Two Texas Law community members won recognition at the State Bar Induction Ceremony on Oct. 28, as the state’s Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals visited The University of Texas at Austin campus for a packed event at Bass Concert Hall, welcoming inductees and their families and friends.
Emma Jane Hopper ’25 received the Texas Access to Justice Commission Law Student Pro Bono Award, and Daniel Dreyfus ’24 was honored by the State Bar of Texas for achieving the highest score on the July bar exam.
“It was wonderful to see Texas Law represented everywhere at this event, from the justices and judges on the stage to the students, alumni, and adjuncts in the audience,” says Susie Morse, Texas Law’s associate dean for academic affairs, who attended on behalf of the law school’s leadership. “Emma Jane represented the creativity and energy of our pro bono program, while Daniel not only earned recognition for his top bar exam score but also gave remarks about the importance of friendship among lawyers. It was a true Texas Law moment!”
Student Pro Bono Award
Hopper’s award recognizes a law student whose pro bono work has made a significant impact on the community and demonstrates a passion for advocating on behalf of underserved populations. Within Texas Law’s Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program, Hopper founded the Preservation of Rights Project, which hosts clinics focusing on estate planning, elder and disability planning, and guardianship law. She also started the Probate, Guardianship Law, Estates, Trusts Society—a new organization for students interested in probate law—and created pro bono opportunities for organization members and other law students. Hopper was named a 2023-24 Pro Bono Scholar based on her proposal to launch a series of wills clinics in Austin.
“The Preservation of Rights Project and its clinics could not have come to life, and definitely could not have grown so quickly, without the interest and dedication of the Texas Law student community,” Hopper says, also crediting assistance from the school’s Pro Bono Program. “I am so grateful for the flexibility and support of the program,” she adds, specifically acknowledging program Director Andrea Marsh, Senior Program Coordinator Sarah Sedgwick, and Co-Director of Texas Law’s Clinical Program Frances Martinez.
Texas Law has previously been recognized by the TAJC for its pro bono efforts. The law school itself has earned the Law School Commitment to Service Award—for “actively educating its students about access to justice issues”—in 2011 and again in 2023, and Hopper is the seventh Texas Law student to win the commission’s Pro Bono Award.
Bar Exam Top Score
Top exam scorer Dreyfus, meanwhile, spoke at the ceremony on an often-overlooked element of lawyering: friendship.
“The legal profession, at least from what I’ve seen, provides opportunities for meaningful, long-lasting friendships in a way few professions do,” Dreyfus said. “A big part of that is common experience. Although we work in different cities and at different places, we all took the same steps to get to this moment. We took the same test, get the same license, and say the same oath. And those common experiences will ensure that when you meet another lawyer in Texas, you will always have common ground.”
“The stakes are real, and we have ethical obligations to advocate for our clients,” he added. “But zealous advocacy does not entail being a jerk to or enemy of adverse counsel.”
At Texas Law, Dreyfus served as articles editor on the Texas Law Review and executive editor on the Texas Review of Law & Politics. He was also inducted into the Chancellors Society, Texas Law’s most prestigious honor society, and earned Dean’s Achievement Awards for Outstanding Student in four courses: Negotiation, Criminal Procedure: Investigation, Oil & Gas, and Constitutional Law I.
Reflecting on his top exam score, Dreyfus says, “The best thing the law school did was foster a sense of community where people are genuinely helpful and want their peers to succeed.”
With their recent accomplishments, Hopper and Dreyfus exemplify the success and values of the Texas Law community.