Awards
Diversity Matters Award
Cleveland State University College of Law 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, CSU College of Law 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)
CSU College of Law 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 CSU College of Law 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
CSU|LAW 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 state university college of 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 CSU College of Law 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
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 CSU|LAW. Specifically, this event provides a forum to engage in a conversation on diversity in the law and highlight how CSU|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.
Links of Interest
Diverse Bar Associations
National Bar Association
Norman S. Minor Bar Association
National Black Law Student Association
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Asian-American Bar Association (AABA)
North American South Asian Bar Association
South Asian Bar Association (SABA)
National Hispanic Bar Association (NHBA)
Ohio Women’s Bar Association (OWBA)
National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)
ABA Diversity Links
http://new.abanet.org/centers/diversity/Pages/GeneralDiversity.aspx
ABA Diversity and Minority Links
http://new.abanet.org/centers/diversity/Pages/default.aspx
ABA Scholarship and Resume Building Opportunities
http://www.abanet.org/lsd/diversity/home.html#srbo
ABA Scholarships and Opportunities
http://new.abanet.org/centers/diversity/Pages/linksforminoritylawstudent...
ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund
http://www.abanet.org/fje/losfpage.html
NALP Member Diversity Initiatives (including Scholarships and Fellowships)
http://www.nalp.org/memberdiversityinitiatives
Pre-Law Diversity Links
National Black Pre-Law Conference
Council on Legal Education Opportunity