We anticipate offering the program again for the next academic year. Visit our website December 1, 2008 for more information. In order to be eligible, a student must be an entering, first-year law student in the fall of 2009. For complete eligibility requirements, please review the instruction portion of the application.

The deadline for submission of applications is March 2, 2009. Completed applications must be received by the due date on the actual application. Faxed or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

No. An applicant must be an entering, first-year law student in the fall of 2009. Only students beginning law school in the fall semester of 2009 will be eligible to receive an ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship. Applicants who are part-time law students also must be starting law school in the fall semester of 2009 to be eligible. Please review the instruction portion of the application for the complete eligibility requirements.

An applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America. Students who are citizens and residents of a foreign country, even if they plan to attend law school in the United States, are not eligible to apply.

We received more than 1,000 applications last year.

Yes. Parents’ financial information is required for every scholarship applicant regardless of the student’s age, marital status, length of self-emancipation or family responsibilities. If special circumstances exist which prevent you from providing financial information for your parents, please explain those circumstances in a separate statement.

One of the primary criteria of the ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund is financial need. Although your parents may not currently provide financial support to you, we still require your parents’ financial information in order to compile a complete picture of your financial need. Having your parents’ financial information allows the selection committee to evaluate the financial resources that could be available to you. As stated above, if special circumstances prevent you from providing this information, please explain those circumstances in a separate statement.

Yes. For purposes of the application, we will accept an unofficial transcript, or even a copy of transcript. You may even be able to access your transcript from your school’s website. If you are selected as a recipient of the ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship, we would require that you send us an official transcript at that time.

Yes. Because the deadline for submitting applications is March 2, 2009, an applicant will have applied to law schools but may not yet have been admitted to law school. If an applicant is selected to receive an ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship, he or she will be required to demonstrate admission to and plans to enroll at an ABA-accredited law school before receiving scholarship funds. Students who do not enroll or who leave law school after being admitted will be required to return all or a proportional amount of scholarship funds.

At this time the ABA cannot access letters of recommendation through LSAC. Recommenders should return their letter to you in sealed, signed enveloped, to be included with your application. If your college maintains a central file of recommendations, that office may place copies of the recommendations in a sealed envelope signed by an authorized person in that office. The recommendations must be submitted with the application.

ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund recipients will be notified during the summer of 2009.

Please email Thomasine M. Williams, Director of Admissions, at williamtm@staff.abanet.org or visit CLEO’s website at http://cleoscholars.com/.