TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Nov 6, 2025

The American Bar Association (ABA) has altered a scholarship program aimed at boosting law student diversity by eliminating requirements that applicants come from “ethnic minority” or “underrepresented racial” groups. According to Reuters, applicants now must demonstrate “a strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.” The change comes seven months after the American Alliance for Equal Rights sued over the Legal Opportunity Scholarship program, alleging it discriminates against white applicants who were ineligible to apply. The $15,000 scholarship is awarded to between 20 and 25 students annually. The move comes after the ABA revised the criteria for its Judicial Clerkship Program last year to eliminate references to minority students and “communities of color.”