Several Texas law firms and law schools are throwing their support behind an initiative that aims to increase the number of actively practicing minority attorneys. The Diversity Scholarship Program—founded by startup company PracticePro that trains law students and new attorneys on practice management skills—seeks to address the gap between minority representation among law students and minority representation among working members of the legal profession.
According to a press release from PracticePro, “Despite diverse enrollment in law schools—including a near-even split between men and women, and a larger number of students from minority groups—the legal profession as a whole has failed to keep pace with the changing face of America.”
Using conferences and seminars that focus on both the substantive and soft skills necessary during the early years of one’s career, the Diversity Scholarship Program enables diverse first-year law students to be prepared for practice by the time they graduate. It also provides six months of career coaching to help students succeed in law school, interviews, networking, and long-term career planning. Students who apply and are given a scholarship get access to these resources at no cost.
Texas-based law firms Beck Redden, Gardere Wynne Sewell, Haynes and Boone, and Jackson Walker recently became early supporters of the program. The program is available to law students in Texas, California, Illinois, and Washington D.C. Participating Texas law schools include:
- Baylor Law School;
- Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law;
- South Texas College of Law;
- Texas A&M University School of Law;
- Texas Tech University School of Law;
- Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law;
- University of Houston Law Center; and
- University of Texas School of Law
For more information and application instructions, go to practicepro.cc/scholarships.