Bay Area Underserved Law Student Scholarship Program

The scholarship program was established in 1998 to support underserved and underrepresented law students who have been admitted to Bay Area Law Schools. In twenty six years, we have awarded over 2 million dollars in scholarships to 110 students with scholarships that are generally $10,000 per year.

We have had many great success stories of past recipients who became associates with many top law firms, public interest offices, corporations and government entities including: Keker Van Nest & Peters; Morrison & Foerster; LuxBus America, San Mateo District Attorney’s Office, California Rural Legal Assistance Inc., Square, Worksafe Inc., and the U.S. Department of Justice.

One recipient clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, another clerked for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California and a recent recipient is a Fulbright Scholar. In 2018, we celebrated our first scholarship recipient to be named a California Superior Court judge.

Judge Amarra Lee is the first African American woman judge to serve on the San Mateo County Superior Court. She is a 2003 recipient of our Minority Law Student Scholarship Program. Stay tuned for an interview with Judge Lee.

To learn more, email JDCLawStudentScholarship@sfbar.org.

2025 Bay Area Underserved Law Student Scholarships Applications open 1/13/2025

Which schools are participating in the scholarship program?

  • University of California – Berkeley School of Law
  • Stanford Law School
  • University of California Law San Francisco
  • Santa Clara University School of Law
  • University of San Francisco School of Law