Webinar: How Law School Scholarships Can Shape the Future of the Field​

Law school is a significant financial investment. Between tuition costs, living expenses, bar exam preparation, and lost earning opportunities during years of study, aspiring lawyers face formidable barriers before they even begin their careers. Yet the financial pressures are just one part of the equation. Beyond cost, the legal profession has a deeper challenge: ensuring it represents the communities it serves and that aspiring lawyers from all backgrounds see themselves as scholarship material.

This Scholarship America webinar, generously supported by the New York Bar Foundation, brings together M. Solomon Ravala, Esquire—an attorney, board member at Scholarship America, and chair of Lawyers Friends of the New York Bar Foundation—and Jacquelyn Bengfort, Program Marketing Manager at Scholarship America, to explore a critical question: How can law school scholarships act as a shaping force for the legal field?

Panelists share why this conversation matters now, what barriers students face beyond tuition, and how scholarship programs, when designed with intentionality, can expand access, support careers in public service, and ensure all Americans have access to high-quality legal services.

Please note that the following transcript has been edited for clarity.

Supporting Students in Law School

Law school is a significant financial investment. Between tuition costs, living expenses, bar exam preparation, and lost earning opportunities during years of study, aspiring lawyers face formidable barriers before they even begin their careers. Yet the financial pressures are just one part of the equation. Beyond cost, the legal profession has a deeper challenge: ensuring it represents the communities it serves and that aspiring lawyers from all backgrounds see themselves as scholarship material.

This Scholarship America webinar, generously supported by the New York Bar Foundation, brings together M. Salman Ravala, Esquire—an attorney, board member at Scholarship America, and chair of Lawyers Friends of the New York Bar Foundation—and Jacquelyn Bengfort, Program Marketing Manager at Scholarship America, to explore a critical question: How can law school scholarships act as a shaping force for the legal field?

Panelists share why this conversation matters now, what barriers students face beyond tuition, and how scholarship programs—when designed with intentionality—can expand access, support careers in public service, and ensure all Americans have access to high-quality legal services.

Please note that the following transcript has been edited for clarity.

The Financial Barriers to Legal Education Are Larger Than We Think

Salman Ravala: I’ve been practicing law for just over 15 years, and through that experience—mentoring law students, teaching as an adjunct professor, and serving on a variety of boards and bar committees—I’ve come across a lot of people either entering the legal profession or already in law school. And truly, student success is based on financial support and programming around mentorship and public service-oriented careers.

The reality is, law school is a significant investment. There are high tuition costs, but also there are extremely high living expenses, given the affordability crisis in New York City, New York State, and across the nation. There is bar exam preparation, and then the infamous summer associateships. If there’s summer programming around seeking opportunities over summer break, that may cost relocation costs and living expenses. And of course, there are lost earning opportunities during years of study.

The financial pressures are large, and can certainly discourage talented students from pursuing legal careers. This is where scholarships and student support programs come in. They expand access. Scholarships do more than just reduce debt—they create opportunity. And why not create opportunity for people that are going to help build a legal profession and are committed to civic and public service?

Scholarships as a Tool for Building a More Representative Profession

Salman Ravala: The legal profession should represent the communities lawyers serve, and scholarships provide access opportunities to talented individuals across the country. For 75 years, the New York Bar Foundation has helped foster public faith in the law and expand access through justice. Through its grant-making programs, millions of dollars have supported hundreds of nonprofit organizations. In 2025 alone, the foundation approved more than a half a million dollars in grants to support critical legal services.

The foundation has provided fellowships and scholarships to over 900 students over the last 25 years, and millions of dollars in student support. I’m very pleased that they are partnering with Scholarship America and leading this webinar to be part of this conversation. I invite bar leaders, bench leaders, law firm leaders to join in this conversation, because this is a very important and critical time to make an investment in the legal profession.

Scholarship America’s Mission and Reach

Jacquelyn Bengfort: Scholarship America is the nation’s largest administrator of private scholarships. We’ve been a nonprofit since our founding in 1958 as Dollars for Scholars, with about 10,000 volunteers across the country still working under that brand today. Our mission is to break down financial barriers between people and their educational dreams.

Since our founding, we’ve distributed $6 billion to 3.5 million students, including $338 million to 100,000 students just last year. We’re proud to administer scholarships for everything from K-12 through graduate and professional education, across all fields of study. We support students in traditional and non-traditional pathways, including community college, vocational training, apprenticeships, and professional schools like law school.

Understanding the True Cost of Attending Law School

Jacquelyn Bengfort: If you’re here today, you’re probably aware of the expense associated with attending law school. The average debt load for a law school graduate is approximately $130,000—that’s more than double the average debt for undergraduate students. And that’s just the student loan debt. The full cost of attendance includes tuition, books, living expenses, bar exam fees, and the costs associated with job searching and interview travel.

These financial barriers can deter talented, committed individuals from pursuing law—especially those from low-income backgrounds, those without established professional networks, and those who don’t see themselves as ‘the type’ of person who becomes a lawyer. Scholarships specifically designed for law students can remove these barriers and help ensure that the legal profession reflects the diversity of the communities it serves.

Addressing Legal Deserts: How Scholarships Support Public Interest Law

Jacquelyn Bengfort: There’s a critical gap in legal services in this country. Low-income households generally across the U.S. don’t receive sufficient legal assistance to resolve 92% of their legal problems. It’s an even higher percentage in rural communities—94%. One of the remedies recommended by the LSC’s Rural Justice Task Force to address this gap is investment in programs to increase the number of lawyers in rural and remote communities.

