Every year, a new class of accomplished and talented students begin their journey toward earning a Juris Doctorate. For some, however, the price tag is an obstacle — so the USC Gould School of Law stepped up, offering need-based scholarships to ensure that students have access to a top-tier education. Funded primarily by donations from USC Gould alumni, these grants give hard-working students an extra hand throughout their law school careers.
“It’s really important for people who are deserving of a place at the law school but can’t afford to go, to have the support they need,” says William Hicks (JD 1994), a member/co-chair of the Life Sciences Practice at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. “For students who are independent, or who can’t rely on their parents for financial support, it can be crippling to incur the load of student debt that is so common nowadays. So it was just intuitive to me to support the Need-Based Scholarship Fund.”
Hicks is one of many USC Gould alumni who have donated annually to support the recently established fund, which disburses the grants to qualified students based on demonstrated financial need. With both an endowed scholarship fund, which is a perpetual scholarship that was started by an anonymous gift from a faculty member and two alumnae, and a current use fund, which distributes all funds completely to USC Gould students, donors have multiple opportunities to contribute to students in need.
In a letter thanking scholarship fund donors, a member of the JD class of 2025 cites the effect this scholarship had on their career path. “The impact of this scholarship has been immeasurable and has been instrumental in making my dream of attending law school at USC Gould a reality, and I am forever grateful,” the student wrote.
Fred Toczek (JD 1989), a partner at Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson McGinnis Ryan LLP, is another alumnus whose donations to the Need-Based Scholarship Fund have come from a desire to ensure that future students have access to achieve their career goals regardless of their financial situation.
“I attended USC Gould only because I was the grateful recipient of a full scholarship,” Toczek says. “USC was absolutely my first choice, but it was financially unworkable without financial assistance. I will never forget the shock and elation when I received word of the scholarship, it was truly a dream come true.”
Hicks agrees that financial assistance can be the deciding factor for many students deciding to go to law school. “Even if someone can get financial aid, the student still may opt not to attend law school because the cost is so burdensome,” Hicks says. “This fund makes it a more real opportunity for students to choose USC Gould.”
A 1L who received a need-based scholarship talked about how moving across the country to attend USC Gould seemed daunting, but the grant alleviated the financial stress of attending law school.
“I am a first-generation law student, and pursuing a career in a field where I lack any real connections felt very intimidating at first,” the student wrote in a letter thanking donors. “But, receiving the USC Gould Need-Based Scholarship makes me feel like I have a support network behind me and gives me confidence that I can succeed in law school.”
It’s this impact that encourages Toczek to support the Need-Based Scholarship Fund.
“There are so many important ways each of us can participate in personally and positively impacting the future generation of lawyers,” Toczek says. “Donating ensures that others — no matter their financial wherewithal — are given an opportunity to attend law school at USC and is an essential way we can all contribute to shaping a caring and giving community.”
For information on supporting USC Gould law students by giving toward current use need-based scholarship funding or by adding to the need-based scholarship endowment, please contact the USC Gould Development Office at (213) 821-3560 or give online
at gould.law/student-scholarships-aid.
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