A pathway to a law school program is taking flight, which will involve a partnership between some two-year colleges in the state and several law schools.

24 community colleges and six law schools in California have gotten on board to create a partnership for a smoother ride to law school. The California Community College system and the State Bar of California have taken this initiative to enhance the opportunities in the legal profession, hoping to increase diversity in the field and provide opportunities to those who have previously been underrepresented.

The project is being sponsored by the State Bar’s council on access and fairness, and will help put talented and bright community college students on the right track to enter some of the state’s top law schools. The program will provide students with support and intends to improve access to the study of law.

The program will assure law students at the 24 participating community colleges that all prescribed course credits will be transferred to one of the six participating law schools. It is also aimed to give students exposure to the law school experience, individual mentoring from law school advisers, financial aid counseling, preparations for the Law School Admission Test. Admission fees from the six law schools will be waived.

“We have discussed creating events that will allow community college students to visit SCU to learn more about the undergraduate programs and our law school,” Phyllis Brown, associate provost and professor at Santa Clara University law school said. “Our Admission Officers will include information about our participation in the pathway to law school in their outreach to community colleges.”

According to Brown, students who will be entering the pathway to law school program will either participate in the LEAD scholars program for first generation students or will have access to similar programs to facilitate the transition and support community engagement and the spirit of leadership in the program. Santa Clara university already offers pre-law advising.

In the coming year, Brown will also be working with pre-law advisers to make sure they effectively prepare for the first students who will be a part of the pathway to law school.

Though Skyline was not one of the colleges chosen to take part in the initiative, there are several steps that law students can take to ensure they receive success in getting into good law schools.

“First, students should know why they want to go to law school,” Jesse Raskin, a Skyline law professor, said.

“Law school is challenging and students who have a clear motivation tend to be more successful. Students interested in law school should know that their undergraduate major and classes will have little impact on whether they get into law school. So, study a topic of interest and focus on academics. Law school admission is competitive and largely based on your GPA and your LSAT score. Keeping your GPA now greatly increases your chances of being admitted to law school and receiving offers of financial aid…Students should talk with someone on campus who has been to law school. Several instructors have a JD, including myself, Maria Segarra Gaudio, and Melissa Matthews (to name a few).”

He said that students should take advantage of the career services office and learn more about what it means to be a attorney, adding that being someone who is good at arguing is not a qualification for attorneys and that students can learn a lot more about law school by reading books such as “Law School Confidential” and “The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School.”