Law Schools

New Organization Taking Tangible Steps To Increase Number Of Black Lawyers

The Community Fund for Black Bar Applicants focuses on an overlooked obstacle.

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Black lawyers remain underrepresented in the American legal system. As law firms and professional organizations talk generally about promoting diversity, the figures show that the population of Black lawyers continues to hover around 5 percent despite Black folks making up closer to 20 percent of the population.

Not to discount the symbolic value of all that talk. When the institutions that hold the power in this field make diversity a priority, it moves the needle. In any event, it’s far better than the era when firms just ignored it completely. But moving from words to action is where entities tend to trip up.

One place where firms — and everyone, for that matter — could go to amplify the impact of their diversity commitment is the Community Fund for Black Bar Applicants, a non-profit organization that targets a small but significant hurdle in the process of expanding Black participation in the legal community.

Bar application and prep fees get bigger every year and amount to a cruel entry barrier to people who’ve already had to immerse themselves in debt to get their law degree and now have one last big outlay before being able to practice their livelihood. The bar application hurdle may not increase the number of Black law school graduates but it can be the difference between making that jump from graduate to practicing attorney.

As long as we continue to insist on the bar exam, it’s exceedingly difficult to guarantee admission trying to tackle the test solo without the help of a prep course. Every time an applicant tries to wing it without a prep course it increases the risk of a law school graduate stuck in limbo and unable to practice for months at a time.

Dr. Octavia Carson founded the fund and secured a matching pledge from Scholarship Junkies for the next $3,000 the organization receives in tax-deductible donations. The group plans to give $500 to applicants to defray bar admission costs (they’re also looking for donations in terms of books, tutoring, housing, etc.).

There are important, big ticket efforts to promote racial justice out there. Just yesterday we learned about the new Marshall-Motley Scholars program to help build the roster of civil rights attorneys by sponsoring 10 incoming law students, but when it comes to promoting diversity, focused programs like the Community Fund for Black Bar Applicants have an important role to play in boosting a greater number of future lawyers. There really can’t be too many different angles when it comes to addressing this problem.

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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