Diversity in Law School: What Applicants Should Know

Diversity in law school enhances all students’ legal education and improves its practical applicability. Engaging with students and professors with different life experiences equips law students with the interpersonal skills and perspectives required to thrive in diverse work settings. Studies confirm that groups with greater diversity generate better ideas and are more effective when solving problems. Undoubtedly, law school classrooms would be dull and lifeless if students approached longstanding debates from the same angle.

Despite decades of painstaking progress, surveys conducted by the American Bar Association and the National Association of Law Placement show that racial, ethnic, sexual, and neurological minorities are still persistently underrepresented in the legal field.

How Diverse Are Law Schools?

The contours of law school diversity have shifted over time. To take the most salient example, only 3.5 percent of law students in 1960 were women. The current share of women-identifying law students, however, is 54 percent and growing. Of course, women still face barriers in the legal field and continue to be underrepresented among top legal jobs like judges and law firm partners.

The 2020 report “Who’s Going To Law School?” (sponsored by the American Bar Foundation and written by lawyers Miranda Li, Phillip Yao, and California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu) analyzed law student data and found that, in 2019, about 62 percent of law students were White, 12.7 percent were Hispanic, 7.8 percent were Black, and 6.3 percent were Asian. Law students who described themselves as biracial or multiracial made up 4 percent of the population.

These ratios are changing fast. Hispanic law students nearly doubled between 1999 and 2019, while White and Asian American students declined both in absolute numbers and in proportion to other groups. Intriguingly, while the numbers of White men and White women in law school have converged, the gender divide among nonwhite students has tilted toward women. Nearly twice as many Black women as Black men study law, and roughly 58 percent of Hispanic and Asian American law students are now women.

Women and racial minorities are not distributed equally across law schools. Among the top 30 law schools, 10 percent of students are Asian American, 9 percent are Hispanic, and 6 percent are Black; women and mean are roughly equally represented. Among the lowest-ranked law schools, and the student body is 23 percent Hispanic, 16 percent Black, and 4 percent Asian American; women form a majority, constituting 58 percent of students.

Alaska Native and American Indian applicants made up only 0.3 percent of students admitted to American Bar Association-approved law schools in 2020. Native Americans often identify with multiple racial categories or Hispanic ethnicity due to historical factors ranging from cultural stigma and erasure to racist laws and policies. In 2020, 8.5 percent of matriculating law students identified as Hispanic and 10 percent as “two or more races,” which could include many overlooked Indigenous and Native American students.

Interestingly, the percentage of international students in J.D. programs in the U.S. nearly doubled from 3.3 percent in 1999 to 7 percent in 2019 among top-tier law schools. Forty percent of international students came from Asia. While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this trend, it may continue once international restrictions abate.

Tips For Underrepresented Law School Applicants

Applicants may not realize how challenging the law school application process is, from preparing for the LSAT to creating a realistic target list of schools. This is particularly true for applicants who don’t have relatives, friends, or peers who have gone through the process themselves. They may not know, for example, when to apply or that some schools may waive application fees.

Law firms, law schools, and nonprofits have stepped up efforts to address the challenges and barriers facing minority applicants. Many law schools and organizations have created special programs and fellowships that aim to meet the needs of such applicants. For example, the Legal Education Access Pipeline (LEAP) supports law school applicants who are first-generation students of color, identify as LGBTQ, or experience socioeconomic disadvantages. They assist students in Southern California by providing free resources such as mentorship opportunities, weekly application workshops, access to diverse legal professionals, and LSAT test prep classes.

Some applicants may be unaware of an option to write a diversity statement in addition to the required personal statement. Nearly all law schools allow for such an option, one or two double-spaced pages maximum. Diversity statement prompts vary among law schools but typically concern an applicant’s background, previous hardships, identity, or potential to contribute to an inclusive and diverse campus environment. 

A diversity statement is generally unnecessary if your personal statement already adequately communicates the key points you would otherwise cover. The purpose of the diversity statement is not for applicants to detail the uniqueness of their background; after all, everyone is unique in some way. Instead, the diversity statement is intended to free applicants from having to weave together their background and interests in the same two-page statement.

