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The Bar Association of San Francisco has been and continues to be committed to diversity in the legal profession and to creating programs and working with other organizations to help fill the Pipeline to the legal profession. We recognize that critical segments of this Pipeline are college students and law students. Therefore, it is our goal to provide information and resources to students that will help guide them through their: application processes; standardized testing; financial aid research and efforts; summer internship placement; college and law school experiences; networking with attorneys and passing the bar examination.
We at BASF are dedicated to helping students succeed at becoming lawyers!
Resources
Thinking About Going to Law School?
Destination Law School
The Bar Association of San Francisco's (BASF) Destination Law School (DLS) program provides information and resources about law school and the legal profession to diverse undergraduate students in colleges located in the Bay Area. The purpose of this program is to increase the number of diverse graduates that are going into law school.
Download the Destination Law School (DLS) Pre-Law Tool Kit. (4.4MB PDF)
For more information about DLS, email Jayne Salinger at dls@sfbar.org.
Boston College Law School Locator
The Locator can help you identify schools where your scores and grades are most competitve for admission and help you gauge your chance of admission at a particular school. The chart is useful in evaluating law school choices but cannot determine where you should or should not apply.
The law schools are placed in cells on the chart according to their 25th percentile scores.
Find out more.
BASF's Student Mentorship Program
BASF is launching its student mentorship program which seeks to help undergraduate students and law students develop meaningful professional relationships with experienced practicing attorneys.
The goal of the program is to foster greater diversity within the legal profession by providing opportunities for diverse students (many who otherwise would not have personal contacts with attorneys either among their family members, friends, or acquaintances) to get to know Bay Area attorneys, and get advice about the profession and how to become a part of it. Effective mentoring is critical to individual student development, advancement, and success. In order to sustain and improve diversity within the educational pipeline to a legal career, mentorship is needed along the way.
Students and attorneys are matched, as much as possible, based on the participants’ expressed preferences and interests. Once matches are made, mentors and mentees can decide how often to meet and what activities would be best suited for them to engage in. BASF will provide program guidelines, tips for mentoring, and suggested activities for participants. It is recommended that pairs meet or get in touch with one another at least once a month for a year. More frequent contact and continued contact after the first year are encouraged.
We are currently accepting applications for mentors and mentees who are interested in participating in the program! If you would like to be paired with a mentor or mentee, please complete the applicable application below.
Application for Students (18KBPDF)
Application for Mentors (18KBPDF)
If you have any questions about this program, please do not hesitate to contact Jayne Salinger at jsalinger@sfbar.org, or (415) 782-9000 x8710.
Law School Admissions Workshops
For People of Color
For People of Color, Inc. presented the following Law School Admissions Workshop in 2009 at The Bar Association of San Francisco. View the workshop.
To check and see when the next workshop is, visit www.forpeopleofcolor.org and click on "Events."
Download a copy of "A Guide to the Bar Examination for People of Color," a free, digital publication that provides law students with a collection of tips and advice on how to study for the bar exam.
Career Fairs
BASF Bay Area Diversity Career Fair
The Bay Area Diversity Career Fair will be held in Summer 2013, with a welcome reception the day before.
Scholarships and Stipends
ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund
The scholarship fund awards $5,000 annually. To find out how to apply, visit the ABA website.
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Earl Warren Legal Training Program Scholarship include the
Earl Warren Civil Rights Training Program Scholarships and the
Earl Warren Shearman & Sterling Scholarships.
More information is available on the NAACP Web site.
Internship, Clerkships, Fellow and Summer Opportunities
New Edition of A Guide to the Judicial Clerkship Application Process by For People of Color, Inc.
For People of Color, Inc. proudly announces the release of the second edition of its newest publication, entitled: "A Guide to the Judicial Clerkship Application Process For People of Color." The guide is authored by Ms. Norma Nava,, Vice President & Board Member of For People of Color, Inc.
Clerkships offer a unique and invaluable opportunity to learn about the judicial system. They also provide an unparalleled training opportunity. It is an unfortunate fact, however, that relatively few students of color pursue judicial clerkships because they erroneously assume that grades alone will prevent them from securing a valuable position. The purpose of this guide is to provide students of color with a useful and practical tool that will assist them in obtaining a judicial clerkship.
Download the guide on the For People of Color web site.
Social Media Resources: Twitter
The below list of Twitter accounts serve as good resources for undergrad and law students:
Students with Disabilities
Golden Gate University Guide to Disability Services for Law School Applicants
Law school is a challenging and rigorous environment for every student regardless of background and experience. Due to law school's driven and fast paced nature, it is often critical that every student has the opportunity to perform at his or her potential.
For this reason, the decision of where students with disabilities attend law school may be weighed by the quality of reasonable accommodations provided. A guide for law school applicants with disabilities to familiarize themselves with the resources available to them in order to facilitate their search for an accommodating and successful law school experience is available.
