AABA recognizes the importance of fostering the growth of law students to improve the future development of the Asian Pacific American bar. AABA will award scholarships to deserving law students who are committed to advocating and improving their communities.

All current law students are eligible to apply.  Selection criteria include community service or public interest work for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community or other underrepresented communities; demonstrated leadership in the APA community; demonstrated financial need; and commitment to the Bay Area.  If you have any questions, please contact aaba.bayarea@gmail.com.

The AABA Law Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to serving the community and law students through its Foundation Scholarship awards. The Foundation can only continue its work through the generosity of donors.  To donate online, visit http://www.aaba-bay.com/aaba-foundation/donate/.

All applicants will be considered for one of the following scholarships.  Last year, the AABA Law Foundation awarded four scholarships in the amount of $5,000.  The amount of each scholarship this year will depend on the financial needs of the applicant pool, but we expect that they will be a minimum of $5,000 each.

• Asian Pacific American Judges’ Scholarship
• Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. Family Scholarship
• Joe Morozumi Scholarship
• AABA Law Foundation Scholarship
• Garrick S. Lew Fellowship
  
• State Bar of California Foundation and AABA 3L Diversity Scholarship

It is the policy of the AABA Law Foundation not to discriminate on the basis of age, gender, disability, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, veteran status, or sexual orientation. Officers and directors of AABA, the AABA Law Foundation, members of the Scholarship selection committee, and their immediate families are ineligible for the Scholarships.

AABA Law Student Summer Grants

AABA offers several grants to help fund qualified summer law clerks to work on legal projects of benefit to the Asian American community. Applicants must be sponsored by a non-profit legal organization that has agreed to supervise the applicant for the summer of 2021. The grants will be funded by the AABA Law Foundation through the Community Service Committee of AABA.

The grants awarded in 2021 will include:

• The Salle Yoo and Jeff Gray Charitable Fund/AABA Law Foundation Public Interest Law - Summer Grant
• The Salle Yoo and Jeff Gray Charitable Fund/AABA Law Foundation Judicial Externship Grant 

SCHOLARSHIPS

Asian Pacific American Judges’ Scholarship

Each year, the Foundation awards the Asian Pacific American Judges’ Scholarship through contributions from Asian Pacific American judges. The Honorable Delbert C. Gee, Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, has been instrumental in organizing the contributions. The Foundation would like to thank and honor this year’s contributing judges.

Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. Family Scholarship

The Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. Family Scholarship, was established in memory of Mr. Ocampo’s parents and in honor of immigrants like them, for the enormous sacrifices they made and the untold hardships they endured in search of a better life for their families.

Joe Morozumi Scholarship

Joe Morozumi was one of the first and finest Asian American trial lawyers in the Bay Area. Interned with his family during World War II, Joe Morozumi was fiercely committed to the fight for reparations, and he was also one of the earliest Asian American attorneys to represent political activists pro bono. Joe was an inspirational role model—he was a fearless, tireless, zealous advocate for justice for the poor and the powerless. Through the generosity of Michael G.W. Lee, Joan Haratani, and Dale Minami, the Foundation awards the Joe Morozumi Scholarship to honor his spirit, passion for justice, and his advocacy for the poor and the underrepresented.

AABA Law Foundation Scholarship

Through the generosity of AABA members and participants in AABA events and programs throughout the year, AABA raises money for the AABA Law Foundation—and awards the AABA Law Foundation Scholarship to a deserving law student.

AABA recognizes the importance of fostering the growth of law students to improve the future development of the Asian Pacific American bar. AABA will award scholarships to deserving law students who are committed to advocating and improving their communities.

The AABA Law Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to serving the community and law students through its Foundation Scholarship awards: the Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. Family Scholarship; the Joe Morozumi Scholarship; the AABA Law Foundation Scholarship; and the Asian Pacific American Judges Scholarship, developed to recognize and honor the past and present API judges of the Bay Area.

Garrick S. Lew Fellowship

The Garrick S. Lew Fellowship awards $10,000 to a 3L law student committed to a criminal defense practice after graduation. The Fellowship is funded through a grant from the Minami Tamaki Yamauchi Kwok & Lee (MTYKL) Foundation’s Garrick S. Lew Legacy Fund to the AABA Law Foundation, which administers the Fellowship and selects the recipients.  The MTYKL Foundation created the Garrick S. Lew Legacy Fund in conjunction with the Lew family to support efforts that continue Garrick’s legacy of advocating for our Asian American communities, AAPIs in the legal profession and criminal defense. Download the Fellowship Application here.

California ChangeLawyers (formerly the State Bar of California Foundation) and AABA 3L Diversity Scholarship

This scholarship opportunity is for a third year law student who plans to sit for the July 2020 California Bar Exam and is committed to community service or public interest work for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community or other underrepresented communities; demonstrates leadership in the APA community; demonstrates financial need; and shows commitment to the Northern California Bay Area. By helping to bear the costs associated with taking the California Bar Exam, the ChangeLawyers Scholarship addresses a critical financial need for many aspiring diverse public interest lawyers. 

Link to application here

Salle Yoo and Jeff Gray Charitable Foundation Summer Grants/Scholarships

Through the generosity of the Salle Yoo and Jeff Gray Charitable Foundation, the AABA Law Foundation awards a $5,000 Public Interest Grant/Scholarship for a summer position with a non-profit legal service organization or public/government agency and a $5,000 Judicial Externship Grant to law student who has a summer judicial externship. The Public Interest Grant recipient must have a summer position with a non-profit legal service organization or public/government agency and will work on a project(s) that provides legal assistance to the Asian American community.  For the Judicial Externship Grant, the recipient must have a judicial externship for the summer.