the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition, she won the Golden Quill Award for the highest-ranked brief. Additionally, Elena served as a Senior Executive Editor for the Washington University Law Review, an Executive Board member of the Student Government Association, and founder of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy (SVPA). Elena also co-taught a three-credit undergraduate Law, Gender, and Justice course, and a weekly study skills support workshop for first-year law students. Off campus, she was a YWCA Sexual Assault Response Team volunteer, responding to provide support to survivors of sexual and domestic violence presenting in local hospitals through forensic exams and law enforcement interviews.

Elena has a wide range of practice experience in public interest fields. Her experience includes union-side labor and employment law work, litigation experience with two national reproductive justice nonprofits, employment discrimination law, and the judiciary. She also worked as a Student Attorney in the WashULaw Immigration Clinic, serving as first chair on an immigration and withholding of removal trial.

She is the author of Fruit of the Poisonous Tree: Potential Protections for Inmates Subject to Sexual Victimization in the-Dobbs World, an academic note, which presents a novel legal theory that inmates who become pregnant as a result of sexual victimization have a right to their full range of reproductive healthcare options, including abortion. The scholarship was awarded the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award at the 2024 Burton Awards, presented at the Library of Congress, and a prize in the 2024 New Student Scholarship in Reproductive Justice.

Elena is currently a law clerk for a federal court of appeals, and was previously a law clerk to the Honorable Elizabeth Erny Foote for the Western District of Louisiana. She is passionate about working to ensure all law students have the information and resources they need to have a fulfilling, enjoyable, and successful law school career and clerkship application process.