The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), Diversity Program in Disability Rights
In addition to the interesting curriculum and activities offered at law schools, bar associations can be a great way to get involved with local attorneys and programs. The Bar Association of San Francisco sponsors a Diversity Program in Disability Rights. The program includes a Disability Rights Committee which hosts conferences dealing with the employment of lawyers with disabilities and other pertinent topics each year. For more information, visit the Disability Rights Committee page.
Publications
A Guide to the Judicial Clerkship Application Process For People of Color
To download the guide, visit http://forpeopleofcolor.org/.
Clerkships offer a unique and invaluable opportunity to learn about the judicial system. They also provide an unparalleled training opportunity. It is an unfortunate fact, however, that relatively few students of color pursue judicial clerkships because they erroneously assume that grades alone will prevent them from securing a valuable position. The purpose of this guide is to provide students of color with a useful and practical tool that will assist them in obtaining a judicial clerkship.
National Association for Law Placement (NALP) EGuides for Professionalism
The NALP website offers links to eGuides on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Email Strategies; and Social Networking in general.
Networking Events
BASF and other local associations host a number of networking and fundraising events that are relevant for law students.
Events can be found on the events calendar: www.sfbar.org/calendar
Summer Diversity Receptions
Dates will be posted soon.
Continuing Legal Education and The Barristers Club
Continuing Legal Education at BASF
If you are a member of The Bar Association of San Francisco and also a law student you are automatically enrolled in the Barristers Club. The Club offers a variety of practice-specific sections which offer
a core curriculum of CLE classes and networking opportunities.
Law students members can attend a select group of CLE seminars.
Check out the calendar at www.sfbar.org/calendar to see which seminars are free for BASF law student members.
For more information about Club activities, please call (415) 982-1600 and ask for the Barristers Club.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Justice & Diversity Center (formerly the Volunteer Legal Services Program)
BASF's Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) offers law students numerous opportunities to volunteer. Some of those projects include the Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC), the Family Law Assisted Self Help Project (FLASH) and the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP).
Learn about volunteer opportunities for non-attorneys.
Find out how to volunteer with JDC's Legal Services Program.
Diversity Education Programs
Additionally, BASF's Justice & Diversity Center has some diversity education programs that also need volunteers. Those programs include the Law Academy and School-To-College programs.
For more information about volunteering with these programs, contact Jayne Salinger at jsalinger@sfbar.org.
Joining The Bar Association of San Francisco
Law students can join BASF for just $30 a year. Join now.
Organizations
For People of Color, Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded by Anthony Solana, Jr. The organization's mission is to empower people of color who want to enter the legal profession. For People of Color, Inc. has vast knowledge and expertise in assisting diverse law school applications gain admission to the law school of their choice. Also, the organization is keenly focused on providing mentorship and professional development opportunities to current diverse law students, and law school graduates.
Web site: http://www.forpeopleofcolor.org/
The Pre-Law Student of Color Network
The JD Project manages the Pre-Law Student of Color Network, which provides discussion forums, chat sessions and resources on preparing for law school in high school; preparing for law school in college; preparing and taking the law school admission test (LSAT); applying to and choosing the right law school; and preparing the summer before admission.
Web site: http://thejdproject.org
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is committed to increasing the number of lawyers from underrepresented minority groups. To affirm that commitment, the Council conducts ongoing programs and initiatives designed to increase the quality and quantity of the minority applicant pool.
Web site: http://www.lsac.org/SpecialInterests/minorities-in-legal-education.asp
In 1968 the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) was founded as a non-profit project of the ABA Fund for Justice and Education to expand opportunities for minority and low-income students to attend law school. In 1998, Congress passed the Higher Education Amendments Act, creating the Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program, which is administered by the Council on Legal Education Opportunity. CLEO is committed to diversifying the legal profession by expanding legal education opportunities to minority, low-income and disadvantaged groups.
Web site: http://www.cleoscholars.com/
Building a Better Legal Profession
Building a Better Legal Profession (BBLP) is a national grassroots movement that seeks market-based workplace reforms in large private law firms. by publicizing firms' self-reported data on billable hours, pro bono participation, and demographic diversity, we draw attention to the differences between these employers. we encourage those choosing between firms - students deciding who to work for after graduation, corporate clients deciding who to hire, and universities deciding who to allow on campus for interviews - to exercise their market power and engage only with the firms that demonstrate a genuine commitment to these issues.
www.buildingabetterlegalprofession.org
Building a Better Legal Profession's Guide to Law Firms: The Law Student's Guide to Finding the Perfect Law Firm Job
American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center
The ABA's Legal Technology Resource Center is staffed by professional librarians and legal professionals with a wide range of expertise and experience. Librarians and legal professionals regularly publish articles here. Visit the Legal Technology Resource Center at http://www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/publications/home.html.
Some of articles of interest on the ABA Web site include:
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