UCLA School of Law’s trailblazing Law Fellows Program has won the 2020 Diversity Leadership Award from the American Bar Association’s litigation section.

The award honors “those who have made outstanding commitments to promoting full and equal participation in the legal profession through the encouragement and inclusion of women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and/or persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities.”

The Law Fellows Program demystifies the practice of law and opens the door to legal careers for students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. Run by founding executive director and UCLA Law alumnus Leo Trujillo-Cox ’97 and assistant director and former law fellow Amanda Smith, the program is often recognized for being a successful and innovative pipeline-building initiative.

Since 1997, more than 1,700 people have participated in the program, and nearly 1,000 law fellows are about to enter law school, in law school or practicing law nationwide.

The program was nominated for the award by UCLA Law alumnus Ireneo Reus III ’04 and received supporting letters from two former law fellows: Cheryl Lott ’04, a shareholder at the Buchalter law firm who serves as the president of the UCLA Alumni Association board of directors, and current UCLA Law student and Achievement Fellow Jesus Diego ’21.