eJournal

The late Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants was a champion of access to justice and equity in the Massachusetts legal system. The Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Judicial Scholarship Program was conceived in his memory to give Massachusetts law students the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the judicial system, while also creating equity by increasing pathways to successful legal, public service and judicial careers. 

Created in collaboration with the Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Access to Justice Fund and Northeastern University School of Law’s Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), and funded with by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, the program provides opportunities for law students from diverse backgrounds and with limited financial means to secure judicial internships in Massachusetts courts. 

Interning for a judge is a prestigious opportunity for a law student, and often leads to judicial clerkships and fellowships post-graduation. Such positions can give a new attorney an advantage in their career trajectory by creating relationships with judges and members of the court, which expand their network of influence and positively impact their professional aspirations. 

All judicial internships in Massachusetts are currently unpaid. To accept a judicial internship, a student would have to have the financial means to otherwise support themselves during the term of the placement. For many, accepting an unpaid position is simply not an option. By providing funding for these positions, the Gants Judicial Scholarship Program seeks to remove this significant barrier to entry and to provide equity in the professional development of aspiring attorneys.

“The program was created to give law students who could not afford to take unpaid internships with the funding to enable them to do so,” explains Northeastern University School of Law Professor and Ralph D. Gants Access to Justice Fund Chair Deborah Ramirez. “The hope is that the program will widen and diversify the pipeline of applications for post-graduate paid clerkships and for judicial positions, ultimately creating a judicial system that better reflects the entire Massachusetts citizenry.”

The scholarship program officially launched in spring of 2023. The first cohort of “Gants Scholars” are currently engaged in internships in nearly every court department in the commonwealth. See below for a full listing of the 2023 Gants Scholarship Program recipients.