The underrepresentation of African-Americans in the legal profession has been a longstanding and serious problem in this country. For this reason, law schools are actively recruiting African-American applicants and have established policies to assure that qualified candidates are given the opportunity for a legal education. New York University Prelaw
African-American pre-law students should not only read the standard prelaw material but also should read the material relevant to African-American prelaw students.
CHICANOS IN LAW provides interesting and useful prelaw links.
COUNCIL OF LEGAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY (CLEO) was founded in 1968 as a non-profit project of the American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education to expand opportunities for minorities and low-income students to attend law school and become members of the legal profession by providing pre-law recruitment, counseling, placement assistance and training. Three programs CLEO has are the COLLEGE SCHOLARS PRELAW SEMINARS, SOPHOMORE SUMMER INSTITUTE, and COLLEGE SCHOLARS.
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) gives MINORITY PERSPECTIVES. Also mentioned here is information about The Minorities Interested in Legal Education (MILE) project. According to the ABA, this project is an effort to address the underrepresentation of minorities in the legal profession by providing minority students with reliable information about preparation for law school. Primarily designed for college freshmen and sophomores, MILE offers information that can help enhance your academic preparation for law school."
INROADS is a non-profit organization that trains and develops talented minority youth for professional careers in business, law, and industry. INROADS places students in summer internships with hundreds of corporations across the United States. Acceptance into the program and intern selection begins in December and January, so apply on their website early in the school year. Please visit their website at www.INROADS.org for more information, or email Katie Jones with your questions. The preceding is from the STANFORD PRE-LAW SOCIETY.
Minorities Interested in Legal Education (MILE) http://www.lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=/lsac/ minorities-in-legal-education.asp Primarily designed for under-represented college freshmen and sophomores, MILE offers information that can help enhance academic preparation for law school via Law School Forums, e-mail access to advice regarding the law school admission process, preparation for the LSAT, and the MILE Markers newsletter.
THE PRE-LAW STUDENTS-OF-COLOR NETWORK, "through discussion forums, blogs, chats with experts, quizzes, interactive activities and linked resources, provides advice and information for persons-of-color interested in going to law school.
COMMENTS
If you are a African-American student, it is wise to be well informed of the opportunities available. You should make certain to identify yourself as a member of a minority group at the time you register for the LSAT and with the LSDAS. This will enable interested law schools to contact you through the Candidate Referral Service. Thereafter, you might wish to contact African-American student organizations at the law schools you are considering. It will be to your advantage to discuss your interests and application with members of these organizations since in some instances they will track your application and may have a part in the admissions decision. These students can also inform you of any special problems or special advantages for African-American students at their particular school. New York University Prelaw (slightly modified)
CONFERENCES
The following is from EVANGELINE M. MITCHELL, ESQ: I just wanted to make you aware of the NATIONAL BLACK PRE-LAW CONFERENCE that we hold here in Houston every fall. I started this event in 2005 and this will be our fourth year. It's a free event that provides an important service to future lawyers, particular aspiring Black lawyers, many who will be the first college graduates and law students/lawyers in their families, and who can benefit from meeting law students and lawyers who can provide insight on what it takes to get admitted into law school, survive law school, pass the bar, and find success within or even outside of the legal professiona. Also, the For Future Black Law Students site will return in about a month as The National Black Pre-Law Network. I'll keep you posted on the re-launch. It is in the process of being re-designed by another web designer. Thanks in advance for your support.
BOOKS
According to the ABA, HOPES PROMISE PUBLISHING has a catalog of books created and intended for African Americans who are interested in pursuing a legal education or who are trying to make it through law school.
FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR publishes, for People of Color, a Guide to the Law School Aplication Process.
PRELAW DIVERSITY STATEMENT
Georgetown University Career Education Center states that "If your ethnicity, family, religion, socioeconomic background, or any similar factor may motivate you to succeed in law school, be sure to highlight it. This can be done in the personal statement itself or in a separate diversity statement. If you are writing a personal statement and a diversity statement, make sure the two essays address different topics."
If the deiversity statement is to be separate from the personal statement, the diversity statement should be a separate sheet labeled DIVERSITY STATEMENT and attached to your application. A diversity statement should be articulate, brief, clear, concise, persuasive, and sincere.
