Since launching our grantmaking activities in 2014, we have awarded over $21 million in support of our research priorities: access, affordability, and the value of legal education.
Awarded Grants
Grant Program
Grant Status
Hampton University
2023 Bar Success Research Grant Program
This study seeks to examine the effects of undergraduate institution type on Bar Exam passage rates. The insights that may be gained from this study can serve to assist HBCUs in designing their pre-law offerings and allocating their resources accordingly. Additionally, these findings may better inform and empower HBCUs and their collaborative partners (e.g., law schools, law firms, and other business/professional entities) seeking to positively impact diversity in the legal profession.
University of Miami
Grant Title: The Relationship Between Curriculum Selections and Bar Exam Sub-scores
This project analyzes the impact of taking courses in bar-tested areas and performance in those areas on the bar exam, helping law schools to better understand factors contributing to bar success. Florida is an ideal state for this work as the Florida bar reports sub-scores in topics allowing us to compare taking specific courses (e.g., wills) and performance on that subset of bar questions (e.g., wills scores). Additional items will also be studied (GPA, LSAT, transfer status, etc.).
American University
The project will estimate the causal effect of participating in legal-career-related extracurricular activities while in law school on the chances of passing the Bar exam on the first attempt together with how racial, ethnic, or gender differences in extracurricular participation contribute to corresponding gaps in Bar success rates. View grant outcomes.
University of North Texas Dallas College of Law
T.R.A.I.L is a 3-credit course utilizing culturally relevant online modules, "wise feedback," law student mentors and class instruction to teach law school skills, strengthen academic self-concept, and address stereotype threat.
View grant outcomes.
UC Hastings College of the Law
This grant will support the study of teaching reforms and academic and bar success interventions implemented at UC Hastings College of the Law.
View grant outcomes.
University of Minnesota
Research grant awarded to Krista Soria, Director of Student Affairs Assessment at the University of Minnesota, to better understand the roles of financial factors (e.g., funding sources, debt, financial stress, and food and housing insecurity) in graduate, professional, and law students’ mental health, time to degree completion, and career interests.
Pennsylvania State University
Research grant awarded to Kelly Rosinger, Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Education, to examine how LSAT-optional admissions policies impact diversity (e.g., the share and number of Black, Latinx, and Native American students enrolled) and selectivity (e.g., the number of applicants, acceptance rate, and the LSAT scores of enrollees) at adopting U.S. law schools.
University of Kentucky
Research grant awarded to Willis Jones, Associate Professor at University of Kentucky’s College of Education, to study variation in cost of living estimates among U.S. law schools.
University of Iowa
Research grant awarded to Nicholas Bowman, Professor at University of Iowa’s College of Education, to examine factors that predict changes in enrollment and graduation of students from marginalized racial groups at U.S. law schools.