MALDEF 2014-2015 Scholarship Resource Guide
“This is an extensive list of scholarships that may not inquire about immigration status or require a valid social security number to redeem the award. It is suggested that you look through the scholarship list and select scholarships that are applicable to you. As a general rule, if an application asks for your social security number and you do not have one yet, leave that space blank but fill out and turn in the complete application. Lying about your legal status or providing a false social security number is a federal offense.”
Minority Corporate Counsel Association Scholarship
In 2004, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association established the Lloyd M. Johnson, Jr., Scholarship program (“LMJ Scholarship”). The LMJ Scholarship program seeks to nurture the academic and professional careers of outstanding law students and advancing the diversity pipeline to the legal profession.
The LMJ Scholarship is open to students who have been accepted to an ABA accredited law school for a full-time Juris Doctorate degree. The scholarship is available to diverse individuals who: have overcome obstacles, are outstanding and promising scholars, have an interest in corporate law, and possess a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The LMJ Scholarship is a national program that annually grants 15 scholarships of $10,000 to students for their first year of law school. MCCA, on an annual basis and at its discretion, may award additional monies to scholarship recipients for their second and third year of law school. Eligibility requirements and awards are at the sole discretion of MCCA and are not guaranteed.
California Bar Foundation – Diversity Scholarship
The California Bar Foundation believes every Californian deserves access to justice. As the center of philanthropy for California’s legal community, we work every day to build a better, more inclusive profession by investing in California’s next generation of lawyers.
The California Bar Foundation’s Diversity Scholarship financially supports first-year California law students with the goal of furthering diversity in the legal profession. Diversity includes a broad array of backgrounds and life experiences, including students from groups or with skills or attributes that are underrepresented in the legal profession, and specifically including students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Rising first-year law students are invited to apply by the beginning of the summer prior to commencing their first semester of law school.
The Diversity Scholarship provides $7,500 in restricted funding intended to cover costs associated with attending law school, i.e. tuition, fees, books and related educational expenses.
Bar Association of San Francisco: Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program
Our scholarship program was established in 1998 to reaffirm a commitment to diversity in legal education and the legal profession.
Most scholarships involve a substantial three-year commitment to worthy qualified students. The vast majority of scholarships awarded are $10,000 yearly.
This program was created in response to the passage of SP-1, the University of California Regent’s resolution to end affirmative action and race-based admissions at UC Schools.
Eighty scholarships and 1.5 million dollars have been awarded to date!
NAPABA Law Foundation Scholarships
The NAPABA Law Foundation (NLF) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization established by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Scholarships are awarded each fall to law students who demonstrate a commitment to serve or contribute to the Asian Pacific American community as future leaders. Since 1995, the first year in which Foundation Scholarships were granted, over 75 students have received scholarship, fellowship and internship monies totaling over $615,000.
Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Scholarship
The Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation is pleased once again to offer tuition scholarships to law students who have demonstrated a commitment to issues affecting women and/or children. WLALA is an active bar association that seeks to promote the interests of women, and to promote equality and equal opportunity of all people. The WLALA Foundation’s special projects include the Harriet Buhai Center for Family Law, which assists low income individuals in preparing and handling pro per family law matters; the Jail Project, in which volunteer lawyers advise and assist women detainees at the Twin Towers jail on their non-criminal legal matters; and the Fran Kandel Public Interest Grant, which provides financial assistance for special projects undertaken by law students working in the public interest. WLALA’s numerous committees include a group that provides pro bono legal advice to victims of domestic violence.
As it did last year, the WLALA Foundation will award one-time tuition scholarships of at least $1,000 for the 2014-2015 academic year to law students whose prior and current activities, and future plans demonstrate a commitment to issues affecting women and/or children. Women and men are eligible to apply.
Zelle Hoffman Diversity Scholarship
The scholarship awards the selected recipient a total of $30,000 to be applied towards the selected recipient’s law school tuition, fees, and text books, with one half of the scholarship paid for the student’s second year of law school and one half of the scholarship paid for the student’s third year of law school subject to the following: To receive the second installment of the scholarship, the recipient must maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA (or its equivalent) through the student’s second year of law school. Depending upon the firm’s current needs, the Scholarship recipient may be offered, but is under no obligation to accept, a paid summer clerkship at one of the firm’s offices for the summer following the student’s first year of law school. The specific location of the potential clerkship will be decided by the firm in consultation with the student and will be based upon both the student’s interest and the firm’s need. Finally, in order to help ensure the recipient’s successful entry into the legal profession, the firm will assign an attorney to mentor the recipient for the student’s remaining law school career.
American Association for Justice Scholarships
Baker Donelson Diversity Scholarship
Baker Donelson is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where the individual differences among us are understood, respected and appreciated, recognized as sources of strength of the Firm, and valued as qualities that enrich the environment in which we work. With this in mind, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC will award three (3) scholarships to diverse law students this year. Each recipient will be awarded $10,000 which will be paid during the student’s third year of law school to help defray the cost of law school tuition and related expenses. Additionally, recipients will be awarded a salaried 2L Summer Associate position in one of our offices. The recipients’ office preferences will be taken into consideration, but final assignment will be according to the Firm’s needs. The recipients may split their summers with other law firms; however, they are required to work during the period that the other Summer Associates in that Baker Donelson office are working.
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