The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has awarded $150,000 to fund a third year of the Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Judicial Scholarship Program. The program celebrates the legacy of the late Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, a champion of access to justice and equity in the Massachusetts legal system. The Gants scholarship provides law students from diverse backgrounds with financial support to secure judicial internships in Massachusetts courts. The scholarship funds are managed and administered by the Massachusetts Bar Foundation. To date, scholarships of $8,000 each have been awarded to 19 law students across the commonwealth.

“Our goal is to broaden and diversify the pool of applicants for postgraduate clerkships and judicial positions, ultimately fostering a judicial system that truly represents the diversity of Massachusetts,” said Professor Emerita Deborah Ramirez, faculty co-director of the Center for Law, Equity and Race and chair of the Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants Fund for Racial Equity and Access to Justice.

Abina Nepal ’26, the most recent Northeastern Law recipient of a Gants scholarship, used the support to fund a fall co-op with the Honorable Kimberly Budd, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. “Interning with Chief Justice Budd at the SJC was a transformative experience that allowed me to refine my legal skills while working on issues that directly impact my community and that align with my passion for criminal law reform, particularly addressing racial disparities in the legal system,” said Nepal.

 

Our goal is to broaden and diversify the pool of applicants for postgraduate clerkships and judicial positions.

— Professor Deborah Ramirez