Tag: William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law

Five students at the University of Texas School of Law have been selected to receive Baron & Budd Public Interest Summer Fellowships for the coming summer. The program will provide each fellow with a $4,250 stipend to work fulltime for at least ten weeks providing legal services to underrepresented individuals or communities.

Six graduating students at the University of Texas School of Law have been honored by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law for their extraordinary commitment during law school to using the law to serve others. This annual award honors graduating students for work in the nonprofit, government, and legislative sectors, as well as participation in clinical courses, pro bono projects, and student groups. The award winners were recognized by Dean Ward Farnsworth at a reception at the Law School, and will each receive $500. In addition, BARBRI has generously provided the award winners with $500 discounts for bar review courses.

Two graduating students at the University of Texas School of Law have been selected to receive one-year postgraduate fellowships to help pilot the Texas Title Project, an innovative title-clearing project designed to provide low-income disaster survivors with the chance to move to higher opportunity neighborhoods.

Six students at the University of Texas School of Law have been selected as the 2013 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows. The fellowships are made possible by a gift from Bill, ’70, and Stephanie Whitehurst, and are administered by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at the Law School. The fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding students between their second and third years of law school to support their summer public interest work.

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.

On Friday, April 5, 2013, the Law School’s William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law and the Texas Journal for Civil Liberties and Civil Rights will present an all-day conference entitled “The Role of Law in Closing the Educational Achievement Gap.”

Texas receives highest award in nation through development of innovative, progressive pilot.

The Law School’s William Wayne Justice Center has received a $500,000 grant from the Texas General Land Office to fund work on the Texas Title Homeownership Opportunity Program Project. The GLO grant comes from federal funds designated to assist Hurricanes Dolly and Ike survivors relocate to higher opportunity neighborhoods. The project is part of a larger coordinated hurricane recovery program that includes the participation of communities affected by the disasters, advocates for low-income survivors, and local, state, and federal agencies.

On Tuesday, March 19, 2013, the University of Texas School of Law’s William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law and Career Services Office will present speaker Vanita Gupta, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and director of the ACLU’s National Campaign to End Overincarceration. Gupta has been involved in several significant Texas cases.

The William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law will present Marie-Therese Connolly as the Law School’s second G. Rollie White Public Interest Scholar in Residence, February 18-21, 2013. Connolly, who recently received a MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellowship for her work to prevent elderly abuse, is a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and is formerly the director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Elder Justice and Nursing Home Initiative. During her time at the Law School, Connolly will make two presentations that are free and open to the public.

National student loan expert Heather Jarvis will address public service professionals and students from UT Law and other Texas law schools in the Charles I. Francis Auditorium on February 1, 2013. This is her second consecutive year to present “Public Service Loan Forgiveness in Five Easy Steps” during the annual Public Service Career Fair, the largest public service legal job fair in Texas. This year she will also cover the details of President Obama’s new Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan, including how borrowers can determine whether they qualify.

Six students have been selected to serve as Public Service Scholars for the 2012–2013 year with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at the University of Texas School of Law.