To close out the year, we’re resharing our most popular resources of 2025. Coming in at #3 is our law school roadmap, preparing students for appellate practice.

The appellate system reaches into nearly every aspect of daily life—shaping how constitutional rights are protected, how criminal justice operates, what healthcare access looks like, how voting rights are enforced, and more.

In her recent ABA Sound Advice interview with TAP alum and host Damonta Morgan, our Founder and CEO Juvaria Khan spoke about what legal professionals can do right now to keep equity work moving forward, especially when navigating an environment that feels more uncertain than it did a few years ago.

Our theory of change is straightforward: lasting change starts with opening doors and ensuring people have the tools and support to walk through them.

Representation at every level strengthens our legal institutions. It deepens public trust and expands access to justice. And it's essential to a healthy democracy—ensuring our courts better serve and include the full diversity of our nation.

As a TAP mentee, Justin Lam first connected with the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area (APABA-DC) at a conference early in his legal career. In September 2025, APABA-DC honored him with its 2025 Rising Star Award.

For many emerging lawyers from underrepresented communities, stepping inside the U.S. Supreme Court to observe oral arguments remains out of reach.

Appellate courts shape the meaning of our laws and the rights that protect us. Who gets to be in those rooms matters. Since 2019, your support has helped The Appellate Project provide mentorship, resources, and community to more than 600 law students like Samantha from 108 law schools.

Even in a challenging moment for the legal profession, there are real reasons to feel optimistic about the years ahead.

This Native American Heritage month, we acknowledge the legal landscape for tribal communities varies from state to state—and those differences have real consequences.

The intersection of tribal and state legal systems creates unique interpretive challenges—especially when judges must apply constitutional provisions written decades ago.

This Native American Heritage Month, we're recognizing the need for greater representation in our courts.

TAP Founder and CEO Juvaria Khan recently joined the ABA’s Sound Advice podcast to talk about staying the course in a moment when equity work in the legal profession is being tested, and to share what’s ahead for TAP as we enter our next chapter.

Our highest courts shape the laws that affect everyone. We're working to ensure those courts reflect the communities they serve.

To our mentors, volunteers, students, funders, alumni, and partners: We are so grateful for you. As we work toward building a more just and representative future, you make this critical work possible.

When Josh Mathew's commander shared this about the Army's diversity, it captured something fundamental: strength comes from inclusion.

West Point taught Alex Porter, clerk at the Southern District of Indiana, to approach every matter with neutrality and an open mind. That training reflects what our judiciary needs: more perspectives shaped by experiences outside the traditional legal pipeline.

This Veterans Day, we're recognizing Alex Porter and Josh Mathew—two Army veterans whose mentorship story demonstrates why representation matters in the legal profession.

For Maya Stevenson, appellate counsel at the Center for Appellate Litigation, the draw to appellate law was clear from the start: it's where her love of reading, writing, and helping others converged with the opportunity to create change at scale.

During TAP's Seventh Circuit visit, Berenis Ibarra López saw proof that diverse voices are shaping appellate law at every level.

TAP alumni spent a day inside the Seventh Circuit observing oral arguments, meeting with judges and staff, and witnessing firsthand how appellate decisions take shape.

For Maya Stevenson, appellate counsel at the Center for Appellate Litigation, her path to appellate law wasn't defined by a single moment; it was shaped by consistently saying yes to opportunities as they appeared.

Representation in appellate spaces isn't an abstract ideal. It can have real consequences for how law affects communities.

A state court clerkship can be a powerful stepping stone towards diverse, high-level legal careers.

State court clerkships involve deeply engaging work on critical legal questions. Today in our series debunking state court clerkship myths, we’re addressing another common myth about state court clerkships:

State supreme & appellate court clerkships carry enormous influence and prestige. Last week, we shared resources that explain the influence and impact the state courts have on issues affecting people’s rights.

State Court Report recently shared several articles full of essential facts about state courts and constitutions that reveal how the legal system really operates.

State appellate judges hold more power than most people realize, a concept State Court Report explored in a recent article.

Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr. speaks from experience about the power of intentional career planning.

Visibility can change everything. Chief Justice Monica Márquez understands that representation on the bench creates a ripple effect that extends far beyond any individual case or decision.

When Judge Reyes talks about strength through diversity, he's speaking from his own personal experience.

Representation on the bench isn't just symbolic—it's practical. Chief Justice Monica Márquez's words about building public confidence in our legal system highlights this truth: courts that reflect their communities make better decisions for everyone.

Clerkships offer unmatched training for appellate advocates, from offering experience on a breadth of legal issues to understanding how judges weigh complex arguments.

Clerkships are valuable, but they come with real challenges that can disproportionately affect students without financial cushions or built-in support systems.

When it comes to judicial clerkships, there are certain skills that most judges look for: strong research skills, demonstrated writing ability, and attention to detail among other things.

The clerkship application process is full of unwritten rules: when to apply, how to choose judges, what actually goes into a strong cover letter, how to prepare for interviews, and more.

The stories we elevate have the power to shape the law we live under.

While the promise of equal justice is carved in stone above our highest court, the infrastructure to make it real has been missing. And that’s exactly what TAP intends to build as a growing hub for leadership, learning, and thought on the future of appellate law.

When appellate judges decide what our Constitution means, they're shaping everything from how we build families to how we exercise our rights, yet the current appellate system has become so homogenous that it has lost its foundational purpose as a place for rigorous debate on complex legal issues.

As our communities’ histories are erased from classrooms and even from our courts, the stakes of who speaks for us are increasingly urgent.

As TAP begins a bold new chapter, we’re also unveiling our new website, which aims to bridge the knowledge gap many law students and early career lawyers face when considering appellate careers, while elevating the voices of leaders in the field.

People of color make up over 40% of the U.S. population, yet only 11% of the 1,001 federal appellate judges currently serving are people of color.

Hispanic and Latino Americans make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, yet they hold less than 3% of federal appellate judgeships.

In 19 states, not a single state supreme court justice identifies as a person of color, including 13 states where people of color make up at least 20% of the population.

Federal appellate courts are where legal careers are made: distinguished clerkships, high-profile cases, and pathways to judgeships all flow through these prestigious circles.

State supreme courts decide cases that affect our everyday lives, but they often don't reflect the people they serve.

Federal appellate judges hold lifetime appointments and their decisions become the law of the land. Yet Asian Americans, who make up 6% of the population, represent only 2% of these powerful positions.

To become a practicing lawyer, passing the bar is a non-negotiable. Yet while traditional bar prep advice focuses on study schedules and practice tests, it often misses the biggest challenge many students from underrepresented backgrounds actually face: battling the voice that says they don't belong

Third year marks the transition from preparation to execution. After building foundational skills in 1L and making strategic choices in 2L, 3L is about converting that groundwork into actual opportunities in appellate practice.

Your first-year legal writing course might seem basic compared to your constitutional law or contracts classes, but it could be the most important class for your appellate career.