Ten students from eight New York colleges are beginning a Fordham Law School program today that is designed to promote opportunity and diversity within the legal profession.

Known as the Fordham Legal Education and Access Program (LEAP), its goal is to combine legal skills development with experiential opportunities that expose students to key aspects of law, legal institutions, and legal practice at the local, state and national levels, according to a press release issued on Monday.

The majority of the students are first-generation college students and individuals who would bring racial, economic and religious-based diversity to the profession.

LEAP students will spend three summers and two academic years engaged in the program. The first summer includes five weeks of legal classes in core areas such as property and contracts. During the remaining two summers, students will participate in paid internships with nonprofit or government-based institutions and private law firms.

“The legal profession continues to suffer from a severe lack of diversity and many students who would make great lawyers continue to encounter many obstacles that block their paths to a legal career,” Robin Lenhardt, chairwoman of diversity and inclusion and faculty director of the Center on Race, Law and Justice, said in the press release. “This program will hopefully open a pipeline funneling strong, diverse students into law for years to come.”