Deadline: March 19, 2027

We invite law students to apply for our Public Interest Scholarship Program. AALFNY will award Scholarships in the amount of $6,000 each to up to three law students with a demonstrated commitment to the Asian American community. The purpose of the award is to assist law students with their tuition while encouraging them to use their legal knowledge and training to benefit the Asian American community in New York and to foster commitment by law students to public service to the Asian American community in New York.

Applicants should include a description of their proposed summer community service project and the name, email address and phone number of a supervisor at the community service organization or other organization that the Scholarship Committee may contact. Confirmation of the public service project is not required at the time of the application, but will be required before the award of the scholarship. Applicants are responsible for arranging their own projects.

Please review the List of prior awardees and organizations. The list is only provided as an example and no guarantee is made that the organizations will continue to host students this year or that volunteering at one of these organizations entitles the applicant to a Scholarship.

Each student is expected to volunteer at least 8 weeks, 35 hours per week, during the summer at such project and to apply the award to the payment of law school tuition. Award recipients are also requested to submit an essay at the end of the summer describing their experience with their project.

The Asian American Law Fund of New York, Inc. (the “Fund”), a non-profit organization originally established in 1993 by the Asian American Bar Association of New York (“AABANY”),^[1] invites law students to apply for its Public Interest Scholarship Awards (“Asian American Law Fund Scholarship” or the “Scholarship”). The Fund will award Scholarships in an amount up to $6,000 each to up to three law students with a demonstrated commitment to serving the Asian American community. The purpose of the program is to encourage law students to use their legal knowledge and training to assist the Asian American community in New York and to foster commitments by law students to public service. Applicants should include a description of their proposed summer public service project, if applicable, and the name, email address and phone number of a supervisor at the public service organization or other organization that the Scholarship Committee may contact. Confirmation of the public service project is not required at the time of the application but will be required before the award of the scholarship. Applicants are responsible for arranging their own projects. A list of organizations that have hosted students in the past is on our website www.asianamericanlawfund.org. The list is only provided as an example and no guarantee is made that the organizations will continue to host students in 2027 or that volunteering at one of these organizations entitles the applicant to a Scholarship. Each student is expected to volunteer at least 8 weeks, 35 hours per week, during the summer of 2027 at such project and to apply the award to the payment of law school tuition. Award recipients are also requested to submit an essay at the end of the summer describing their experience with their project.

How do I apply for the Asian American Law Fund Scholarship?

1. Students enrolled in an ABA- or AALS-accredited law school in the United States at least half-time as determined by the law school are eligible to apply for the Asian American Law Fund Scholarship.^[2] To be eligible, an applicant must be a candidate for a J.D. degree and must be in good standing at his or her law school; students seeking advanced law degrees are not eligible for this program. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

2. Applicants must submit a completed and signed Scholarship Application form (attached). The Scholarship Application must be accompanied by (i) a description of the proposed volunteer work for the Summer of 2027 plus, if applicable, the name, email address and phone number of a contact person at the organization sponsoring the volunteer work, (ii) an essay not to exceed 750 words, (iii) a letter of recommendation from a person not related to the applicant, (iv) an official copy of the applicant’s most recent law school transcript, (v) a copy of the applicant’s resume and (vi) a description of other scholarships, grants or awards that the applicant may be receiving during Summer 2027and any course credit to be received for the Summer. If the applicant’s position at the public service organization has not been confirmed, the applicant may so indicate or designate it as pending. The position must be confirmed prior to the award. Applicants who wish to demonstrate financial need may also submit a copy of their law school application for financial assistance or discuss such need in their essay. Applicants receiving other sources of funding and course credit for the summer are eligible to apply for this scholarship but must disclose such funding and credit as part of their application. In addition, applicants must promptly notify the Fund if they receive such funding or course credit after the submission of the Scholarship Application.

3. Finalists may be interviewed by one or more members of the Scholarship Committee, either in person, virtually or by telephone prior to the final announcement of the awards.

When do I apply?

The completed Scholarship Application and all required materials must be received by March 19, 2027 and can be e-mailed to schin@AsianAmericanLawFund.org or submitted online at https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/public-interest-scholarship-online-application/..

When will the Scholarships be announced?

The Scholarships will be announced on or about April 1, 2027. The full amount of the award will be given to the recipient at the Fund’s Summer Reception, in or around June 2027, which award recipients are required to attend, or depending on circumstances, the award may be made remotely.

What criteria will be used to award the Scholarships?

The Fund will take into consideration all the materials submitted by the applicant and will give particular weight to the essay portion of the application and the applicant’s summer project. The letter of recommendation should be written by a person who can provide information to the Fund regarding the factors described in the next sentence as they pertain to the applicant and who can be contacted by the Fund. Among the factors to be considered by the Fund are the following:

the applicant’s demonstrated commitment to and interest in pro bono and/or public interest legal work to the Asian American community;
the applicant’s leadership potential;
the applicant’s maturity and responsibility; and
the applicant’s financial need.

It is the Fund’s policy not to discriminate on the basis of age, gender, disability, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, veteran status or sexual orientation.

Since the award is intended to assist in paying a recipient’s law school tuition, students who are already receiving full tuition scholarships are not eligible. Recipients may only receive a total of $10,000 in scholarship awards, including the AALFNY scholarship, for the summer of 2027.

Members of the immediate families of current officers and directors of AABANY and of current members of the Fund’s Board of Directors and Scholarship Committee are not eligible for the Scholarship.

All materials submitted to the Fund will become the property of the Fund and may be used by the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to issue public announcements regarding the Scholarship winners and to use essays and reports provided by the Scholarship winners.

What types of projects might be undertaken?

Projects should be with non-profit organizations serving New York’s Asian American community. A proposed project should involve legal work and have a supervising attorney. Work with non-profit organizations that provide legal assistance to the general population in the New York metropolitan area or New York State will be considered so long as the Asian American community will also be benefited. One or more of the potential scholarships may be awarded to an applicant interning with a public service organization in the New York metropolitan area or New York State. Judicial internships are not eligible. Applicants are responsible for contacting community service organizations (or public service agencies) and arranging their own projects. Organizations that have hosted applicants in the past are described on our website https://www.asianamericanlawfund.org/prior-community-scholarship-recipients/..

What do I need to do regarding a project?

Applicants are responsible for arranging their own projects. The organizations listed on our website are only provided as examples of places that have hosted students in the past and the list is not meant to be either exhaustive or exclusive. Applicants do not have to be accepted by the organizations before submitting the application for the Scholarship but the award is contingent upon acceptance by the organization. No preference is given to a project with an organization that has hosted a scholarship recipient in the past as compared to other projects that otherwise meet the criteria described.

To whom may I direct any questions I might have?

Questions regarding the Public Interest Scholarship Program may be directed to Sylvia Chin at schin@AsianAmericanLawFund.org.

[1] AABANY is a professional membership organization of Asian/Pacific American and other attorneys in New York concerned with issues affecting the Asian American community.

[2] Students attending law schools outside the state of New York but seeking to work at an organization serving the needs of New York’s Asian American community also may be considered for the Scholarship.

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