Photo by Nweil, Creative Commons license | Bullard High School has partnered with the California Lawyers Foundation to establish the first California Legal Pathways Collaborative to increase student access to a law education.

The California Lawyers Foundation (CLF) has partnered with Bullard High School to establish its first ever California Legal Pathways Collaborative (CLPC) law academy in Fresno, which will increase access to legal education.

“Our Foundation is focused on key issues such as civic education and preparing students to become active and engaged citizens, and building the pipeline into the legal profession,” said CLF President Jerrilyn Malana, an attorney in San Diego, in a news release. “We are excited to work alongside Bullard High School to share our long-term commitment to help develop civic-minded students and inspire them to pursue careers in the legal profession.”

The CLPC program introduces students to civics, government and law through engagement with attorneys, judges and legislators. Participants get to attend court hearings, symposiums and civic events, helping them get exposed to a variety of legal careers.

Judge Pahoua Lor, who became California’s first Hmong female judge when she was appointed to the Fresno County Superior Court in 2022, said she is passionate about showing support to local students.

“I am so excited about the number of lives we are going to touch,” Lor said. “We are telling students that we believe in their dreams.”

Bullard has an existing Law and Social Justice Pathway which is offered as part of a partnership with Fresno City College, Fresno State and San Joaquin College of Law. The program will now receive expanded mentorship and scholarship opportunities through the CLPC.

“This new partnership specifically includes mentorship by people in the legal profession who work as lawyers and in other justice system capacities right now,” said Ralph Vasquez, Bullard’s coordinator of college and career readiness. “Our students are our biggest strength, and we want to build connections with law firms in our community to give our students job shadowing, internships and job possibilities.”

CLF Deputy Director Janett Cabanero said Bullard’s excitement to grow made it an ideal partner for the program.

“We have a presence in Northern California and Southern California, but we really don’t have visibility in the Central Valley,” she said. “Bullard has been really excited. They really wanted to partner with CLPC and bring resources to their students.”

Cabanero said the program provides students with a direct connection to mentors such as lawyers and judges.

“These students will have access to opportunities they wouldn’t have if we didn’t have a Law Academy,” Cabanero said. “They’ll have direct connections with mentors — both lawyers and judges. All of our CLPC volunteers are former lawyers or judges, and along with support from CLF, we raise funds to provide scholarships so students can attend college and law school.”

CLF also recently awarded over $50,000 in scholarships to high school, college and law students across California, highlighting their focus on preparing the next generation of lawyers.

With the addition of Bullard, CLPC now has 25 law academies across California and serves over 3,100 students every year.

“We have seen great success with students going from high school all the way through law school and into the legal profession,” said Chris Nguyen, president of the California Lawyers Association. “This is not the only pathway, as many students graduate from 4-year schools into good jobs. The reason we have expanded to 25, and growing, is because we focus on the students, the academies and the teachers. Former students have great things to say about the program to students. At Bullard, for example, we had many students return to attest to the benefits they received by being in the program (public speaking, confidence in large groups, etc).”