Diversity Matters at Cleveland-Marshall

Awards

Diversity Matters Award

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University was selected to receive the first-ever Diversity Matters Award from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Of the 214 law schools in the United States, Cleveland-Marshall was chosen for its programs that educate high school and early college students about law school preparation and careers in law. The programs include workshops for local high school students in Cleveland and surrounding suburbs, outreach to community college students and a partnership with Central State University, Ohio’s first and only historically black public college.

Academic Support

Ohio Bar Examination Strategies and Tactics (OBEST)

Cleveland-Marshall students are encouraged to take the three credit hour OBEST class. Applicants who have taken the OBEST class have consistently out performed their peers who did not take the course. The course uses Torts and Property as backdrops to discuss study tactics, and strategies for answering essay questions, MBE and MPT problems. Students receive one-on-one feedback on their essay writing, MPT responses and bar exam study plans. The course is offered on a pass/fail basis. Preference for the Fall class will be given to those taking the February Bar Exam. Preference for the Spring class will be given to those taking the July Bar Exam.

Summer Enrichment

Legal Career Opportunities Program (LCOP)

Students admitted to Cleveland-Marshall through the LCOP program have successfully demonstrated strong academic ability and writing proficiency; however, their LSAT score may not reflect their greater potential.

Scholarships

Russell T. Adrine Memorial Fund Scholarship:

For graduate of a historically black college or university

Judge Charles W. Fleming Memorial Fund Scholarship:

For African-American student academically promising with economically disadvantaged background

Louis Stokes Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For African-American distinguished student

Judge Lillian Burke '51 Fund Scholarship:

For African-American student

Frederic P. White Jr. Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For a student first in their family to attend law school

Judge Ann Aldrich Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For a student first in their family to have graduated from a college or university

Irene & Louis Rennello Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For students with learning disabilities

Robert Louise Haskins Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For honorably discharged veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States

Julian & Etole Kahan Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For a student of Hispanic descent

Mary Ann Boges Endowed Fund Scholarship:

For physically handicapped student

Helen L. Wolanski Scholarship For Law:

For a student of Ukrainian descent

Jackson Lewis LLP Labor anbd Employment Scholarship Fund:

For a third year student with a demonstrated interest in labor and employment law. Preference is given to student from a disadvantaged ethnic or socio-economic group underepresented in the legal profession.

Edward T. Haggins Annual Gift:

For a student who exhibits academic promise and who will enhance the ethnic, racial, socio-economic, or ideological diversity of the student body.

Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. Scholarship Fund:

Preference is given to a student who is a life-long northeast Ohio resident of Italian descent, and the first in his/her family to attend law school.

Robert C. Tucker Scholarship:

For a deserving law student who is a graduate of a Cleveland public high school.

Student Organizations

Cleveland-Marshall ALLIES

The social and political student organization dedicated to serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Allies sponsors speakers, events, and panel discussions on legal issues that affect the LGBT communities. In addition, Allies provides a forum for social and professional interaction by hosting social events for students. The group welcomes all LGBT students and straight allies to join.

Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Association

Offering membership to Asian Pacific Islander Americans; this organization sponsors different events aimed at educating people of all backgrounds to many of the issues facing Asian-Americans inside and outside of the legal community.

Black Law Student Association

Offering membership to any and all students; this national organization sponsors several different educational and social events throughout the school year. Their primary purpose is to provide assistance in preparation and retention of African-American law students.

Hispanic Law Student Association

HLSA is dedicated to the advancement of Hispanics within the legal profession by providing a support network for all Hispanic law students. It also seeks to establish and maintain cooperation with the larger Hispanic legal community.

Jewish Law Student Association

JLSA is dedicated to furthering the religious, social, and educational needs of law students who identify with any branch of Judaism. It also helps students to become connected to the Cleveland Jewish Community and beyond through alumni events, coordination with the Young Leadership Division of Cleveland Federation and distribution of information from local synagogues and Jewish newspapers.

International Law Student Association

ILSA is for anyone interested in pursuing an international law career or just has an interest in exploring the ideas and cultures that drive our interconnected world; and contributes articles to Global Action newsletter of the Cleveland Bar Association’s International Law section.

Women's Law Student Association

WLSA provides a forum for discussion and debate to promote an awareness of women's and societal issues. The group is a member of the National Association of Women Law Students and is open to all students.

Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association

Mentoring

Designed to provide law students with an easy way to meet with, observe, and obtain advice, ideas, suggestions or general information from law school graduates. The Mentors will generously volunteer their time and knowledge to assist the law students. The students will be those enrolled at Cleveland-Marshall who find themselves in need of advice, guidance or counseling relative to law school, the Ohio Bar Examination, and/or the practice of law.

Pipeline Initiatives

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Summer Legal Academy

Designed to introduce promising minority students to the legal profession. Local high school seniors participate in a two-week intensive law institute.

Supreme Court of Ohio Law & Leadership Summer Institute

Prepares youth from underepresented and underserved communities to compete at high academic levels through use of intense legal and educational programming to develop skills, enforce confidence and facilitate the pursuit of higher education.

Multicultural Recruitment

Multicultural Perspectives Day

An opportunity for diverse perspective students to visit the law school, participates in classroom experience, speak with current students and learn about scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.

DiscoverLaw.org Programs

http://discoverlaw.org/

Jump Start is an admission pipeline program that targets high school students from Northeast Ohio to offer an opportunity to learn about the undergraduate and law school application process as well as expose students to various legal careers. This program is a half-day workshop that takes place in late January.

Law Days are events targeting diverse early college students, including community college students, to provide information on the law school experience. Activities sponsored on these days include mock law classes, interaction with current law students and guest attorney speakers from various fields of law. Also, students learn about the application process, scholarship and financial aid opportunities.

Multicultural Roundtable Breakfasts

These events take place the morning of Admitted Student Days targeting diverse students to give an opportunity to visit the law school and obtain information on C|M|Law. Specifically, this event provides a forum to engage in a conversation on diversity in the law and highlight how C|M|Law values diversity.

Community Partnerships: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA)

Minority Clerkship Program

Sponsored by the CMBA; First-year full-time or second-year part-time law students have the opportunity to work as summer associates in a local law firm, corporate legal department or public sector position.

Minority Judicial Externship

Sponsored by the CMBA; Pre-third-year minority law students have the opportunity to work as paid judicial externs during the summer immediately following the successful culmination of their second year.

3 R’s Project

The 3R’s is a program of the Cleveland Municipal School District and the Cleveland Bar Association to connect with CMSD high school students with the Cleveland legal community to address fundamental issues facing the students and ultimately, the city of Cleveland and the Northeastern Ohio region. Using a real-world curriculum focused on the U.S. Constitution, The 3R’s Program sends local attorneys into tenth-grade social studies classes to work with students to accomplish the following: improving passage of the Ohio Graduation Test, improving understanding of and respect for the rule of the law and our Constitution, providing practical career counseling to focus students on their potential beyond high school, improving the ‘pipeline’ of minorities flowing onto legal careers in the region.