Vela Wood, a law firm in Texas, has partnered with Kaplan, a global educational services company, to offer free LSAT prep courses to Black aspiring lawyers.
The organizations have teamed up to provide financial assistance and resources to Black, African American and Black-Latinx prelaw students in an effort to diversify the legal profession.
The law firm’s Vela Wood Forward program established the scholarships so that recipients can enroll in a Kaplan LSAT course. The Kaplan LSAT course includes live online instruction, on-demand courses and practice tests.
“As a Black, first-generation attorney, from a family with limited means, I have a unique understanding of the financial roadblocks that many Black aspiring attorneys face on their path to becoming a lawyer,” said Jenny Young, Director of Vela Wood Forward, in a news release. “Black people are severely underrepresented in the legal field which is not for a lack of interest in law or personal merit; Vela Wood is looking to change that. Through this partnership with Kaplan, Vela Wood seeks to provide a pathway for Black students to achieve their very best LSAT score, enhancing their chances of entrance into top-tier law schools. We believe that financial obstructions should not stand in the way of admission to law school for Black students.”
According to the American Bar Association, 4.5% of all lawyers in the United States are Black—about the same amount as 10 years ago. The total Black population in the United States overall is 13.4%.
You can find more information about the scholarship on the Vela Wood website.
