AUSTIN, Texas — Ciara Williams, a second year student at The University of Texas School of Law, is the recipient of the Access to Justice Scholarship for spring 2006. This $1,000 scholarship is presented to a woman student at the Law School who has demonstrated a sustained and passionate commitment to promote access in the justice system, and who has overcome significant obstacles.
The scholarship is given by the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ)
and will be presented on April 10 at UT Law's Eidman Courtroom during the "Color
of Justice" program jointly sponsored by the National Association of Women
Judges, the Travis County Women Lawyers Association and the Women's Law Caucus.
The scholarship will be formally presented by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice
Wallace Jefferson, ’88, and Judge Susan Criss, District Director of NAWJ
in Texas. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. and the scholarship will be awarded
at approximately 10:45 a.m. Judge Criss is responsible for producing the video
“Color of Justice” that will be shown that day.
Justice Bea Ann Smith, ’75, of the Third Court of Appeals in Austin is a former president of the National Association of Women Judges and will introduce the opening panel of judges. The judges will share their experiences and the reasons why they chose careers in the law; another panel of prominent local attorneys, chaired by Judge Orlinda Naranjo, will discuss how law school prepares you for many different careers, and how to prepare yourself to attend law school.
Following the program, the panelists will join the students for lunch in small
group settings to answer questions. The students attending are from Austin's
Akins High School. This is the second “Color of Justice” program
presented in Austin with the collaboration of the Travis County Women Lawyers
Association, represented by local attorney Elizabeth Branch.
Ciara M. Williams earned her B.A. in political science from Texas A&M; before
that she lived in Germany several years and attended fourteen different schools
as a member of an Army family. At the Law School, she is a member of Board of
Advocates and has participated in numerous mock trial competitions. She is also
involved with the American Journal of Criminal Law, Street Law, and
the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society. Coincidently, when she was an undergraduate,
Williams worked as a summer intern for the National Association of Women Judges
in Washington, D.C., an experience she credits with strengthening her resolve
to become a lawyer. In 2005 Williams worked as a summer associate with the Houston
firm of Beirne, Maynard & Parsons. This coming summer she will clerk for
Scott, Hulse, Marshall, Feuille, Finger and Thurmond in El Paso, and Clark,
Thomas and Winters in Austin.
Related Link:
National Association of Women Judges: http://www.nawj.org/