Texas Law students Seth Manetta-Dillon, ’16, and Maxwelle Sokol, ’15, were awarded Baron & Budd Public Interest Scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year, each receiving $4,500 for working 300 hours during the school year with nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to underserved individuals or communities.
The scholarships were made possible by a gift from the Baron & Budd law firm, and were administered by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at The University of Texas School of Law.
The scholarship supported Manetta-Dillon’s work with the Texas Civil Rights Project in all aspects of litigation, including investigation of potential cases; work with clients; preparation of complains, discovery, and motions; and assistance with depositions, hearings, and trials in federal and state court. Last summer Manetta-Dillon interned with the U.S. Department of Education Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C.
Sokol worked for Texas Appleseed, where she focused on Texas’s school-to-prison pipeline, researching the treatment of truancy as a Class C criminal misdemeanor under Texas law. Last summer Sokol interned at the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sokol was a Pro Bono Beacon, having completed 466 pro bono hours by the end of her 3L year. She also served as a staff editor for the Texas International Law Journal and the Texas Journal of Women, Gender and the Law.