About

[ultimate_heading main_heading=”The CLEO EDGE ” heading_tag=”h1″ main_heading_font_family=”font_family:Montserrat|font_call:Montserrat|variant:500″ main_heading_style=”font-weight:500;” main_heading_font_size=”desktop:34px;” sub_heading_font_family=”font_family:Playfair Display|font_call:Playfair+Display|variant:italic” sub_heading_style=”font-style:italic;” sub_heading_font_size=”desktop:22px;”]50 Years of Championing Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality in the Legal Profession[/ultimate_heading]

Our History

Founded in 1968 when the number of lawyers of color was less than one percent, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) has worked to increase the number of lawyers from diverse backgrounds for the last half century. Although best known for its Pre-Law Summer Institute “boot camp,” CLEO provides services to high school, pre-law, and law school students which include mentoring, placement assistance, academic counseling and support, scholarships, and bar prep orientation. CLEO has produced more than 10,000 alumni who have excelled in every area of the legal profession to include judges, corporate attorneys, law school deans and professors, practitioners, politicians, and more.

50yearsofCLEO-web

The Occasion

In 2018, CLEO will proudly celebrate its 50th Anniversary of bringing greater diversity to the legal profession. To help commemorate this historic occasion, the organization will host four distinct celebrations during the 2018 calendar year, including three regional receptions in the cities of Houston, San Francisco, and New York, and a culminating gala in Washington, DC, on November 15, 2018.

[ultimate_heading main_heading=”The CLEO Timeline ” heading_tag=”h1″ main_heading_font_family=”font_family:Montserrat|font_call:Montserrat|variant:500″ main_heading_style=”font-weight:500;” main_heading_font_size=”desktop:34px;” sub_heading_font_family=”font_family:Playfair Display|font_call:Playfair+Display|variant:italic” sub_heading_style=”font-style:italic;” sub_heading_font_size=”desktop:22px;”]A Look Back at Our 50 Years[/ultimate_heading]
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