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
St. John's University School of Law
The Weekend Prep Program will support college graduates of diverse and/or disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a law degree. Participants will receive resources on the law school admissions process, including a comprehensively designed LSAT Prep course, motivational and informational workshops, and individualized advisement. The program will last 24 weekends specifically targeting college graduates who work full-time and/or have family obligations, plus college seniors.
Syracuse University College of Law
The Summer Jump-Start Program (SJSP) is a 3+3 program that will target undergraduate students from Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University to connect them to the Syracuse University College of Law, offering them a direct path to and through law school. Program participants will have early access to, and information from, law students, alumni, professors, administrators, and staff, all while introducing and strengthening key analytical and logical reasoning skills through LSAT prep, first-year law school basics (briefing cases, writing skills), and education on law admissions requirements.
Read more about The Summer Jump-Start Program.
American Bar Foundation
This grant builds on the existing Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program in Legal and Higher Education program originally funded by AccessLex Institute in 2016. The expanded initiative will be comprised of three parts: A Doctoral Fellowship Program (supporting two, two-year fellows), an innovative Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (supporting two, two-year fellows), and annual Alumni Workshops.
The Law College Association of the University of Arizona
This grant will measure the outcomes of students in the BA Law program and compare those outcomes to students in other fields at the University of Arizona through surveys and archival data to document students’ success in their programs, career aspirations, preparedness for continuing higher education, and sources of information and advice. Results will be used to better understand what, if anything, is valuable and distinctive about the BA Law experience as a preparation for the JD, as well as provide Latina students an even more engaging experience by offering additional support and preparation through a specialized mentor and training seminar.
Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI)
The Law School and Bar Exam Study Skills Fellowship consists of five law school professionals (Fellows) who write 3-5 self-paced instructional tutorials each (15-25 tutorials) covering the area of the Bar Exam Study Skills. The goal of the fellowship is to author lessons that help develop students’ critical-thinking skills.
Read more about the Law School and Bar Exam Study Skills Fellowship.
View grant outcomes.
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS)
The Sponsorship, Research and Challenge Directed Grant is a multi-component project, including a $25,000 sponsorship for the Law School Deans’ workshop/forum at the AALS Annual Meeting, $225,000 for the Study of the American Law School Dean, and a $25,000 Challenge Grant. The project will survey the process by which individuals are recruited and selected for deanship at American law schools, as well as identify the most challenging issues facing law deans today.
Read more about the Research and Challenge Directed Grant.
New York Law School
This grant supports New York Law School's efforts to dramatically enhance bar performance in its longstanding Evening Division, which offers a J.D. degree in four years (eight semesters). The Evening Division provides access to legal education for generations of underrepresented or economically disadvantaged groups working professionals, a significant number of whom have been members of historically underrepresented or economically disadvantaged groups.
View grant outcomes.
Elon University School of Law
This grant will evaluate the relationship between programmatic and curricular interventions developed by the Elon University School of Law and the bar examination success of the Law School’s students. The project’s results will be used to focus its efforts on those areas which most benefit its students, particularly those at risk of not passing their bar examination on the first try.
University of Texas at El Paso
The Law School Preparation Institute College Summer Program offers undergraduate students an introduction to legal thought, legal research and writing, oral advocacy, and basic legal analysis. It is intended to prepare students for the LSAT, cultivates mentoring opportunities, and assists students with becoming more well-rounded, attractive law school candidates.