Judicate West founder pledges $75k for Charles Houston Bar Association student scholarships

Judicate West founder and CEO Var Fox pledged $75,000 to the Charles Houston Bar Institute to fund scholarships for third-year law students over the next three years.

The funds will support students struggling to cover basic expenses while pursuing their legal education, said Vincent Brown, president of the Charles Houston Bar Association and a deputy city attorney with the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.

"I sat to review scholarship applications this year, and what I saw was heartbreaking," Brown said. "Several students are on SNAP benefits because they can't afford to eat. They're applying for our scholarship to feed themselves, to pay for books, for the bare necessities to make it through."

Fox called the pledge an opportunity to strengthen the legal profession.

"It is an honor to stand with Charles Houston Bar in their mission to fund law student education and serve those in need at this critical time. In giving, I'm reminded how blessed we are and how meaningful it is to uplift others," Fox said. "I am grateful for the opportunity to support the vital work of organizations within our legal community and, in doing so, help strengthen the broader community we all share."

The institute, a nonprofit established in 2020, operates as the charitable arm of the bar association. Last year it awarded $30,000 in scholarships. This year's total will reach $40,000, with individual awards of $2,500.

The bar association traces its origins to 1955, when Bay Area attorneys organized in response to discrimination they faced in courts.

"Black attorneys needed to come together to create a support system and help one another navigate a system they found discriminatory and hostile," Brown said. "We've been going for 70 years."

The organization will mark that milestone Dec. 6 at its annual gala, which Brown said has drawn a record 628 registered guests.

Beyond scholarships, the association runs the College Awareness and Advisory Program, sending attorneys into Bay Area high schools to counsel freshmen on higher education pathways.

"You can see the kids light up when they see African American attorneys come into the room," Brown said. "They get to see that someone's been there before them and made it out."