Christine Charnosky (Law.com), Ahead of the Curve: Exploring Recent Law School Diversity Initiatives:
This week, we’re digging further into five unique law school diversity initiatives that I wrote about so far this month. …
On Oct. 4, I wrote about Yale Law School launching a new initiative called the Launchpad Scholars Program, which is in partnership with Latham & Watkins. …
Also on Oct. 4, I reported on Texas-based law firm Vela Wood partnering with Kaplan to offer free Law School Admission Test (LSAT) prep courses to Black aspiring lawyers. …
On Oct. 10, I published a story about The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tuskegee University, one of the 104 accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, for a new accelerated 3+3 degree program.
This 3+3 degree program allows for Tuskegee students to attend their first year of law school after finishing their junior year at Tuskegee, thereby earning a bachelor’s degree, followed by a juris doctor in six years instead of seven, Paul L. Caron, the Duane and Kelly Roberts dean and professor of law at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, wrote in his Oct. 10 Tax Prof Blog.
“In addition to providing a pathway to law school for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds,” Chalak Richards, dean of students, diversity and belonging at Caruso Law, said in a statement. “This accelerated program represents a significant tuition savings for these students” since these candidates are also automatically considered for the Caruso Law HBCU scholarships.
Also on Oct. 10, I posted a story about Golden Gate University School of Law transforming its legal education offerings with a multi-pronged plan that includes full-tuition scholarships to all students in its in-person J.D. program [more here]. …
Lastly, on Oct. 12, I reported on AccessLex Institute giving a $40,000 grant to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Foundation and NALP to enable historically Black colleges and universities’ law schools, and law schools with significant numbers of students and alumni from groups underrepresented in the legal profession, to participate in the joint annual Law School Alumni Employment & Satisfaction Study. …
To summarize, these initiatives involve four organizations—Kaplan, AccessLex, NALP and the NALP Foundation; three law schools—Yale, Pepperdine and Golden Gate; two law firms—Latham & Watkins and Vela Wood; and one university—Tuskegee, but no partridges nor pear trees.
I like the variety of these initiatives, which include helping students prior to entering law school, offering scholarships once in law school, a way to condense undergrad and law school (3+3) and providing grant money so that data can be collected from law schools that have students from groups that are underrepresented in the legal profession.
