SCHOOL OF LAW

The Society Program was initiated in 2004 to build a sense of community within the Law School and to allow students to better interact with faculty in small groups.

There are eight societies in all, with 100 students in each society (50 from each class). Each society has a faculty advisor and a student program coordinator who plan activities for their groups. The activities vary depending on the faculty adviser and the interests of the students, but every society has social, academic/professional, and public service activities. The 1st-year members of each society are split into two mentor groups of 25 apiece. Each mentor group is headed by an upper-class law student mentor, who serves as advisor and counselor throughout the entire year. The mentors also welcome incoming first year law students during the summer before law school begins and host get-togethers prior to Orientation.

The societies are named for individuals closely associated with the Law School, such as Gloria Bradford, the first African American female to graduate from UT Law, Carlos Cadena, a 1940 graduate who was a respected judge and civil rights crusader, and Leon Green, a 1915 graduate who was one of the Twentieth Century's most important torts scholars. The eight societies are:

• Gloria K. Bradford Society, honoring the first African-American female to graduate from UT Law (1954).

  Faculty Advisor: John Dzienkowski

• Carlos Cadena Society, honoring a summa cum laude graduate of UT Law, a respected judge, and a civil rights crusader.

  Faculty Advisor: Zipporah Wiseman

• Leon Green Society, a 1915 graduate who was one of the Twentieth Century's most important tort scholars and a leading figure in American Legal Realism.

  Faculty Advisor: Guy Wellborn

• Helen Hargrave Society, honoring UT Law's longtime librarian and the School's first female faculty member.

  Faculty Advisor: Sarah Buel

• Gus Hodges Society, honoring a highly popular professor who used his experience to earn the respect of the legislature, bench, and bar.

  Faculty Advisor: Patrick Woolley

• Charles McCormick Society, honoring a former dean who was nationally known for his contributions in federal procedure, damages, and evidence.

  Faculty Advisor: Patricia Hansen

• Alice Sheffield Society, honoring the successful Gulf Oil attorney who was one of UT Law's first female graduates (1918).

  Faculty Advisor: Michael Sturley

• John Sutton Society, honoring a longtime professor of evidence and professional responsibility and former dean known for his collegiality.

  Faculty Advisor: Alex Albright

Under the leadership of Professor David Simon Sokolow, Director of Student Life, and Allyson Childs, the Director of Student Programs, who also serves as a counselor, students have engaged in such society activities as building houses for Habitat for Humanity; tutoring local elementary students; raising funds to donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation; and participating in Race for the Cure.