"DESPITE DECADES OF SLOW progress, women lawyers, lawyers with disabilities and lawyers from racial, ethnic and sexual minorities are persistently underrepresented in the legal field, as shown by annual surveys by organizations like the American Bar Association and National Association for Law Placement.
Increasingly, however, law schools, law firms and nonprofits are actively addressing the challenges of minority applicants. Some law schools and organizations have created special fellowships and programs to meet the needs of such applicants.
Last year, for example, the Legal Education Access Pipeline, also known as LEAP, began providing fellows in Southern California with free resources such as weekly application workshops, mentorship by law students and lawyers, LSAT test prep classes and access to diverse legal professionals. In August, the program will begin accepting applications for its second cohort from law school applicants who are first-generation, have experienced socioeconomic disadvantage, are students of color or who identify as LGBTQ." …