The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) today announced that it is launching a $1.5 million integrated campaign designed to encourage racially and ethnically diverse first- and second-year college students to discover career opportunities in law and to choose a path in undergraduate school that helps them get there.
The campaign – DiscoverLaw.org – is the most recent addition to LSAC’s continuing effort to increase racial and ethnic diversity in law schools and the legal profession.
“Right now, the legal profession does not reflect the expanding diversity of our society,” said LSAC President Daniel O. Bernstine.
“Only 10 percent of the lawyers in America are African American, Latino, Asian American, or Native American. Considering that those same racial and ethnic groups comprise 33 percent of the US population, it is obvious that we need to do more to encourage diversity in the legal profession.”
DiscoverLaw.org is designed to introduce diverse students to the many career opportunities a law degree can provide and encourage students to begin preparing for law school early in their undergraduate years.
“There’s no better current example of what a law degree can lead to than in president-elect Obama,” said Kent Lollis, LSAC’s executive director for diversity initiatives. “With his law degree, he built a reputation of contributing to society in many ways. The important thing for first- and second-year college students to understand is that it’s never too early to begin preparing for law school. There are things they should be doing now – such as selecting rigorous coursework to enhance their reading comprehension, writing, and analytical skills – that can put them on a path toward a law degree.”
The cornerstone of the DiscoverLaw.org campaign is an interactive website that features examples of the need for lawyers worldwide, access to law school experts who can answer students’ questions, profiles and advice from diverse law school graduates, and a timeline outlining steps undergraduate students can take to prepare themselves to be a successful law school applicant.
DiscoverLaw.org will be promoted to students nationwide through online and print advertising. The advertisements aim to capture students’ interest and inspire them by highlighting a variety of scenarios in which a lawyer is needed.
The advertising plays off the incorrect perception that the world has too many lawyers with the tagline, “Actually, the world DOES need another lawyer.”
LSAC is encouraging undergraduate colleges throughout the country to bring DiscoverLaw.org to their campus by taking advantage of the campaign’s resources.
Select schools in Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Houston, and Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill will enlist undergraduate students as DiscoverLaw.org Campus Coordinators to plan special events and activities on campuses.
“We know that peer-to-peer connection will be key when communicating with this audience,” said Ellen Keane Rutt, LSAC board chair and associate dean for admissions, student finance, and career services at the University of Connecticut School of Law. “By giving the campaign a true grassroots component, we hope to generate interest on campuses nationwide, drive students to the website for rich information, and ultimately prepare a diverse pool of applicants for law school and the legal profession.”
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
