White Law Students Get More Full Scholarships, ABA Memo Says

White lawyers in training receive more full-ride scholarships than their non-White counterparts according to a new memo from the American Bar Association.

White students received more than 70% of full-ride scholarships bestowed by schools while they make up a little more than 60% of law school classes, said the May 9 memo by the ABA’s Data Policy and Collection Committee. Law students of color, which make up more than 30% of law school populations, are awarded a higher percentage of partial scholarships, the memo said.

Hispanic students received over 12% of full-tuition scholarships while Black and Asian students each received over 7% of full aid.

It’s the first time the ABA has measured the demographic breakdown of scholarship recipients of first-year law students at nearly 200 law schools. The report comes as firms begin their accelerated talent search to fill their junior attorney pipelines that often leaves students of color at a disadvantage. When ethnically diverse students do make the cut, some are awarded diversity scholarships—which have faced a legal onslaught after the US Supreme Court stuck down affirmative action on college campuses. Many programs have been altered to remove mentions of race.

Diverse student groups are more likely to be riddled with debt, according to the Law School Survey of Student Engagement. Almost half of Black law students (44%) and Hispanic students (48%) expect to owe more than $120,000 upon graduation.