The Law Place Law School Scholarship promises $2,500 to an ambitious student who can build a career on the inspiration offered by a legal hero, living or dead. This year, the scholarship goes to Abigail So, a 1L at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
So’s essay about the influence of her junior-year thesis adviser, Dr. Bermant, moved the Sarasota personal injury lawyers at The Law Place. We are proud to offer her the financial support she needs to continue pursuing her legal education.
Getting to Know Abigail So
Abigail So is currently a 1L at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. In her own words, she’s “enjoying learning how to think like a lawyer and starting to see how all the pieces of the law fit together.”
When she’s not hitting the books, she continues to volunteer. She previously volunteered as a Spanish translator with a legal clinic for people who couldn’t afford legal services. She also volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Philadelphia.
So came to study law after a unique experience with her junior year research mentor, Dr. Bermant. In her essay, So describes how Dr. Bermant’s influence on her academic and professional career inspired her to think critically about the conditions in the U.S. legal system that drive people to confess to crimes they did not commit.
Getting to Know Dr. Bermant
The essay students must submit when applying for The Law Place Law School Scholarship must detail the heroes, living or dead, who have influenced their relationship with the legal field. Getting to know So subsequently requires readers to learn about her mentor, Dr. Bermant, through her own eyes.
So starts her essay with an experience that may send chills up the spine of any student. When she first submitted her thesis research to Dr. Bermant, he handed it back without a word. Per So, there was “just a single sentence scrawled in the margin: ‘Try again, but this time, tell the truth.’”
So introduces Dr. Bermant, a retired professor who volunteered his time to mentor students, “simply because he still cared. He specialized in the intersection of psychology and religion.” He also went to law school. It was his prior studies and commitment to students’ passions that led So to consider the relationship between psychology and law.
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Taking the Plunge and Finding Her Passions
After a long conversation about Dr. Bermant’s legal research, So found herself consumed by the discovery that certain judicial circumstances could drive innocent people to confess to crimes they didn’t commit.
“I read everything I could find: landmark cases, psychological studies, interrogation transcripts, wrongful conviction stories,” she says. “It was chilling and addictive—this deeply human, deeply legal issue. I quickly learned that false confessions don’t happen in a vacuum—they’re often the result of long, high-pressure interrogations paired with human vulnerability.”
So cites many resources, including studies from Inbau, about legal best practices and how the average interrogation leading to a false confession, as studied by Drizin and Leo, shatters those practices. She also notes that, per Kassin, because officers are allowed to lie to arrestees, those lies can lead innocent people to believe they’re guilty.
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What Makes a Legal Hero?
According to So, “Dr. Bermant and I would talk for hours in his office. He’d push me to consider the legal implications: ‘What should a fair interrogation look like?
What role should psychologists play in legal reform? What will you do with this knowledge?’” While So didn’t have the answers at first, she came to realize that he was pushing her to think about life as well as her thesis.
“His questions became my calling,” says So. “He lit the flame and kept it burning with every conversation…Dr. Bermant became more than a mentor—he became my hero.
Not because he stood in a courtroom or wrote landmark opinions, but because he showed me that the law isn’t just about rules. It’s about people. It’s about psychology, power, vulnerability, and truth. And it’s about asking the questions no one else thinks to ask.”
So was one of three final students Dr. Bermant took on before leaving academia. So keeps the mug that he gave her with her name and the names of his other students on it to this day. So’s essay is a celebration of Bermant’s commitment to improving his students’ lives and shows that legal heroes aren’t strictly in today’s courtrooms. They’re helping the next generation grow.
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What to Expect From Abigail So in the Future
Once she completes her law school career and passes the bar exam, So intends to return to Chicago, where she hopes to pursue a career as a transactional attorney.
About The Law Place Law School Scholarship
Going to law school is an expensive endeavor. The Law Place wants to lift up students who could transform the legal industry with a bit of extra support. The Law Place Law School Scholarship offers passionate law school students, incoming and current, the chance to win up to $2,500.
Students interested in applying for The Law Place Law School Scholarship need to write an essay of under 1,000 words discussing their legal heroes, alive or dead. Interested applicants can visit the scholarship page for more information about qualifying criteria as well as the 2026 submission deadline.
Three Cheers for Abigail So!
So’s scholarship essay is a perfect example of how inspiration and support from a mentor can make all the difference in a person’s academic and professional future.
In So’s own words, Dr. Bermant’s insistence that she find her passion instead of picking an easy thesis topic not only transformed her thesis but also had a revolutionary impact on her long-term goals.
The legal team at The Law Place is proud to recognize So’s celebration of her professional mentor as well as her independent achievements. We have no doubt that her willingness to ask tough questions will serve her well.
