JUDICIAL COUNCIL SCHOLARSHIP
The NBA Judicial Council was founded in 1971 as a division of the National Bar Association, the oldest and largest association of judges and lawyers in the country. The Judicial Council’s mission objectives include increasing the presence of judges of color in the federal and state judiciaries. We realize to accomplish that goal we must increase the pipeline of lawyers who will become judges. Only 5% of lawyers in this country are African American, even though we are 13.4% of the population. That number has not increased in a decade. The first step in the lawyer pipeline is obtaining a law degree. The cost of a legal education has grown tremendously over the years, and we know that students need funding to complete their legal education. Therefore, in keeping with our mission and objectives, we have established a scholarship program to award eligible people who are members of a race or ethnicity that has been underrepresented in the legal profession. If you are interested in learning more about the Judicial Council Scholarship or applying, you may access the criteria and download the fillable application here.
JUDICIAL COUNCIL BAR REVIEW SCHOLARSHIP
The Judicial Council’s goals include increasing the number of lawyers and thereby increasing the pipeline for judges in the future. We recognize the enormous debt accumulated now during college and law school years, especially for law students. After all that expense, a law student then must prepare and take the bar exam to become a practicing attorney. Now, more money is needed to expend on bar preparation courses, which have proven to be a valuable and almost indispensable need for those taking the bar exam. Bar exam prep courses can run as high as over $3000. To assist law students of racial and ethnics in securing their law licenses by passing the bar exam, the Judicial Council is offering a limited number of Bar Review scholarships in the amount of $2500 for graduating law students. If you are interested in learning more about the Judicial Council Bar Review Scholarship or applying, you may access the criteria and download the fillable application here.
JUDICIAL COUNCIL CLERKSHIP PROGRAM
The Judicial Council is establishing a nationwide Judicial Clerkship Program. The mission of the program is to pair African American Judges across the country with highly qualified racial and/or ethnic 2L and 3L law students during the 2023 spring term (March to May) for a minimum of 15 hours weekly, virtually or in person. The Judicial Council is implementing the clerkship program to provide law students an opportunity to learn about courts; witness firsthand how Judges do their jobs and make decisions; watch experienced litigators present their cases and increase the clerk’s understanding of the law as applied in different types of cases. The Judicial Council will also award ten (10) paid stipends in the amount of $1000.00 each to Judicial Clerkship Program participants. If you are interested in learning more about the Judicial Clerkship Program or applying, you may access the criteria and download the fillable application here.