LOS ANGELES – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2022-2023 Law School Scholarship Program. Since its founding in 1968, MALDEF has awarded scholarships to law students committed to furthering our mission of promoting and protecting the civil rights of the Latino community in the United States.
“Our scholarship program each year provides fresh reason for continued optimism about the future of Latino civil rights,” said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF president and general counsel. “Our applicants demonstrate that the law in the future will see numerous and increasing numbers of Latino legal luminaries nationwide – as advocates, judges, and policy leaders.”
In recent years, MALDEF has awarded five to 15 deserving students scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 each. MALDEF’s Law School Scholarship application is open to any student enrolled at an accredited U.S. law school. This year’s recipients each received $5,000. The recipients are selected by a national Law School Scholarship Committee of leading attorneys.
The scholarship committee assesses applicants based on personal background and financial need; academic and extracurricular achievement; demonstrated commitment to serving the Latino community, shown through academic, extracurricular, or professional record of service, and future plans to advance the rights of Latinos.
This year’s 10 recipients are studying at schools including Carey Law School; Harvard Law School; Southwestern Law School; University of California, Berkeley School of Law; University of California College of the Law, San Francisco; and Yale Law School.
All of the recipients have a passion for protecting the civil rights of Latinos. Several of the winners are the children of immigrants or immigrants themselves, including a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, (DACA) recipient. All of the scholarship winners have spent time working for organizations that promote the rights of Latinos and other communities.
“There were so many deserving applicants this year who were so impressive that it made it difficult to choose,” said Carlos R. Soltero, shareholder with Maynard Nexsen, LLC, and a member of the scholarship committee. “The current recipients are certainly deserving. Between them – and all of the applicants, the future generation of Latino civil rights advocates is promising.”
Applications for MALDEF’s 2023-2024 MALDEF Law School Scholarship Program are available for download at our website here. The deadline to apply is January 19, 2024.
Donations may be made to MALDEF’s Law School Scholarship Program HERE.
A complete list of MALDEF’s 2022-2023 Law School Scholarship recipients and brief bios of each can be found HERE.