AccessLex
Since launching our grantmaking activities in 2014, we have awarded $30.7 million in support of our research priorities: access, affordability, and the value of legal education.
Awarded Grants
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National Center for State Courts
Program:
Directed Grants Program
Date:
January 2024
Amount:
$300,000
Status:
Completed
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.
View grant outcomes.
American Bar Foundation
Program:
Directed Grants Program
Date:
January 2024
Amount:
$661,293
Status:
Awarded
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
Program:
Directed Grants Program
Date:
June 2023
Amount:
$250,000
Status:
Completed
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.
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Northern Illinois University College of Law
Program:
Directed Grants Program
Date:
May 2023
Amount:
$142,000
Status:
Awarded
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.
Michigan State University College of Law
Program:
Diversity Pipeline Intervention Grant Program
Date:
May 2023
Amount:
$300,000
Status:
Awarded
Grant Title: Michigan State University College of Law Pathway to the Legal Profession Program (MSUCOL PLPP)
The program will prepare participants to successfully apply for law school admission in Michigan. The program’s purpose is to redress the decrease in the enrollment of underrepresented students in law school exacerbated by Proposal 2 which forbade the consideration of race in admissions decisions. The program will support undergraduate Michigan residents attending Michigan public institutions who are underrepresented in law. Key partners will include local and national bench and bar leaders.
University of Miami
Program:
Bar Success Research Grant Program
Date:
March 2023
Amount:
$300,000
Status:
Completed
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.).
View grant outcomes.
Willamette University
Program:
Bar Success Intervention Grant Program
Date:
January 2023
Amount:
$233,287
Status:
Completed
Grant Title: Assessing the Impact of Cohort Structure on First-Time Bar Pass Rates
This project hypothesizes that implementing a cohort structure for recent law school graduates who use Helix Bar Review while studying for state bar exams will result in improved bar passage rates for these first-time test takers. Project results will inform legal education literature as well as other ongoing studies and activities to improve passage rates and may, depending on cohort size, provide insight into the disparity currently seen in the passage rates of underrepresented populations.
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The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
Program:
Diversity Pipeline Intervention Grant Program
Date:
January 2023
Amount:
$215,832
Status:
Completed
Grant Title: The “Law as Influence, Law as Change"
The “Law as Influence, Law as Change” program seeks to increase the participation of historically underrepresented and minoritized students in the Four Corners region attending Utah State University Blanding ("Blanding") in Blanding, Utah. The program would sponsor students for a four-week learning experience. In the first two weeks, they will receive instruction at the Blanding site. The final two weeks will take place on campus and in-residence at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
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Western New England University School of Law
Program:
Directed Grants Program
Date:
December 2022
Amount:
$140,117
Status:
Completed
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.
View grant outcomes.