Association of Women Lawyers Foundation 2024 Scholarship Awards

The Association for Women Lawyers (AWL) is a non-profit, specialty bar association organized to promote the welfare, interests, and professional development of lawyers who are women; promote the legal interests of women generally; maintain the honor and integrity of the legal profession;  advance justice for all individuals.

The Association for Women Lawyers Foundation (AWLF) is the charitable arm of AWL. Each year, the Foundation awards scholarships to law students enrolled in Marquette University Law School and the University of Wisconsin Law School. A portion of the proceeds from AWL’s Annual Women Judges Night, an evening honoring Wisconsin’s women judges, benefits the Foundation’s scholarship program. All scholarship applicants must satisfy these requirements:

• Applicant must be attending a Wisconsin law school in September 2024. 
• Applicant must have completed the first or second year of law school.
• Applicant must be in good academic standing.  
• Applicant must be a woman.
• Applicant must meet one or more of the selection criteria for the AWLF scholarship.

Selection Criteria for the AWLF Scholarship:

• Service to others.
• Diversity.
• Compelling financial need.
• Academic achievement.
• Unique life experience or circumstance (e.g., overcoming obstacles to attend or continue with law school).
• Advancement of women in the profession.

Selection Criteria for the Virginia A. Pomeroy Scholarship:

The Virginia A. Pomeroy Scholarship honors the memory of AWL past-president and former Deputy State Public Defender Virginia A. Pomeroy, who began the AWL scholarship program in 1997. This scholarship may be awarded by AWLF in any year to deserving applicants. In addition to the selection criteria for the AWLF Scholarship, a successful applicant must demonstrate a special emphasis, through experience, employment, class work or clinical programs, in at least one of the following areas:

• Service to the vulnerable or disadvantaged 
• Civil Rights Law
• Appellate practice
• Public Service
• Public Policy, or
• Public Interest Law. 

Selection Criteria for the Shirley S. Abrahamson Scholarship:

• Demonstrated perseverance in the face of adversity
• Commitment to issues affecting women and/or children in the community
• Commitment to public service

The Scholarship Award Process

Scholarship recipients are notified of their award on or after July 31. Scholarship checks are presented to the recipients at AWL’s Annual Meeting in September 2024. Although the exact amount of the scholarships has not yet been set, in recent years they have been $2,500 per person. All scholarship applicants receive a complimentary one-year membership in AWL. Scholarship recipients also receive a complimentary ticket to AWL’s Women Judges’ Night in the spring of 2025.

How to Apply

An eligible application consists of a current resume, a law school transcript, and a cover letter. An official transcript is preferred, but an unofficial transcript is acceptable if the official version is not available by the application deadline. You may resubmit your updated transcript after June 15, 2024 if it is not available prior to the deadline. Your cover letter must discuss the specific ways in which you satisfy the criteria for the AWL Foundation Scholarship, the Pomeroy Scholarship, and/or the Abrahamson Scholarship. One cover letter is sufficient to apply for all three.

Applications and transcripts must be submitted to the AWL Foundation Scholarship Committee at associationforwomenlawyers@gmail.com or by mail to 3322 N. 92nd Street, Milwaukee, WI 53222. Electronic applications are encouraged. You will receive a confirmation email. If you have not received a response within 24 hours of having submitted an application, please resend. All eligible applications must be received no later than June 15, 2024.

Contact: AWL Foundation Scholarship Committee