For her enthusiastic efforts on behalf of students, Janice Pierce ’93 has been named the Texas Law 2025 Mentor of the Year.
“Every time I see Janice, she always asks me the same question: ‘What do you need from me?’ It’s a simple phrase, but it perfectly captures who Janice is as a mentor,” mentee Cassidy Winters ’27 wrote in her nomination for Pierce. “She is generous with her time, intentional in her support, and deeply committed to helping her mentees succeed.”
“Janice’s intentionality is just one aspect of what makes her an outstanding mentor,” Winters added in her nomination letter. “She asks the right questions, provides clear and honest feedback, and has a remarkable ability to make meaningful connections. Her advice has consistently helped me stand out professionally.”
Winters spent May through July 2025 as a judicial law clerk on the Supreme Court of the Republic of Rwanda, through the Sudreau Global Justice Institute, where she had “the most incredible summer experience thanks to Janice’s guidance.” That began with Pierce helping Winters make a choice when faced with two summer “dream opportunities” —the other involving anti-human trafficking in the office of the prosecutor in Uganda—due to her obvious passion for the work in Rwanda. Winters also applied networking skills. “Janice has taught me how to advocate for myself, build relationships, and be direct about what I’m looking for and the kind of support I need,” Winters says. “That was so helpful this summer, just opening up even more opportunities and meeting tons of fantastic people.”
(Winters, who came to The University of Texas at Austin from St. Louis, was previously featured in Texas Law’s “Meet the Class of 2027” article.)
To select Pierce as Mentor of the Year, a committee of Law School faculty and staff reviewed the nominations of 17 different alumni mentors and suggested finalists before Dean Bobby Chesney and Director of the Mentoring Program Rémi Ratliff ’95 made the final selection.
Janice is incredibly student focused. Once she understands her mentee’s interests and dreams, she tailors her advice and suggestions to their unique career and life path.
Rémi Ratliff ’95,
director of the Mentoring Program
Ratliff says two qualities make Pierce an exceptional mentor: focus and emotional intelligence. “Janice is incredibly student focused. Once she understands her mentee’s interests and dreams, she tailors her advice and suggestions to their unique career and life path,” Ratliff says. “Plus, she’s incredibly empathetic and encouraging.”
“At the core of a lot of Janice’s advice is figuring out who you want to be as a lawyer and a person, and how you can intentionally make use of the opportunities around you to do that well,” Winters says.
“In moments when I was nervous or unclear, Janice never let me cave to pressure or uncertainty,” Winters says. “She always held me accountable for what I was passionate about and the reasons I went to law school.”
Pierce knows firsthand how important a mentor can be. She found her own 1L year “extremely challenging.” Since the Mentoring Program didn’t yet exist, she identified her own mentors in the Austin legal community—relying on connections she’d made working for a large law firm after earning her UT MBA, doing local volunteer work, and through her CPA husband’s clients and business associates. “So many 1Ls don’t have that connection to Austin or Texas or attorneys who can mentor them, and this program fills a very important need,” says Pierce, an attorney providing probate, real estate, and estate planning services at Scofield & Scofield PC in Austin.
So, when Ratliff initially asked if she was interested in participating as a mentor in 2017, Pierce says she felt excited and honored at the prospect of making law school easier for current Texas Law students. She’s mentored seven of them since January 2018.
With that experience, Pierce has the following advice for law students:
Grades can improve. Although Pierce acknowledges that grades matter in law school, especially for securing internships and getting onto a journal staff, she advises students not to let grades negatively affect self-confidence when navigating law school and pursuing a legal career. Plus, grades can improve, says Pierce, who speaks from experience. “I finished my first semester closer to the bottom of the top half of the class than I like to admit. But, as I began taking courses in the area where I knew I’d be practicing, my grades—and confidence—improved and I graduated with honors,” she says. Students should remember they were accepted by Texas Law for their past academic excellence and non-academic achievements. “These are both significant indicators of future success,” she says. “And only you can determine what success means to you.”
Don’t compare. Comparing themselves to classmates—or to their own preconceived vision of a successful law career—is a counter-productive exercise for law students. That’s because, as Pierce says, many legal careers paths exist with none being the single best direction to take. “Every internship and job will provide valuable learning experiences,” which can move students down their original path or send them forging a new one based on fresh passions, she says. “And who knows? The new path may be even more rewarding to you.”
Broaden your horizons. Pierce notes that Texas Law students have access to educational opportunities like the Advocacy Program, world-class clinics, seminars, law journals, and pro bono projects. She encouraged Winters to participate in the Hutcheson Moot Court, which gave her mentee the confidence for summer interactions in Rwanda with Supreme Court justices or the president of the Court of Appeal. “Now is the time to take advantage of these options. Pursue projects and activities that are outside of your comfort zone,” Pierce recommends. These offer both a better understanding of the law’s impact on people and how students can help them, as well as new personal connections. “The more people you meet, the better the chances that you will come across someone who will help you in ways that you can’t imagine,” she says. “As my boss always says, ‘Every encounter is an opportunity.’ And over the years, I have found time and time again that he’s right!”
Ask for help. At some point, every law student will require assistance from their classmates, professors, mentors, or even their wider community. “You will be surprised to find out how many people are willing to invest in your success,” Pierce says, “Do not be afraid to reach out.” People love being contacted about their opinions and expertise, she says.
That, of course, applies extra to mentors.
Mentors give their time “because we remember how hard law school was and want to make life easier for you,” Pierce says. Mentor support can come in the form of a hug, pat on the back, or pep talk; a conversation about how to improve a resume, interviewing skills, approaching a professor or prospective employer; introductions to people in their networks who can offer help; or input on what courses to take, internship to apply for or accept, or area of law to pursue. “Or we can send you Tiff’s Treats cookie delivery, take you out for a coffee, beer, or good meal,” says Pierce.
“But most of all, your mentor is here for you,” she says. “All you need to do is ask.”
And mentors themselves also benefit from relationships with mentees. Pierce says discussions of the law in general and law school in particular offer her a reminder “of the excitement and fear I felt as a law student training my mind to think like a lawyer, why my passion for the law is enduring, and how much fun it is to talk through various aspects of the law,” she says. “It often requires me to reflect on where I’ve been and to dig deep so I can remember those important lessons from the early years of practicing that I need to pass along to another generation.”
Pierce adds that she learns something new and worthwhile from every mentee, including an introduction to how courts and attorneys can use artificial intelligence to streamline processes during her interactions with Winters. “I love being around young, intelligent people,” she says.
Both Winters and Pierce are emphatic that their relationship will continue even after the official mentorship ends.
“The Mentorship Program factored into my decision to pick Texas Law, so for it to have been such a meaningful experience, it’s everything that people say it is and more,” Winters says, “Having Janice as my mentor has been one of the best things to happen to me this this year. For a very long time, she’ll be at the top of my list to call when I have questions about my legal career,” Winters adds. “I can’t speak highly enough about Janice.”
Join us to celebrate 10 years of the Texas Law Mentoring Program. Everyone involved with the mentoring program at any point is invited. Registration will open soon.