WEST CHESTER, PA — AccessLex Institute® announced it has awarded more than $26.4 million in grants since 2014, underscoring its growing role in advancing research and reform in legal education. Over the past year alone, the nonprofit directed more than $2.6 million to initiatives focused on legal academia, bar exam success, and diversity in the legal profession.
Funding is distributed through several targeted programs, including the Diversity Pathway Intervention Grant, Bar Success Intervention and Research Grants, the Directed Grants Program, and the Admission Innovation Project. Together, these initiatives aim to address structural challenges in legal education while supporting measurable, research-based solutions.
Among the year’s notable grantees was the Equity Accelerator, which piloted a behavioral intervention to improve bar exam performance by helping test-takers build resilience. Early results indicate the program significantly increased the likelihood of bar passage.
AccessLex also backed the creation of the Association of Law School Diversity Professionals, a new organization designed to provide training and support for educators focused on inclusive student success. In a separate initiative, a grant to Penn State Dickinson Law funded a three-day workshop on antiracism in legal education. The same funding supports a follow-up curriculum and a forthcoming book series focused on institutional reform.
“AccessLex is firmly committed to advancing the field of research on law schools,” said Aaron N. Taylor, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence®. “This commitment flows from our mission of empowering the next generation of lawyers. Our grants support important and actionable research that enhances the collective knowledge base and informs new approaches and needed reforms.”
Through its grantmaking, AccessLex continues to influence the trajectory of legal education by supporting projects that combine rigorous research with practical application. As the legal field adapts to growing calls for equity and innovation, the organization’s funding strategy positions it as a key driver of meaningful change in the profession.
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