Nonprofit AccessLex Institute sets up emergency fund for law students during pandemic
A $5 million law student emergency relief fund has been established by the AccessLex Institute, which plans to distribute $25,000 each to ABA-accredited, nonprofit schools.
Given issues for students like adapting to online learning and bar exam delays, the novel coronavirus crisis increases pressures faced by law students, according to a March 30 news release from the AccessLex Institute.
Christopher P. Chapman, AccessLex’s president and CEO.
“In my various communications, I realized that one of the issues coming up at schools was that students were starting to have financial stress that was clearly unexpected due to what’s going on in the world—even at some of the typically wealthier schools,” says Christopher P. Chapman, president and CEO at the AccessLex Institute.
Applications for law schools to receive the funds should be posted on the Access Lex website by Thursday, Chapman says. The directive is that the funds will be used to pay students directly who have emergency needs, Chapman adds, and he expects that schools will receive the funds in the next few weeks.
When asked whether he thought that all nonprofit, ABA-accredited law schools would apply for the funds, Chapman says he “would be shocked if any of them did not. This is the kind of thing that really empowers the next generation of lawyers.”
