CA Bar Foundation Awards 57 Scholarships to Law Students

According to a California Bar Journal article, The California State Bar Foundation awarded 57 scholarships to law students, each scholarship totaling up to $7,500. There were Public Interest scholarships and Diversity scholarships awarded. The total in scholarships awarded by the State Bar was over $250,000.

 

“Today there is only one California legal aid lawyer for every 8,361 low-income Californians who need legal help, while there is one private lawyer for every 250 clients who can afford our services,” said Jeff Bleich, a member of the foundation’s board. “But the high cost of law school, with law students graduating with as much as $100,000 in student loans, prevents many new lawyers from pursuing public interest jobs and helping narrow this ‘justice gap.’ The scholarship program is a way of saying, ‘if you commit to serving the people of this state, we’ll commit to helping you get a legal education.’”

The Public Interest scholarship recipients were nominated by their law schools, while the Diversity recipients were selectee from 200 applicants. According to the article, the funds to support the scholarships were provided by law firms. The Diversity scholarship funds in particular came from law firms pledging to support the program in 2007. A listing of the recipients and law firm contributors.

If you're interested in being a future recipient, perhaps some reasearch with deans or adminsitrators at your law school will help for the Public Interest scholarships. For the Diversity scholarships, check here.