Massachusetts Bar Foundation Awards Funding to 19 Law Students Named Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Judicial Scholars
Now in its third year, the Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Judicial Scholarship Program has awarded 19 exemplary law students with scholarships of $8,000 each. The program was established to make the path to public service and judicial careers more accessible by providing law students with the necessary financial support to secure unpaid judicial internships. Established in honor of the late Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, this mission reflects his lifelong commitment to advancing equity within the Massachusetts legal system.
The initiative is a collaboration with the Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Fund for Racial Equity and Access to Justice, Northeastern University School of Law’s Center for Law, Equity, and Race (CLEAR), and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, which provides $150,000 in funding to support the program. Aiming to eliminate financial barriers that prevent law students from pursuing judicial internships, the scholarship enables students to gain valuable experience in Massachusetts courts.
Judicial internships often lead to clerkships and public interest fellowships, offering early-career attorneys meaningful exposure to the judicial process. By ensuring these opportunities are not limited to those with financial means, the Gants Scholarship Program is helping to diversify the future of the legal and judicial professions.
Special thanks are owed to Professor Deborah Ramirez of Northeastern University School of Law for her leadership as Chair of the Ralph D. Gants Fund and to the Massachusetts law schools who reviewed a talented pool of applicants.
Launched in spring 2023, the program will continue to support promising law students as they expand their professional networks and gain critical experience for their future careers. The Massachusetts Bar Foundation is honored to serve as fiscal sponsor of this important initiative.
For more information about the Chief Justice Gants Judicial Scholarship Program, please click here.
