The Council on Legal Education Opportunity Inc. (CLEO) has received a grant from Access Group Center for Research & Policy analysis, a non-profit organization that “promotes broad access, affordability and the value of legal education,” to pilot a program that would increase access to law school for minority students.
Called CLIC — CLEO Legally Inspired Cohort — the experimental program would test the hypothesis that minority law students are more likely to succeed if they are prepared and provided a welcoming and supportive community.
Twenty students are expected to participate in the year-long program which will be implemented at four law schools around the country.
“CLEO has long held the notion that prepared diverse students make successful lawyers. This grant will give us a chance to present our case, while providing 20 more minority, low-income, or disadvantaged participants access to a good legal education,” said Cassandra Sneed Ogden, chief executive officer of CLEO Inc.
Four law schools will each enroll five students (CLIC Scholars) who have successfully completed the CLEO Prelaw Summer Institute and the CLIC four-day seminar.
The five students will be expected to work together throughout the summer institute, with the intention of enrolling at one of the law schools in the fall.
Once enrolled in law school, the CLIC Scholars will receive continuous academic, financial, and other support services from both CLEO and the partner law schools during the first year of study.
“The Access Group Center for Research & Policy Analysis is pleased to award the Council on Legal Education Opportunity Inc. a $125,000 Legal Education Diversity Pipeline Grant to support their Legally Inspired Cohort (CLIC). Access Group is committed to funding innovative programs that share the same goal—improving access to legal education,” said Christopher P. Chapman, president and chief executive office of Access Group.
Founded in 1983, Access Group is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of nearly 200 nonprofit and State-affiliated ABA-approved law schools.
Through research, policy advocacy, and direct member and student educational services, Access Group works to further access, affordability and the value of legal education, specifically, and graduate and professional education more broadly.
CLEO is committed to diversifying the legal profession by expanding legal education opportunities to minority, low-income, and disadvantaged groups.
Founded in 1968 by the American Bar Association’s Fund for Justice and Education when the number of lawyers of color was less than one percent, CLEO has produced more than 10,000 alumni who have excelled in every area of the legal profession to include judges, corporate attorneys, law school deans and professors, practitioners and politicians.
Although best known for its Pre-Law Summer Institute “boot camp,” CLEO provides services to high school, pre-law, and law school students which include mentoring, placement assistance, academic counseling and support, scholarships, and bar preparation orientation.
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