Speaker Travel and Honorariums

Speaker Travel and Honorariums

Student organizations desiring to invite speakers to the Law School must have approval from the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs before the event is scheduled or the speaker invited.

Organizations inviting judges to campus must also notify the clerkship program.

The purpose of this approval process is not intended to restrict student organizations from having speakers; it is simply an effort to ensure that only one major event is planned for any particular date and that security is hired if needed. If it is deemed that security is needed, the organization must meet with the UT Police Department. It is the group’s responsibility to pay for the security.

Speaker Travel

If you intend to pay for your speaker’s travel, you must have a written agreement spelling out what expenses you are covering (an email exchange is fine). First you must contact the Law Accounting Team (accounting@law.utexas.edu) to find out if the traveler has the necessary paperwork on file and is part of the university’s vendor database. If they do not, the Law Accounting Team will launch the necessary process via DocuSign to add the speaker to the vendor database. After this paperwork is completed, the speaker will be assigned an EID. This needs to be done first, before any arrangements can be made.

After you have the speaker’s EID, Mia or Dean Bangs will submit a Request for Travel Authorization (RTA). Only at this point can you make the travel arrangements or reimburse your speaker.

If the speaker makes his or her own travel arrangements, collect all the receipts after the event. Mia can then assist you in submitting the travel reimbursement. Provide the speaker the Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate. We cannot reimburse tax. 

Alternatively, you can book the speaker’s airfare and pay for it directly using the university’s travel agency, Anthony Travel (512-617-8444 or UTTravel@AnthonyTravel.com). A number of local hotels will also bill the University directly so that your speakers do not have to pay and wait for reimbursement. Mia or the Law Accounting Office can assist you with hotel reservations. We cannot pay for tax or incidentals.

Again, you must have an RTA completed before being able to book travel or hotels.

Honorarium Services

All Honorariums must have prior approval from the Dean’s Office. Anyone being paid an honorarium must be set up in the university vendor database. To check if someone is set up or to initiate the set-up process, contact the Law Accounting Team (accounting@law.utexas.edu). They will assist with set up in the vendor database if necessary. Once the person is set up, the necessary purchase order can be put in place before the event. Please note, if you do not have the necessary purchase order set up before your event, you cannot provide any honorarium.