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
Northern Illinois University
The Legal Education, Access, and Recognition (LEARN) Program provides students from underrepresented minority groups and economically disadvantaged backgrounds with tools to support law school matriculation including rigorous LSAT preparation, tutoring and access to materials to improve admission rates, review of personal statements and resumes, application preparation support, and practice interviewing, and mentorship.
To read more, please visit NIU Law creates innovative program to decrease barriers to law school
Board of Trustees, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
The Summer Pre-Law Program (SPPARK) is a three-week residential summer program that will expose 25 undergraduate students to careers in the law and preparation for law school through LSAT preparation, academics, professional development, guest speakers, and field trips. The program focuses on the inclusion of minorities, first generation college students, economically disadvantaged students and other populations historically underrepresented in law school and the legal profession.
To read more, please visit Law School Welcomes 23 Students for Intensive Summer Pre-law Program
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois on behalf of The John Marshall Law School
This grant supports a study of the impact of High performance cognitive training – Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART) has on improving cognitive performance, and thus academic performance and bar passage.
To read more, please visit Texas Tech adopts SMART brain training for its 1Ls
University of Massachusetts
This grant supports a study of students’ social networks that will examine whether certain connections are associated with law school success. The project will focus on whether students from diverse backgrounds lack access to key social connections and to what extent network inequality accounts for disparities in legal education outcomes.
Emory University
A $86,603 grant was awarded to Emory University to measure the institutional efficiencies in producing student outputs for legal education. The project will use American Bar Association data and the Analytix tool, to develop a method of ranking schools based on a sophisticated conception of outputs and value-added.
Dillard University
This grant supports the Legal Education Advancing Diversity (LEAD) program which offers students and graduates from underrepresented background the opportunity to participate in year-long program. The program provides these students with LSAT preparation, strategies for creating a competitive law school application, support throughout the application process, and a mentorship program.
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Indiana University received a grant to support the analysis of LSSSE data to determine in which ways social belonging influences law students’ engagement and success. In addition, this grant will support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a productive mindset intervention for final-semester law students and recent law school graduates who are sitting, for the July 2018 California bar exam.
University of Hawai'i William S. Richardson School of Law
The University of Hawai’i William S. Richardson School of Law received a grant to support the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program. The Ulu Lehua Scholars Program supports a cohort of incoming J.D. students from diverse backgrounds who have overcome adversity and who show a commitment to work with underserved communities. Student participants receive financial, academic, and moral support throughout their law school careers. Grant funding will be used to expand recruitment efforts to rural communities in Hawaii and the Pacific, bolster academic support for participants through student tutors, provide financial and academic assistance in preparation for the bar exam, and conduct a comprehensive program assessment.
American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education
A $125,000 grant was awarded to the American Bar Association (ABA) Fund for Justice and Education for the Evaluation of Key ABA Pipeline Programs project. The project intends to measure the effectiveness of three ABA Fund for Justice and Education pipeline programs: the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund; the Judicial Clerkship Program; and, the Judicial Internship Opportunity Program.