The University of Alabama School of Law welcomed the inaugural class of the Alabama LSAC Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program to the rigors of legal education this week.
The program, funded by a $300,000 grant from the Law School Admission Council, aims to help prepare students for the law school admission process, success in law school, and careers in the legal profession. In addition to this year’s program, the Alabama PLUS Program will invite about 30 undergraduate students to the Law School in the summers of 2019 and 2020.
During four weeks of intense study, 31 participants will receive an introduction to the law, including legal writing and analysis, and legal ethics. Dean Mark E. Brandon encouraged them to think broadly about their education in the coming weeks and to explore the versatility of a law degree.
Law degrees, he said, can be used to build better and stronger communities, to make the lives of individuals and families more stable and secure, and to resolve conflicts between people without resorting to force.
“You want to make deals? You’re using law,” Brandon said. “You want to help build organizations or enterprises that can do things individuals can’t do on their own? Law gives you ways to do that. Do you just get jazzed making arguments on behalf of people? Law provides plenty of opportunities for that.”
The program attracted promising students from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession and from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as students facing other significant barriers to entering the legal profession.
“We’re very excited to have such a remarkable group of students from a variety of different colleges and majors at the Law School for the inaugural Alabama LSAC PLUS Program,” said Daiquiri J. Steele, Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Assistant Professor of Law in residence. “We’re delighted to see their energy and excitement about the program.”