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
National Center for State Courts
Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR)
The Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR) will work to catalyze high-impact reforms from state supreme courts to further align bar admissions and legal education around bringing practice-ready, competent attorneys to meet the legal needs of communities across the country. This grant would support the creation of a working committee to draft a report of findings and recommendations on the current state of legal education from admissions to law school to admission to the bar.
American Bar Foundation
Grant Title: Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program in Legal and Higher Education
The “Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program in Legal and Higher Education” is a renewal of the American Bar Foundation (ABF)’s successful fellowship program. This program seeks to identify and develop junior sociolegal scholars who would produce empirical and interdisciplinary research on issues in legal and higher education. This professional development will be provided through mentoring, intellectual and financial support.
The Law College Association of the University of Arizona (LCA) on behalf of the James E. Rogers College of Law
Grant Title: JD-Next
JD-Next prepares a diverse body of students for law school by providing training in case briefing and legal analysis and then assessing their ability to succeed on a final exam, which has been determined to be a valid and reliable test comparable to legacy exams with no statistically significant racial disparities. The next step is to scale JD-Next so that it can be readily accessible and affordable for students across the country.
Northern Illinois University College of Law
Grant Title: Northern Illinois University College of Law Diversity Scholars Program
The NIU College of Law Diversity Scholars Program is a pipeline initiative that seeks to increase the number of academically qualified diverse students enrolled in law schools by establishing a pipeline program though formal agreements with colleges and universities with large diverse student populations. NIU Law will partner with undergraduate institutions to prepare students to be successful in the admissions process – working with them early in their college career through graduation.
DC School of Law Foundation
Grant Title: Bar Exam Stipend and Training Program (“The BEST Program”)
Through a collaborative effort aimed at identifying the factors that place students at risk on the bar exam, the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law will launch the Bar Exam Stipend and Training Program (BEST). BEST, an intensive 10-week preparation program, will equip students with a customized study plan, an accountability coach, practice tests, wellness check-ins, and a weekly stipend leading up to the bar exam.
Dillard University
Grant Title: Legal Education Advancing Diversity (L.E.A.D)
The LEAD Program has one mission; to increase diversity in the legal profession by helping underrepresented students navigate one of the most difficult parts of the legal pipeline: gaining admission to law school. Through its comprehensive year-long program, LEAD provides: 1) high quality, rigorous LSAT preparation; 2) law school admissions workshops; 3) individual success coaching meetings and advising throughout the application process; and 4) an attorney mentor program.
Western New England University School of Law
Grant title: Bar Exam Stipend and Training Program (“The BEST Program”)
The Bar Exam Stipend and Training Program (BEST) is an intensive 10-week preparation program that will equip students with a customized study plan, an accountability coach, practice tests, wellness check-ins, and a weekly stipend leading up to the bar exam.
The State Bar of California
Grant Title: Investigating the Benefits of Live Remote Proctor of Bar Exam
The State Bar seeks to evaluate the benefits of live remote proctoring (LRP) for the First-Year Law Students’ Examination (FYLSX). Previous remote FYLSX’s have been proctored relying on software recording and AI-based monitoring. This project will evaluate if LRP, 1) reduces false positive violations; 2) lessens login and other technology issues examinees encounter; 3) improves overall test experience for examinees.
View grant outcomes.
The NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education
The project proposes AccessLex fund 10 law schools' participation in The NALP Foundation and NALP’s U.S. Law School Alumni Employment and Satisfaction Study, for a three-year period: 6 HBCU law schools and 4 other new law schools with significant populations of under-represented groups. The additional data from these schools’ alumni will enhance the study’s inclusivity, providing important new insights for the profession, and the new participating schools with actionable data and benchmarking.