CGP LEGAL MANAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIP

Earn your CLM. We’ll help you get there

Each year, Clear Guidance Partners funds up to 20 scholarships for legal administrators pursuing the Certified Legal Manager credential. We pay for your spot in the ALA Chicago Chapter’s virtual CLM study group and reimburse your exam fee when you pass. Each award is worth up to $500.

Start your application

Why we’re doing this

Legal administrators run the business of law. The CLM recognizes that expertise, but the path to earning it takes time, study, and money that not every firm budgets for.

This scholarship removes part of that barrier while asking recipients to invest in their own success.

What the scholarship covers

Each award is worth up to $500.

COVERED

Study group: your seat in the ALA Chicago Chapter’s virtual CLM study group. Clear Guidance Partners pays the chapter directly when you enroll.

Exam fee: you pay your CLM exam fee up front, and we reimburse it within 30 days of a passing score.

NOT COVERED

Study materials, any retake fee, and other costs. Recipients cover their own materials by design. The scholarship is an investment in candidates who are invested themselves.

How it works

01. Apply

Complete the application below. Most people finish in 10 minutes.

02. Selection

An independent panel of three CLM holders, none affiliated with Clear Guidance Partners, scores every eligible application against a rubric. CGP coordinates the process but does not vote.

03. Study and sit

Once you enroll, we pay your study group fee directly to the chapter. Sit for the CLM exam within 12 months of completing the study group.

04. Pass and get reimbursed

Send us your exam fee receipt and proof of a passing score. We reimburse one exam fee within 30 days of receiving both.

Who can apply

Any current ALA member, at a firm of any size, anywhere in the country, who:

  • Meets ALA’s eligibility requirements to sit for the CLM exam

  • Has not already earned the CLM

Clear Guidance Partners employees and their immediate family members are not eligible. Employees of Clear Guidance Partners clients may apply and are reviewed on the same terms as everyone else.

Key dates

Application dates are set to the Chicago study group’s next session.

Applications open: [DATE]

Applications close: [DATE]

Recipients notified: [DATE]

Study group begins: [DATE]

Apply for the scholarship

Most people finish in 30 to 45 minutes. Application materials are used only for selection and are not shared outside the review panel. We won’t contact you for marketing without your permission, and recipients are named publicly only with their written consent.

Questions

  • No. Any current ALA member who meets the eligibility requirements can apply, at a firm of any size, anywhere in the country. Employees of Clear Guidance Partners clients may apply and are reviewed on the same terms as everyone else. Clear Guidance Partners employees and their immediate family members are not eligible.

  • An independent panel of three CLM holders, none affiliated with Clear Guidance Partners, scores each eligible application against a published rubric: commitment and readiness, potential impact on your firm, and limited access to professional development funding. Clear Guidance Partners coordinates the process but does not vote. You will not be asked for financial records.

  • You may retake the exam once within 12 months of completing the study group, at your own expense. If you pass on the retake, we reimburse one exam fee. If you don’t pass within 12 months, no exam reimbursement is owed, and you do not repay the study group fee.[RETAKE POLICY]

  • No. This scholarship is offered independently by Clear Guidance Partners. It is not sponsored, administered or endorsed by the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). CLM is a credential of ALA.

  • Application materials are used only for selection and are not shared outside the review panel. We won’t contact you for marketing without your permission, and recipients are named publicly only with their written consent.

  • These terms govern the Clear Guidance Partners Legal Management Scholarship. Applying means accepting them.

    1. Program. Clear Guidance Partners ("CGP") awards up to 20 scholarships each year to legal administrators preparing for the Certified Legal Manager (CLM) exam. This scholarship is offered independently by CGP. It is not sponsored, administered or endorsed by the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). CLM is a credential of ALA.

    2. Award value. Each award is worth up to $500 and covers two items: (1) the ALA Chicago Chapter CLM study group fee, or another study program CGP approves if that group is unavailable; and (2) reimbursement of one CLM exam fee after a passing score. Recipients pay for their own study materials, any retake fee and any other costs.

    3. Eligibility. Applicants must be a current ALA member, meet ALA's eligibility requirements to sit for the CLM exam, and not already hold the CLM. CGP employees and their immediate family members are not eligible. Employees of CGP clients may apply and are reviewed on the same terms as all applicants.

    4. Application. A complete application includes: a profile (name, role, firm name and size, years in legal management, ALA chapter and ALA member number); certification that the applicant meets ALA's requirements to sit for the CLM exam; a target exam window; three short answers of 150 to 200 words each (why the CLM and why now; what operational challenge at your firm you expect it to help you address; what support your firm currently provides for professional development); and a brief acknowledgment from the applicant's managing partner or supervisor. Most applicants can finish in 30 to 45 minutes. Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed. CGP screens eligibility before panel review and may withdraw an award if eligibility information proves inaccurate.

    5. Selection. An independent panel of three CLM holders with no affiliation to CGP selects recipients. CGP coordinates the process and does not vote. Each panelist scores applications independently using a published rubric built on three criteria: commitment and readiness, potential impact on the applicant's firm, and limited access to professional development funding. Applicants are not asked for financial records. Panel decisions are final. CGP may name alternates. An alternate receives an award if a recipient declines or withdraws before the study group begins.

    6. Payment. Study group: CGP pays the fee directly to the program after confirming the recipient's enrollment. No funds go to the recipient. Exam fee: the recipient pays the exam fee. After passing, the recipient submits the fee receipt and proof of a passing score. CGP reimburses one exam fee within 30 days of receiving both.

    7. Exam deadline and retakes. Recipients must sit for the exam within 12 months of completing the study group. One retake is permitted within that window, at the recipient's expense. If the recipient passes on the retake, CGP reimburses one exam fee. If the recipient does not pass within 12 months, no exam reimbursement is owed. The recipient does not repay the study group fee.

    8. Privacy and publicity. Application materials are used only for selection and are not shared outside the review panel. CGP will not contact applicants for marketing purposes without their permission. Recipients are named publicly only with their written consent.

    9. General. Awards are not transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash. Recipients are responsible for any tax consequences of the award. CGP may change or end the program for future cycles. Awards already granted will be honored.

    10. Questions. Contact Trey Hiller, Director of Sales & Marketing, Clear Guidance Partners, at [email].