U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson Jr., ’67, has been appointed founding dean of the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law, which is scheduled to open in August of 2014. Furgeson is currently a judge at the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas. Furgeson will begin his deanship at the law school in April 2013, after he retires from the bench.
The University of Texas School of Law and one of its recent graduates were honored by awards from the Texas Access to Justice Commission on November 14, 2011. Robert Brothers, ’11, received the Law Student Pro Bono Award along with Sarah Loeffler, a recent graduate of the University of Houston School of Law. The Law School received the Commitment to Service Award.
In recognition of National Pro Bono Week (October 23–29, 2011), the UT Law Pro Bono Program celebrates the pro bono efforts of members of the Law School community. Recently the Pro Bono Program spoke with Jake Gilbreath, a 2009 UT Law graduate and an attorney at Piper & Turner PLLC, about his pro bono work in family law.
Law School students and alumni provided pro bono legal advice to victims of the recent wildfires in Central Texas. Hundreds of people in and near Bastrop, about thirty miles east of Austin, have lost their homes or experienced significant damages.
Lisa Blatt and David Frederick are good friends from their days at UT Law who still cross paths every once in a while. That in itself is not unusual. Every Law School graduate has had the experience of running into fellow alumni in court, in social settings, or even in the grocery store. For Blatt and Frederick, however, the venue is somewhat more august—before the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. The two have faced off against each other there three times, including twice in the recent 2010–2011 session.
Ryan Newman, ’07, will begin a clerkship for Justice Samuel Alito at the U.S. Supreme Court at the beginning of the 2011–2012 term.
It seems like the dream of most UT Law School graduates: to have the opportunity to work at the highest level in the legal discipline about which you’re most passionate—all while being able to enjoy Barton Springs in the summertime. For Judge Elsa Alcala, ’89, who was appointed to the Texas Court Of Criminal Appeals on March 22, 2011, it’s a reality that she earned through years of tireless work at various levels in the Texas criminal justice system.
Alumni from far and near came to Austin for Reunion 2011, held April 15–16, at the Law School. Here are some photos from the festivities.
The University of Texas Law Alumni Association has announced the recipients of its 2011 distinguished alumni awards. Wayne A. Reaud received the Honorary Order of the Coif; The Honorable Sam Sparks, ’63, received the Lifetime Achievement Award; Ann Barnett Stern, ’82, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for Community Service; and Thomas M. Susman, ’67, received the Outstanding Alumnus Award.
A documentary, Incendiary: The Willingham Case, which explores the intricate arson forensics surrounding the Cameron Todd Willingham case and the polarized public responses to his execution, will premiere at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. The film was codirected by Law School alumnus Joe Bailey Jr., ’08.