Imagine, for example, a Rwandan who, inspired by the trauma of the Rwanda Genocide, aspires to become an international human rights lawyer. Such a candidate could easily weave together a story of how her heritage and life experience influenced her career path. In that case, writing a separate diversity statement may be redundant. On the other hand, a Rwandan who feels most passionate about securities law is better off writing both a personal statement and a separate diversity statement rather than awkwardly cramming both topics into the same essay.

Uncertain whether to prepare a diversity statement? Write a draft personal statement first. If it feels overcrowded or inadequate to convey your life experience, then consider moving some material to a diversity statement. Forgo a diversity statement if it would merely reiterate things you’ve already said. Good lawyers write with efficiency and restraint, not verbosity. 

[Next Read: How to Get Into A Top Law School]

Tips For Underrepresented Students in Law School

No one finds law school easy, but applicants from underrepresented backgrounds are especially vulnerable to feeling overwhelmed or alienated if they lack relevant role models. Experiences outside the classroom can help remedy these feelings. Volunteer opportunities, clinics, and internships allow underrepresented students the opportunity to establish good relationships with mentors and role models and gain access to the broader world of legal practice. 

Minority lawyers need not feel limited to public service work, although it can feel especially gratifying and grounding to serve the community or promote social justice. Since lawyers from disadvantaged backgrounds often feel like they have to work harder than anyone else, they should be mindful of work-life balance, no matter what work they choose.

Joining extracurricular affinity groups based on ethnicity, religion, politics, geography, religion, or other common identities can help law students “find their people.” Some schools even have programs for first-generation law students whose parents did not graduate college and who struggle to provide the same support and advice that other students likely take for granted. Extracurricular activities based on career interests, like a specific field or type of practice, can also provide solace.

Advice For Native American and Indigenous Applicants

There has never been a better time to apply for aspiring Native American or Indigenous heritage lawyers. Many schools offer dedicated resources, scholarships, and mentorship opportunities, even if there is still a long way to level the playing field. Many law schools have dedicated scholarships for Native American students with a range of eligibilities, including those intended for specific nations.

Within the close-knit community of Native American Law, professors and students value recruitment and are unusually responsive to emails from law school applicants. At least two dozen law schools offer programs, clinics, or classes in Indigenous People Law, American Indian, and Tribal Law. The Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and boasted 34 active chapters with 226 student members. 

Many law schools work with partners like NALSA, the American Indian College Fund, the National Native American Bar Association, the Native American Rights Fund, the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section, tribal education offices, Native American attorneys, as well as elders and leaders in Indigenous communities. Their goal is to encourage and support law school applicants. 

Opportunities for free mentorship and support can be found at the American Indian Law Center, a nonprofit associated with the University of New Mexico; the Native American Pipeline to Law Initiative, which is co-sponsored by Berkeley Law; the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law; and the Michigan State University College of Law. College graduates who have taken the LSAT and applied to law school can participate in the intensive Pre-Law Summer Institute for American Indians and Alaska Natives. 

While Native American law students are concentrated in schools with more established Indian Law programs, especially those in western states, the field of Indian Law now encompasses an extensive array of cutting-edge issues, from fighting problems like natural resources exploitation, domestic violence issues, reforming tribal governance, and using international treaties to protect Indigenous rights in the United States and abroad. 

Which Applicants Do Law School Admissions Offices Consider Native American?

It is a mistake to check the box for Native American heritage on application forms just because you have “Native American blood.” Law school admissions offices consider Native American and Indigenous identity a form of citizenship or cultural affiliation rather than mere ancestry. This is why scholarships earmarked for Native Americans do not constitute affirmative action.

Admissions offices do not try to decide who is or isn’t Native American, and they know that Indigenous applicants may lack eligibility for enrollment or documentation for many valid reasons. Applicants do not need to be enrolled members in a recognized U.S. tribe to count as Native American. After all, there are Indigenous peoples around the globe.

Don’t fixate on box-checking and paperwork if you consider yourself Indigenous. Provide context on your identity, heritage, and engagement with Indigenous communities or organizations through your diversity statement, personal statement, or an addendum. Schools take due diligence seriously and will reach out with any follow-up questions.

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