Our History

In 1991, the Mexican American Bar Foundation was established as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable corporation by volunteer lawyers and judges affiliated with the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County. 

Working without high-priced staff or significant overhead, the Foundation has awarded over $1 million to support the dreams of young women and men of Latino heritage who are pursuing careers in the law.  This sum includes 266 scholarships to 224 individual law students, plus stipends to law graduates studying for the bar examination, savings bonds to elementary and middle school students, and grants to community organizations.  Except for the direct costs of our Annual Scholarship & Awards Gala, over 90 cents of every dollar raised is spent on scholarships.  Scholars are selected based on academic achievement, community service, leadership, financial need, and success in overcoming hardships.

As recently as 1998, the organization awarded a total of just $6,000 to six students. At Gala 2011, we celebrated our twentieth anniversary by distributing a total of $140,000 in scholarships to 28 students.  (Another $30,000 in stipends was awarded to recent law graduates preparing for the bar examination.)  This tremendous increase in giving is due to the sustained generosity of our corporate and law firm sponsors, who support our core mission of enhancing the diversity of the legal profession through education.