About Us

Why this program?
Why now?

In recent decades, visibility, inclusion, and equitable treatment of AAPI in the US has increased. These trends also occurred for AAPI within the legal profession.

However, we are still grossly underrepresented in leadership positions in the legal field.  

At the Don H. Liu Scholars Program (DHL), we focus our efforts in helping law students and attorneys break down and overcome these barriers so that law students can achieve more representative leadership status in law firms and corporations. 

“According to an ongoing research project called A Portrait of Asian Americans in the Law, many Asian American attorneys report experiencing inadequate access to mentors and contacts as a primary barrier to career advancement.”

We work toward this objective by providing our Scholars with:

  • Financial scholarships

  • Career guidance

  • Professional connections

  • Invaluable mentoring

  • Support from a welcoming and inclusive community of other AAPI attorneys

Our Impact

Since 2015, we’ve helped many law students go on to achieve success in law school and the legal profession.

100%

Percentage of DHL Scholars graduating with a full-time offer at a law firm or company

26

DHL Scholarships awarded since 2015

$390,000

Total scholarship dollars awarded or committed*

*The DHL Scholarship is awarded over each DHL Scholar’s law school tenure

“I was also inspired by the message of empowering Asian-Americans in the legal field, especially when we are affected by an invisible, subconscious bias that prevents us from moving up in our careers.”

— Seung Hye (Shang) Yang, DHL Class of 2022

“I was motivated by the fact that the program isn't just financial help. The program truly cares for each scholar's development long after law school.”

— Nora Boujida, DHL Class of 2016

Are you the next Don H. Liu Scholar? 

DHL’s mission and values support the next generation of AAPI leadership in the law, and guide us in everything we do:

  • Our Scholars’ success is our success, and we believe that success comes in many forms. Our goal at DHL is to help our Scholars realize their full potential and help them define their professional goals at every stage in their legal career.

  • We strive to create support systems and access to resources and opportunities for AAPI attorneys from all backgrounds. 

  • We foster a community that feels like family and our Scholars give back by mentoring more recent Scholars and taking on leadership positions within the Program.  

  • We honor the resilience not only to do what it takes to become an attorney, but also to thrive despite obstacles faced by our Scholars. We believe the grit embodied by each of our Scholars is the key to their success. 

The mission of the Don H. Liu Scholars Program is to empower AAPIs to become leaders in the legal profession. 

 We do this by empowering law students through scholarships, mentoring, connections, and a welcoming community.

Learn how you can get involved to support Scholars

Contribute and help shape the future of AAPI leaders in the legal profession. 

Already donated but want to help in other ways? Share your time and expertise with our Scholars.

“Being able to join conversations with so many brilliant mentors and fellow scholars as a first-year law student was an unforgettable experience and the highlight of my law school career thus far.”

— Edward Jung, DHL Class of 2022