University of Texas School of Law - Peregrinus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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% »■ m We ' re Responsibility. Texas Law professors have lead the State of Texas in enhancing professional responsibility. Texas Law stu- dents provide le- gal assistance to the community through various projects through- out the year. « IB I E9 B ™ m ■■ -■

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2004 University of Texas School of Law Annual Responsibility Serving the people of Texas The Law School has an extensive array of clini- cal programs for students, with ten separate clinics covering a wide range of legal is- sues. In December the Juvenile Justice Clinic received a major grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to assist it in its mission to provide high quality legal services to low income children charged with of- fenses in the juvenile justice system and to enhance the ethical and professional practice of law by educating law stu- dents through this representation. We are thrilled to be awarded this grant which enables our law students to continue providing services to children in Travis County, said Pam Sigman, di- rector of the Juvenile Justice Clinic. The Juvenile Justice Clinic, founded in 1975, offers litigation experience to students and exposes them to the opera- tions of the juvenile justice system, by placing them as student attorneys with the Travis County Juvenile Public De- fender. Clients are indigent juveniles, aged 10 to 17, who are charged with criminal offenses ranging from Class B misdemeanors to first degree felonies. Student attorneys are assigned a caseload for which they have primary responsibility under the supervision of an attorney in the public defender ' s of- fice. The student attorneys perform all investigation, interview, discovery, plea bargain and litigation functions on their cases. More than 800 law students have participated in the program providing legal representation on more than 5000 cases. 10 THE STATE OF TEXAS -THE SCHOOL OF LAW .

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2004 University of Texas School of Law Annual Individual Opportunity A place to explore ideas There are around 25 student orga- nizations in the Law school. These groups help stu- dents focus on individual areas of interest while con- necting to other students. The Texas-Mexico Bar Association (TMBA) held its 10th annual con- ference at the Law School. (Picutres on page 11.) The Law School co-sponsored the conference and UT Law professors Patricia Hansen and Jay Westbrook joined a distinguished bi-national facul- ty of academics, judges and practitioners to discuss cross-border legal issues. Dean William Powers welcomed par- ticipants and gave introductory remarks. Conference highlights included a Mexi- can practitioners ' state district court, workshops on NAFTA dispute resolu- tion and cross-border insolvency and a mock mediation of a cross-border prod- ucts liability-personal injury dispute. The conference also gave participants the opportunity to meet informally at several social events, including a cock- tail reception at the Governor ' s Man- sion and a festive barbeque dinner with Western Swing music and dancing on the Law School grounds. In addition to the main conference, the Law School ' s Student TMBA Chapter hosted a half- day event for law students interested in learning more about cross-border prac- tice. The TMBA, now housed at UT, is a bi-national Bar Association made up of attorneys from both Mexico and the United States. The goals are to serve the international law practitioner by provid- ing continuing education and a forum for cross-border understanding. 12 THE STATE OF TEXAS • THE SCHOOL OF LAW ..