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NCCU School of Law’s Legal Pipeline Programs: Increasing Diversity of the Legal Profession One Student at A Time ANGELA GILMORE Associate Dean for Pipeline and Non-J.D. Programs
Law remains one of the least diverse professions in the United States. In fact, in 2020, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) reported that “[n]early all people of color are underrepresented in the legal profession compared with their presence in the U.S.” Law school enrollment also fails to reflect the diversity of the U.S. population. ABA data shows that, in the fall of 2020, Black Americans comprised approximately 8% of the students who were beginning their first year of law school, while making up 13.4% of the U.S. population. The numbers for other communities of color are equally disheartening. Latinx individuals comprise 18.5% of the U.S. population, but only 13% of first-year law students, and Native Americans comprise 1.3% of the U.S. population and just 0.4% of students in their first year of law school. A low number of law school applications from underrepresented individuals is not the reason for the enrollment disparity. AccessLex, an organization that “fosters broad-based access to quality legal education for talented, purpose-driven students and works to maximize the value and affordability of a law degree through policy advocacy, research and student-focused initiatives” reports that law schools offer admission to applicants from underrepresented communities at a lower rate than their White counterparts. According to AccessLex, the following are the law school admission rates for fall 2019: Seventy-eight percent for White applicants, 66% for Asian applicants, 62% for American Indian/Alaskan Native applicants, 61% for Latino applicants, 60% for Puerto Rican applicants,59% for Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander applicants, and just 48% for Black applicants. 40
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