Several states have pioneered programs to address this. The Wisconsin Bar ran a pilot program to take law students and new lawyers within the first 3 years of their career on bus tours of rural communities to introduce them to rural judges and lawyers. They also run a rural clerkship program for 1L and 2L students from Minnesota and Wisconsin, and a rural practice development program that offers financial support to up to 3 attorneys annually who have committed to working in rural communities.

Nebraska uses scholarships to help address this gap through their Rural Law Opportunities Program, and the LSC itself offers a Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship. A scholarship program that identifies law students committed to working in rural settings—and which combines financial support with mentorship from rural practitioners—could help reduce the prevalence of legal deserts and ensure all Americans have access to high-quality, culturally competent legal services.

Scholarship America’s Law School Scholarship Programs

Jacquelyn Bengfort: Scholarship America administers several law school scholarships designed to address gaps and help law students cover the enormous costs of legal education. Here are some examples of how we’re helping shape the field:

Scholarships Supporting Non-Traditional Pathways

Scholarship America works with DLA Piper to offer two scholarship programs designed to provide opportunities to student athletes and veterans who may not have considered a law career but who have already demonstrated the discipline, focus, resilience, and leadership needed to succeed. Recipients get $1,000 toward LSAT preparation and application fees, plus $5,000 toward law school. In 2026, 8 veterans received a total of $48,000 in Bravo Scholarships, and 19 student athletes received LEAP awards, totaling $114,000.

Scholarships Supporting Career Pathways

Bowman and Brooke LLP offers two $10,000 scholarships annually to law students planning careers in civil defense, reflecting the foundation’s commitment to supporting the next generation of defense attorneys and advancing excellence in the legal profession.

Scholarships Building Local Talent

The McRoberts Memorial Law Scholarship Fund serves residents of Peoria County, Illinois pursuing a JD. It’s a renewable award—recipients can receive up to 3 years of funding contingent upon satisfactory academic performance in a full-time course of study at an ABA-accredited institution. Applicants must demonstrate financial need.

Community-Based Scholarships

The Los Angeles County Committee of Bar Examiners accredited Law School Scholarship offers $3,000 scholarships that cover full-time or part-time study. Applicants can reapply each year they are eligible, making it an accessible option for students with varying financial situations.

The Power of Strategic Scholarship Design

Jacquelyn Bengfort: The scholarships that succeed are those designed with intention. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the most effective programs combine targeted scholarship support with mentorship, career pathway development, and support for public service opportunities. They identify gaps in the legal field and design scholarships that help address them.

Whether you’re trying to increase diversity, support students committed to public interest law, build talent in underserved communities, or create pathways for non-traditional students, scholarship design matters. We have lots of design elements that can be adjusted to make sure a scholarship program really addresses the gap and supports students in a holistic way.

Jacquelyn Bengfort: If you’re interested in exploring a scholarship that addresses a gap in the legal field, our team of Senior Scholarship Advisors would be happy to work with you to design a program that achieves your goals. My contact information is available—I would love to connect via email, phone, or LinkedIn to discuss scholarships or share more information about any of our law school scholarship programs.

We also have a library of webinars, so if you’d like to learn more about innovations in the field of scholarships, visit our webinar library. Upcoming sessions include: supporting student parents and non-traditional learners like veterans; building talent pipelines through embedded internship opportunities; and workforce development through healthcare scholarships.

Why are law school costs such a barrier for aspiring lawyers?

The average law school graduate leaves with approximately $130,000 in debt—more than double the average undergraduate debt. Beyond tuition, students face living expenses (particularly high in major legal markets), bar exam preparation costs, summer associateship expenses, and lost earning opportunities during years of study. These financial pressures can discourage talented individuals from pursuing law, especially those from low-income backgrounds without established professional networks.

How can scholarships help address the legal services gap?

Low-income households don’t receive sufficient legal assistance to resolve 92% of their legal problems—even higher (94%) in rural communities. Scholarships that specifically support students committed to public interest law and rural practice can help address this gap. By combining financial support with mentorship from practitioners already working in underserved communities, scholarships create real pathways for law students to build sustainable careers in public service.

What makes a law school scholarship program effective?

The most effective scholarships are designed with a specific goal in mind and include elements beyond just tuition coverage. This might include mentorship programming, support for bar exam preparation, career pathway development, or targeted outreach to students from underrepresented backgrounds. Successful programs identify gaps in the legal field and design scholarships strategically to address them.

How can law firms and bar foundations get started with a scholarship program?

The first step is to identify the gap you want to address—whether that’s supporting diversity, building local talent, or supporting public interest careers. Begin with clarity about your student population and goals, then design accordingly. You don’t need to launch with a large program; many successful scholarships started modestly and expanded over time. Partnering with an experienced scholarship administrator like Scholarship America significantly reduces operational burden and provides data and insight from across a broad portfolio of programs.

What role does mentorship play in law school scholarship programs?

Mentorship is critical. Student success is based not just on financial support, but also on programming around mentorship and support for public service-oriented careers. When scholarships include mentorship from practicing attorneys—especially in underserved areas or practice areas—they create pathways that transform financial assistance into actual career opportunity.

Scholarship America is the nation’s leading administrator of scholarship programs, combining best-in-class service with a nonprofit mission to eliminate barriers to higher education.