History

In the spring of 2008, CCNY and the law firm Skadden, Arps, Meagher, Slate and Flom launched the Skadden, Arps Honors Program in Legal Studies to prepare talented students from diverse backgrounds for admission to, and success in, competitive law schools. An effort to address the legal profession’s lack of diversity, the program provided scholarships, specialized seminars, LSAT preparation, mentoring and intensive advising to prepare students for legal careers. Skadden solely supported the program for its first 12 years, during which more than 130 students attended law schools throughout the country. These alumni now practice law across the U.S. in all practice areas, including intellectual property, criminal defense and prosecution, civil legal services, corporate law, family law, bankruptcy, tax law and in government agencies.

Beginning with its fall 2021 cohort of students, the program began partnering with an expanded group of corporate law firms and individual donors and changed its name to the Honors Program in Legal Studies at the Colin Powell School. Skadden, Arps continues to sponsor students. The initial law firms joining our efforts are Fried Frank, Millbank, Paul Weiss and Reed Smith. The mission of the program remains the same: preparing students from underrepresented backgrounds for law school and legal careers.