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Ward Farnsworth

New Law School Dean appointed

Ward Farnsworth, associate dean for academic affairs at Boston University School of Law, has been named dean of the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. Farnsworth’s appointment, effective June 1, fills the position currently held by Interim Dean Stefanie Lindquist.


From left to right, Coach Debbie Langehennig, ‘88, Eric Werlinger, Brian Cumings, and Coach Jay Ong, stand in front of the University of Texas Tower, which was illumniated on May 8 in honor of Cumings and Werlinger's winning the national championship for the Law School's interscholastic team in the Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition.

UT Tower lit for Law School interscholastic team’s national championship

On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, beginning at 7:30 p.m., the University of Texas Tower was illuminated in burnt orange with lit windows spelling out a “No. 1″ in recognition of the School of Law’s national championship at the twentieth annual Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, held at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, March 9-12, 2012.


On target! Among the many attractions of the Society Games is the water balloon launch.

The Society Pages

The Society Program has been building community as the Law School and beyond since 2004.


Adjunct Professor David C. Frederick, '89; Leroy G. Denman Jr. Regents Professor Lynn Blais; and Michael Sturley, Fannie Coplin Regents Chair.

Supreme Court Clinic wins unanimous decision at U.S. Supreme Court in Pacific Operators Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid

The University of Texas School of Law’s Supreme Court Clinic won a unanimous victory on January 11, 2012, in Pacific Operators Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid, a case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court by Clinic Codirector David C. Frederick, ’89. The Clinic was representing Luisa C. Valladolid, whose husband was killed in a forklift accident at a site owned by his employer, Pacific Operators Offshore LLP. At issue was whether she was entitled to state workers’ compensation benefits under California law or federal benefits under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.


The Law School's U.S. Attorney internship program and Advanced Criminal Prosecution Seminar allow students to work with and learn from lawyers in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Austin. Professor Susan Klein, left, teaches the seminar with Anthony Brown, '86, far right, chief assistant United States attorney for the Austin Division of the Western District of Texas. The 2011 U.S. Attorney interns are at center, from left, Della Sentilles, Michael Vitris, and Ingrid Grobey. Not pictured is intern Drew Pennebaker.

Learning to Prosecute

The Advanced Criminal Prosecution Seminar and U.S. Attorney Internship Program give students a rare opportunity to gain practical, real-world experience in the world of federal prosecution.


A Youth Court bailiff swears in the jury while Emma Quintero, ’12, looks on.

Peer Review

Students at Austin’s Webb Middle School set up their own dispute resolution forum with the help of Law School students and professors.


The 2011 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows are, from left to right, (l-r) Jordan Pollock, Amelia Ruiz Fischer, Alissa Parsley, Meg Clifford, Kelsey Snapp, Michael O’Keefe Cowles.

Justice Center announces 2011 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows

Six students at the University of Texas School of Law have been selected as the 2011 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows. The fellowships are made possible by a gift from Bill, ’70, and Stephanie Whitehurst, and are administered by the Law School’s William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law. The fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding students between their second and third years of law school to support their summer public interest work.


Dean Larry Sager, left, and Dean Jorge Cerdio, right, after signing papers establishing a dual-degree program between UT Law and ITAM.

University of Texas School of Law Announces Dual Degree Program with Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México

The University of Texas School of Law and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City have announced a new dual-degree program that will allow students to earn both a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law and a Licenciatura en Derecho (Mexican professional degree in law) from ITAM. Lawrence Sager, dean of the UT Law School, and Jorge Cerdio, dean of the Department of Law at ITAM, signed the agreement at a ceremony in UT Law’s Susman Academic Center on March 5, 2011.


Claire Rodriguez, '11

Third-year law student awarded Julius Glickman Fellowship to pursue worker rights project

The University of Texas School of Law’s Justice Corps program recently awarded the Julius Glickman Fellowship in Public Interest Law to third-year student Claire Rodriguez. The two-year fellowship provides $45,000 per year for full-time legal work on a project sponsored by an existing public-interest legal organization and supervised by a licensed attorney.


John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition National Champions Bryan Acklin, '12, Lauren Sprouse, '11, Robert Clopton, '11, Tony McDonald, '12, with coach Jay Adkins, '82. The team's other coach, Ciara Williams, '07, is not pictured

UT Law team wins national championship at John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition

The Law School’s interscholastic team won a national championship at the John L. Costello National Criminal Law Trial Advocacy Competition, held in Fairfax, Virginia, February 10–13, 2011.