UCLA School of Law is pleased to announce the establishment of a new endowed scholarship with the support of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP. This scholarship will contribute to the overall support for diversity and inclusion at UCLA Law and within the legal community at large.

The Allen Matkins Endowed Scholarship for Diversity and Inclusion in Law was created with the goal of helping the school recruit talented students. Ninety percent of UCLA Law’s J.D. candidates receive some sort of financial assistance, so the establishment and funding of new scholarships is crucial to allowing UCLA Law to meet its commitment to having a diverse and thriving student body.

“A core principle of UCLA Law is that if a student has the drive and talent to gain admission, they deserve access to a comprehensive legal education,” says Rob Schwartz, the law school’s dean for admissions and financial aid. “We never want money to be the obstacle for a student who truly wants and deserves to be here.”

This new scholarship also represents Allen Matkins’ renewed and expanded Diversity Initiative, driven by the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, to open doors, promote forward-thinking programs, and diversify the legal process.

“This scholarship directly reflects Allen Matkins’ pledge to making a difference in promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal community,” says Jeffrey R. Patterson, the firm’s Managing Partner. “The Allen Matkins Foundation will continue to use its platform to provide opportunities for students who are academically talented and have overcome significant obstacles in life, such as socio-economic disadvantage, disability, being the first to attend college, attending under-resourced schools, or other considerable hardships and challenges.”

UCLA Law has developed numerous initiatives in recent years, under the leadership of Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin, designed to expand the school’s capacity to make the school accessible to students with the kinds of backgrounds Paterson describes. Among these initiatives is the highly successful Achievement Fellowship program, which provides full-tuition grants to approximately ten students every year.

The new Allen Matkins scholarship has taken the Achievement Fellowship program as its model, and hopes to grow to meet its similarly lofty ambitions.

“I was delighted to partner with The Allen Matkins Foundation and Jeff Patterson to create this scholarship,” said Ashley Napper, the law school’s associate director of development. “We are deeply grateful for the firm’s commitment to UCLA Law’s dual mission of access and excellence and for the impact that this scholarship will have. I hope others are inspired by Allen Matkins’ example and will choose to make a similar investment in UCLA Law students.”

Napper says she expects the first Allen Matkins Endowed Scholarship for Diversity and Inclusion in Law to be awarded in Fall 2022.