In 2024 and 2025, the Lycoming Law Association Foundation proudly awarded nine $1,000 Joseph L. Rider Scholarships to outstanding local law students from Lycoming County. These scholarships were created to help alleviate the financial burdens of tuition, educational materials, and transportation for local students enrolled full time in law school. Since its launch in 2023, the program has aimed to support and encourage the next generation of legal professionals from the area.
Among the 2024/2025 recipients were Hannah Mary Anderson, who is attending Temple University Beasley School of Law, and Abigail L. McCoy, enrolled at Franklin Pierce School of Law. Eli M. Wilk is studying at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law, while Grace Kathryn Boos is pursuing her legal education at Penn State Law School. Joshua Michael Dinges and Emily Wolfgang, both students at Widener Commonwealth Law School, also received scholarships, along with Francesca Patetta from Rutgers School of Law, Carlee Weber from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and Stephanie Steinbacher from Quinnipiac Law School. Each recipient exemplifies the drive, academic excellence, and community spirit that the scholarship seeks to honor. The Rider scholarships are funded in part by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Foundation through a local bar association matching grant program.
The Joseph L. Rider Scholarship Fund was established to honor the remarkable legacy of Attorney Joseph L. Rider, a Williamsport native whose legal career spanned an extraordinary 58 years in Lycoming County. Known for his professionalism, integrity, and compassion, Attorney Rider was deeply respected by the Court, his colleagues, and his clients alike. His influence on the local legal community extended well beyond the courtroom. In 1989, he became a founding member of the Lycoming Law Association Foundation and remained actively involved until his passing in 2020.
The LLA Foundation created the scholarship fund not only to remember Attorney Rider but also to celebrate the values he consistently demonstrated throughout his life—legal excellence, fairness, collegiality, and a steadfast commitment to his clients. Just as importantly, the fund honors the honesty, integrity, and kindness that defined his character as a person. By supporting law students through a program bearing his name, the LLA Foundation hopes to inspire future attorneys to embody these same qualities and consider practicing law in Lycoming County.
Students from Lycoming County who are enrolled full time in law school (and expect to graduate in four years or less) are eligible to apply for the scholarship. A brief application form is available online at lycolaw.org, along with submission guidelines.
Those who wish to support the scholarship fund and help carry Attorney Rider’s legacy forward may send donations to the Lycoming Law Association Foundation at 25 West Third Street, Suite 803, Williamsport, PA 17701.
