National Pipeline Programs Directory

What is the Pipeline Diversity Directory?

The ABA Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) created the Pipeline Diversity Directory in response to the critical need to increase diversity in the educational pipeline leading to the profession. To continue addressing this critical need the Directory has been enhanced by the ABA Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission created by past ABA President  Paulette Brown. The Commission received input from the Law School Admission Council and other collaborators to re-launch the Pipeline Diversity Directory, which is now known as the National Pipeline Diversity Initiatives Directory.

Compendium of Program Models on the Directory

The Directory is an ever-growing online searchable database of projects, programs, and initiatives that encourage and equip diverse students to pursue legal careers.  This free service presents key information on programs from across the country in an easily accessible, succinct format.  It includes programs sponsored by law schools, law firms, in-house counsel, bar associations, other organizations, and collaborations that promote law careers for diverse students.

Access the Directory

The searchable online Directory is currently only available as a Google Sheet as we create a new and improved online database.  Please utilize the tabs to filter through Program Location, Program Type, and Program Target. 

Click here for a list of current Directory listings.

If you have questions about the current listings, please contact Selina Thomas  at [email protected].

Submitting an Entry

ABA and LSAC invite all interested parties to have their pipeline diversity programs posted in the Directory. The size and breadth of a program are not as important as its focus and intent. Your submission to this national directory offers an excellent way to publicize your initiatives to potential participants, funders, collaborators, and supporters. Your participation will also ensure that the Directory has a broad and diverse representation of viable practices that address the critical issue of improving diversity in the legal profession's pipeline.

In general, the Pipeline Diversity Directory contains information on programs that target or primarily serve racially/ethnically diverse students. These programs fit into two broad categories:

• Programs conducted by any type of legal organization, such as a bar association, law school, law firm, corporate counsel, or any other law-related entity.
• Programs that encourage students to consider a legal career or help them prepare for one-no mater what type of organization conducts the program. A community agency that conducts a moot court program fits into this category.

Online Submission Form

The submission form solicits the following type of information:

• The primary focus of the program (e.g., recruitment, education and/or career transition)
• The program's targeted participant groups
• The age range and educational level of participants
• The demographic characteristics of the program's targeted population or community
• The type of entity that conducts the program

Review of Submissions

The ABA Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline ("Pipeline Council") will review all Directory entries before posting them on the Website. It will mainly check for completeness and consistency in the presentation of information. Based on the Directory's standards and objectives, the Pipeline Council may edit program descriptions or decline acceptance of extraneous submissions.

If a submission requires substantive edits, the Pipeline Council will return the edited text to the person who submitted the form for approval before the program is posted on the website.

The ABA or LSAC is not responsible for fact-checking the information submitted or evaluating programs. The person(s) submitting the form is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information.

Please also feel free to contact us if you would like to contribute additional materials or report a broken link.

Pipeline Directory Benefits

The organization, Access Group, grounds the needs for the Pipeline Diversity Initiatives Directory in their report titled The Diversity Pipeline Programs in Legal Education: Context, Research, and a Path Forward. The report highlights the issue of diversity in legal education, provides an overview of the diversity pipeline, explores programs that seek to improve the pipeline and provides several recommendations for leaders and supporters of diversity pipeline programs.

How You Can Use the Directory

Any person, organization, or collaborative group that wants to do something to help improve diversity in the pipeline to the legal profession will benefit from using the Directory.

The searchable database makes it easy to identify programs that meet your specified criteria. Consider these examples of the endless possibilities for using the Directory: