AMHERST, Mass. – LSA Executive Officer Steve Boutcher, Board of Trustee member Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen (University of California, Irvine School of Law), former Board of Trustee member Carole Silver (Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law), and UMass Amherst Sociology professor Anthony Paik were recently awarded a $511,000 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund research examining diversity and networking in law school.
The researchers say that networking – the process of creating a professional support system of colleagues, mentors and connections – is a critical part of building a successful law career. While law students are encouraged to start growing their professional network in school, they say that students of diverse backgrounds – including race, gender, sexual orientation, national status or class – may not have the same access to “resource-rich” social networks. These “network inequalities” may impact the overall value of a legal education and lead to differences in career success after graduation.
Read more about this study below.
https://www.law.uci.edu/news/press-releases/2022/Ballakrishnen-NSF-Grant.html
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