The Appellate Project

Grant Type: General Operating

Duration: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023

Organization Overview

The Appellate Project (TAP) believes our highest courts are strongest when they include diverse and underrepresented voices. That’s why TAP engages the appellate bar to educate, train, and empower the next generation of appellate lawyers and judges.

Summary

The Appellate Project (TAP) empowers law students of color to thrive in the appellate field. During her career as a civil rights litigator, TAP Founder Juvaria Khan started TAP to address the systemic barriers these law students of color, including Muslim law students, too often face when accessing this area of legal practice.

TAP’s Mentorship Program connects law students of color with appellate mentors, including some of the most prolific Supreme Court and appellate advocates. When these decision-makers recruit and hire appellate attorneys, they traditionally turn to a handful of well-connected law students at the same top-ranking law schools. The Mentorship Program, however, creates new, race-equity-centered networks that are more inclusive and prioritize first-generation law students of color. TAP also provides appellate-focused resources throughout the Mentorship Program, including exclusive access to appellate judges, networking opportunities with the appellate bar, clerkship support, job opportunities, social and community-building events, and skill-building workshops. The Mentorship Program has already resulted in many students obtaining highly competitive appellate internships, fellowships, and clerkships. TAP’s second program is its Incubator, a summer fellowship program that will be fully developed over 2023 for its launch in Summer 2024. This innovative program will be the first of its kind in the country and is designed to develop the next generation of top appellate advocates.

Year founded: 2019

Location: Washington, DC

Website: https://theappellateproject.org/