HARRISBURG, Pa. (Sept. 25, 2024) — This December, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation will award scholarships to Pennsylvania residents attending the nine accredited law schools serving the state.
The James W. Stoudt Memorial Scholarship of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation provides three $3,000 scholarships, two of which are specifically dedicated to the support of historically underrepresented minority law students of African-American, Hispanic-American or Native American ancestry. Named after one of the Foundation’s most devoted supporters, the James W. Stoudt Memorial Scholarship is open Pennsylvania residents in their second year of a full-time law school program or third year of a part-time program.
To be eligible, applicants must be or become law student members of the Pennsylvania Bar Association
(PBA), which is free; demonstrate financial need and good academic standing and submit an application that includes proof of residency, an unofficial copy of a current academic transcript, a maximum of two recommendations and a 500-word essay that describes how the applicant plans to demonstrate his/her potential for making a contribution to society and the legal profession.
The Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation provides a $3,000 scholarship to a full-time, third year Pennsylvania resident involved in the Penn State Dickinson School of Law Trial Advocacy Program. Keystone Society Member and past PBA President Michael J. McDonald created the Joseph T. McDonald Memorial Scholarship through the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation’s Named Scholarship Program in 2013, to honor the memory of his father and to establish a lasting legacy for law students at his alma mater. The scholarship is awarded annually on a competitive basis, and like the Stoudt Scholarship, membership in the PBA Law Student Division is required as is the submission of an application that includes proof of Pennsylvania residency and full-time enrollment at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, an unofficial copy of a current academic transcript and a maximum of two recommendations that evidence trial advocacy course work and/or interest and a 500-word essay that discusses how the applicant intends to pursue trial advocacy after graduation.
The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation’s Named Scholarship Program can help you or your law-related organization help more law students by creating your own scholarship fund within the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation. It’s a great way to give back to the legal community and a fund can be created without making a large and long-term commitment.
The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation is the philanthropic partner of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. It works to improve the public’s understanding of the law and the public’s access to justice. It accomplishes its mission by raising funds to underwrite grants that teach civics and the Rule of Law to students from kindergarten to college help public interest lawyers better manage their educational debt so they can afford to deliver critical civil legal services to Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable and increase the number of attorneys prepared to volunteer their time, expertise and energy to pro bono service.