Category: Law School News

The 2013 Sunflower Ceremony—the Law School’s signature graduation event—will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. at the Frank Erwin Jr. Special Events Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Degree candidates, their families, and friends are invited to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2013. At 2:30 p.m., prior to the Sunflower Ceremony, all degree candidates are invited to gather in the Erwin Center’s Lone Star Room.

Center for Women in Law Executive Director Linda Chanow received the 2013 Advancement of Women Award by the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association and the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Foundation at the 2013 Annual Grants and Awards Luncheon on April 26, 2013, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. The Advancement of Women Award honors women who have demonstrated excellence in their work and set a positive example for women in law.

The Law School community is saddened to learn of the death of former Dean John Sutton, ’41, who passed away April 19, 2013, in San Angelo. Sutton was the A.W. Walker, Jr. Centennial Chair Emeritus at the University of Texas School of Law, and taught, wrote, and worked in the field of professional responsibility for over forty five years. He also served as dean of the Law School from 1979 to 1984.

The Law School’s William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law and the UT Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis have released a report addressing the increasing use of criminal histories in Texas for purposes unrelated to criminal justice.

Gregory J. Smith has joined the University of Texas School of Law as Assistant Dean for Continuing Legal Education.

The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at the University of Texas School of Law recently received a three-year, $150,000 grant from the Creekmore and Adele Fath Charitable Foundation. The grant launched the Frances T. “Sissy” Farenthold Archives Project, which will document Farenthold’s contributions to Texas and U.S. politics, the women’s peace movement, and international human rights and justice.

The Law School's Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law has rolled out a cutting-edge legal blog with an inaugural post on hydraulic fracturing from Professor David Spence. UT Law Grid will contribute to vital academic and policy debates in the Energy Center’s core subject areas with regular updates from University of Texas professors, prominent practitioners, lawmakers, and policy experts. In particular, as the Texas Legislature begins its 83rd session in January 2013, the Center will use the blog to participate in relevant policy discussions around water and energy issues.

Faculty, fellows, and students conduct study on informal housing settlements in Texas.

For more than half a century, students at the Law School have enjoyed the Hyder Collection—thousands of legal-related art pieces on semi-permanent loan and displayed throughout the school that, in addition to their aesthetic value, have served to provide a social and historical context for the study of the law. Now, thanks to the efforts of many, a large part of that collection has found a permanent home at the school.

Terry and Joan Oxford, who met at the Law School as students in 1976, have given $250,000 towards faculty excellence

As the world becomes ever more interconnected, Law School students are globalizing their educations through exchange programs all over the world.

The Chancellors honor society celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary with a Chancellors reunion and celebration on April 13, 2012.