Affirmative Action and Law Schools: A Resource Guide
Affirmative Action and Law Schools: A Resource Guide

Affirmative Action and Law Schools: A Resource Guide

In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to end race-based admission policies at colleges and universities, AccessLex Institute has resolved to continue our support for strategic efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession.

With a particular focus on providing pathways to a legal education for people from underrepresented backgrounds, we are committed to providing resources and continuing our impactful research initiatives to accomplish these goals. 

AccessLex Institute Position Statement

AccessLex Institute expresses its concern over the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) Supreme Court Rulings and whether diversity gains over the past 40 years will be curtailed; and vows to continue its efforts to support inclusion.

Read our Statement
Read our Statement

AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence®

Read AccessLex Institute’s latest research on how recent decisions regarding Affirmative Action may negatively impact underrepresented people of color as well as its findings on the positive effects of campus diversity on attrition, GPA, and bar passage.

Affirmative Action Dashboard

Affirmative Action Dashboard

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This dashboard illustrates how we project a nationwide ban would affect the proportion of each state's J.D. completion of those students identifying as Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (what we refer to as uPOC, or underrepresented people of color).

AccessLex Research

Woman looking at lapto

Measuring “Up”

The Promise of Undergraduate GPA Growth in Law School Admissions.
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Protecting Diversity: Can We Afford to Throw Out Grutter Before Its Expiration Date?

Protecting Diversity

Analyzing the Effects of Campus Diversity on Attrition, GPA, and Bar Passage in Law Students and Graduates.
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Application Timing Brief

“If You’re On Time, You’re Late”...

Students who apply to law school early increase their chances of acceptance over those who apply closer to the deadline.
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Grantee Research

Test-Flexible Admissions and Law School Diversity and Selectivity

Exploring the Impact of Test-Flexible Admissions on Law School Diversity and Selectivity

 

This AccessLex-funded research brief explores test-flexible policies in legal education and makes a determination on whether or not they positively impact selectivity and diversity.
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Race Neutral Alternatives in Law School Admissions

Assessing the Viability of Race-Neutral Alternatives in Law School Admissions

In this piece, researchers examine the relationship between racial categories and race-neutral identity factors in law school admissions, amid the recent decline in student enrollment.
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AccessLex Diversity Initiatives

LexScholars by AccessLex® is a diversity initiative that includes two pathway programs, LexPreLaw and LexPostBacc, that broaden access to legal education for underrepresented students through a series of free resources and preparatory initiatives designed to increase chances of law school admission.

Available by application, LexPreLaw provides aspiring law students the essential skills they need for law school through free LSAT preparation, admission counseling, and financial education. Read our most recent LexPreLaw Program Evaluation Report (year 3, 2022-23), and the evaluation report for year 2 (2021-22).

Through LexPostBacc, law schools offer deferred admission to students after their successful completion of a rigorous legal education preparatory curriculum.

Pursuing Student Diversity in a Post-Affirmative Action World

Watch this recording of the plenary session from AccessLex Institute’s annual Spring Sync event, where we consider what the future of student diversity efforts in legal education will look like after race-based admission policies end.