Supreme Court Race-Conscious Admissions Case -- Message From Our Founder
From Sydney Montgomery, Executive Director & Founder - June 30, 2023
You no doubt have heard the news that today the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions policies ruling in favor of Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard and the University of North Carolina system in two separate cases. You may be experiencing a wide range of emotions and may also be wondering how this affects you whether you are a law school applicant, law school student, practicing attorney, or passionate educational advocate.
For law school applicants, we released a Break Into Law School® podcast and YouTube episode today — Supreme Court Ruling Impact on Law School Admissions — that we hope will be the beginning of our guidance and support for you as you navigate your admissions process this upcoming cycle. In this podcast episode, we discuss how this might impact your upcoming cycle and ways that you can strengthen your application and showcase your diverse background without exploiting your racial trauma for the sake of admissions.
For both law school applicants and law school students, as an organization, we are committed to supporting you and supporting your future endeavors. We encourage you to attend the free Break Into Law Conference next weekend, July 8-9, where you will not only have the opportunity to hear panels on the Future of Legal Education: Affirmative Action, AI, and Beyond, but also Equity in Law School Admissions where LSAC Chief Diversity Officer Angela Winfield will be a panelist and will be there to answer your questions.
We are doubling down on our mission to continue to help BIPOC, first-generation, and other minority students through the law school application process from start to finish with our sliding scale pricing and pro bono resources.
We are also committed to helping students access LSAT test prep courses and resources at reduced cost through collaborations with test prep companies which will allow us to have donated test prep courses, workshops, and reduced-price tutoring options available to you. We will have more information on this in the coming weeks. We hope that increased access to LSAT prep will help you go into this next application cycle with a stronger footing.
We will continue to build out our resources for 1L students to succeed as well as resources for 2L and 3L students to meet with employers and recruiters at top firms and public interest organizations throughout the country. We understand that diversity initiatives at law firms may be more challenging as rulings and state bans come into question in the future but we are committed to working with firms that stand for diversity and want to meet law school students and graduates from a variety of backgrounds. For all students that work with us on their applications, we provide continuing resources, community, and networking opportunities to them at no cost throughout their law school career.
We also ask for your support during this time. As a non-profit organization, we are able to do more for our students through generous donations and grants and would ask you to support us in helping students of color and first-generation students be successful in their legal careers by donating or learning more about sponsoring a student today.
We know that this Supreme Court Ruling is a setback, but we also know that it is an opportunity for us to continue to be resilient and continue to advocate for representation in the legal space. It is up to institutions, law firms, and employers to intentionally take steps to create diversity in their schools and workplaces while staying consistent with the Supreme Court ruling. It won’t be easy, but it is certainly possible. We know that one Supreme Court ruling cannot and will not dictate your fate, your potential, or your outcomes and we are here for you every step of the way.
If you have any questions or need guidance and want to work with us please do not hesitate to reach out to us at hello@barrier-breakers.org or hello@smontgomeryconsulting.com and we would be more than happy to assist you.