Change It Up! 2024: Texas Law’s Public Interest Orientation

Location: Susman Godfrey Atrium & Eidman Courtroom

Started by students in 2013, Change It Up! is Texas Law’s annual public-interest orientation. Our Friday afternoon program gives us a chance to welcome law students into the social justice community at the law school, and to strengthen our networks and resources among public-interest students, organizations, faculty, staff, alumni, and local attorneys. 

CIU 2024! will begin with formal remarks, followed by lunch and conversation at subject-specific tables, a panel featuring recent graduates who practice public interest law, and opportunities to connect with like-minded students, faculty, staff and attorneys. The formal program at the law school will be followed by a student-organized happy hour off campus. Check-in starts at 12:45pm. Everyone is asked to be seated for lunch by 1:15pm. 

Registration:

Space is limited. Register here starting on August 1.

Program:

12:45-1:15 Check in – Susman Godfrey Atrium

Check in to get a name tag and locate your assigned tables. Please come early if you can. Chat with friends while you wait. The program will start promptly at 1:15.
1:15- 2:45 Lunch Program – Susman Godfrey Atrium

Lunch will be organized around subject-specific tables, which will give students the opportunity to meet faculty, students, and attorneys involved in different public interest fields. Participants will have the opportunity to indicate their table topic preferences when they register for the event. They will be assigned to a table for lunch and will move to a second assigned table for dessert.

Click here for the table topics and bios of the faculty, staff, and attorneys hosting the tables.

The lunch program will also include the following:

  • Welcome: Nicole Simmons, Director of the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law
  • Remarks: Susie Morse, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, The University of Texas School of Law
3:00 – 4:30 Alumni Panel – Eidman Courtroom
Recent graduates across a range of fields will discuss their paths through law school and how they participate in social change lawyering as attorneys.

  • Moderator:  Rhiannon Hamam, ’16, Supervising Attorney, Mithoff Pro Bono Program, William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law
  • Kirsten Budwine, ’23, Manne Fellow, Texas Civil Rights Project, Austin
  • Zoraima Pelaez, ’22, Staff Attorney, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, New York City
  • Anna Roberson, ’20, Staff Attorney, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, San Antonio
  • Evan Snyder, ’23, Attorney, Travis County Public Defender’s Office, Austin
4:30 Closing

Contact Information:

Liza Soria (Center Coordinator/Event Organizer)
justicecenter@law.utexas.edu 

Co-Sponsored by: 

Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, Budd Innocence Center, Capital Punishment Center, Career Services Office

Student organization co-sponsors:

American Constitution Society, Environmental Law Society, GRITS, If/When/How, Law Students for Black Lives, OUTLaw, Plaintiff Advocacy Litigation Society, Public Defense Group, Public Interest Law Association, Texas Health Law Society, Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, Texas Law Fellowships

Resources:

A Beginner’s Guide to Public Interest at Texas Law