Our Impact
Learn More About our Award-Winning Mentorship Program
Many law students of color, particularly those who are first-generation, lack the networks and resources of their law school peers. As a result, these students may miss out on an appellate career simply because they do not know how to pursue it. Others self-select out, discouraged by the absence of appellate attorneys and judges who share their backgrounds.
Our goal is to change that.
Our Mentorship Program is the first national effort focused on empowering law students of color to pursue appellate work. We pair law students of color interested in appellate practice with two mentors in the appellate field, ranging from attorneys, judges, professors, and law clerks. We tailor these pairings as closely as we can to each students’ unique preferences.
We also provide students with innovative and impactful appellate-focused resources throughout the Program. Continue reading below for more information on our programming, which includes clerkship support, skill-building opportunities, networking, and community building.
The Mentorship Program empowers law students of color to become the next generation of appellate attorneys and judges. To learn more about how our Program has impacted 600+ law students, continue reading and watch the video below.
Check out some of our student testimonials:
Since launching in September 2020, we have:
Supported 600+ incredible law students of color from nearly 50 different law schools in our Mentorship Program. 91% of the students in the 2022-2023 program are first-generation law students and 35% are also first-generation college students;
Collaborated with thousands of attorneys, law clerks, and judges;
Developed 60+ innovative and interactive events for our mentees, each focused on empowering them to achieve their goals and succeed in the field. Our weekly programming provided access to the appellate bar and training opportunities critical to success. These included:
Clerkship support: Clerkships are a critical stepping stone to appellate work, but too many law students of color lack the requisite networks and encouragement. Through events like our Judicial Brown Bags, our students received substantive, individualized guidance on the clerkship process and meaningfully connected with clerks and judges. Additionally, through our recently launched Clerkship Handbook geared towards law students of color, we have provided them the information and advice needed to pursue clerkships.
Skill-building Opportunities: Appellate advocates must have strong legal research and writing skills, but too many law students of color do not receive enough opportunities to develop these critical skills. Our legal writing workshops and 1:1 legal writing feedback program (in which students developed an appellate-geared writing sample, resume, and cover letter) helped fill this important gap.
Networking: Who you know matters. Appellate recruitment has traditionally focused on a handful of students (many of whom already have established networks) at a few select schools, leaving out many highly qualified first-generation law students of color. Our networking events with the appellate bar, in-person visits to the Ninth and Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and directory of TAP members helped mentees grow these critical networks, connect with decisionmakers in the appellate bar, and learn about the different pathways to appellate practice.
BIPOC Community: It isn't easy being one of the only people of color in your field. Through our community-building and social events, including our first in-person gatherings in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, we helped our students develop a supportive community that will stay with them long after the Program ends.
Celebrating Year Three of our Mentorship Program:
