FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Allen County Bar Foundation (ACBF) is offering a scholarship for law students and undergraduates interested in pursuing a law degree.
The scholarship is intended to help students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups who are from Allen County or plan to practice law in Allen County.
The ACBF released the following:
The scholarship will provide up to $2,500 to a law student for tuition and fees or for bar exam preparation and up to $1,500 for an undergraduate student preparing to take the Law School Admissions Test. The scholarship application is available on the ACBF’s website. The application deadline is June 2 with the award announcement by July 1.
The ACBF funded the scholarship for its initial year in 2022 with one award for a law student and one for an undergraduate student. Stewart Richardson Deposition Services contributed funds that allowed the ACBF to grant an additional scholarship to a third student. If the ACBF receives additional funds, it may award additional scholarships in 2023 or future years. Those interested in contributing to the scholarship may donate online any time at: https://www.allencountybar.org/allen-county-bar-foundation/ or during the one-day Give Greater Allen County online fundraising event sponsored by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne on April 20, 2023.
“We intend to build on last year’s success to continue carrying out our mission of educating individuals about civics and the law,” said Allen Circuit Court Magistrate Ashley N. Hand, president of the ACBF board. “We believe these scholarships will help create a lasting legacy in our community for improved diversity of lawyers and judges in the years to come.”
Board and committee members of the ACBF have reached out to law schools and undergraduate institutions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to advise them of the scholarship.
The ACBF scholarship originated with the Allen County Bar Association’s diversity and inclusion committee, led by attorneys Nikki Quintana, Malak Heiny, and Sarah Beiswanger. They were inspired by the June 2020 statement of Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush: “We must improve the pathway for more people of color to become lawyers and judges. People must see themselves, their experiences, and their backgrounds reflected in the bench and bar of this state to foster trust and understanding between the public and the judicial branch.”
“As noted by Chief Justice Rush in a September 2019 interview, there are 22,000 attorneys in Indiana, and 75% are white, while just 3.24% are African American and 1.41% are Hispanic. While we do not have the statistics for Allen County, we believe the racial and ethnic disparities are the same or greater,” stated ACBF Scholarship Committee member, Sarah Beiswanger. “Diversity in the legal profession is important for reducing unequal treatment and improving the quality of legal representation of underrepresented groups. It also inspires trust in the inherent equity and fairness of judicial proceedings. The Foundation’s scholarship is a tangible step in making the Allen County bar more diverse and inclusive.”
The ACBF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement and knowledge of the law. To accomplish its mission, the ACBF gathers and directs resources to programs and organizations that educate individuals in Allen County and Northeast Indiana about civics and the law. ACBF includes board members from the bench, bar, and community.
