Fordham Law’s new Legal Education and Access Program (LEAP) was featured by the New York Law Journal for its efforts to focus on “first-generation college students and individuals who would bring racial, economic and religious-based diversity to the profession.”
Ten students from eight New York colleges are beginning a Fordham University program today that is designed to promote opportunity and diversity within the legal profession.
Known as the Fordham Legal Education and Access Program (LEAP), its goal is to combine legal skills development with experiential opportunities that expose students to key aspects of law, legal institutions, and legal practice at the local, state and national levels, according to a press release issued on Monday.
The majority of the students are first-generation college students and individuals who would bring racial, economic and religious-based diversity to the profession.
LEAP students will spend three summers and two academic years engaged in the program. The first summer includes five weeks of legal classes in core areas such as property and contracts. During the remaining two summers, students will participate in paid internships with nonprofit or government-based institutions and private law firms.