State Bar of Texas Blog : State Bar of Texas Blog : News & Features on Lawyers & Attorneys & Legal Professionals in Austin, Dallas, Houston & TX

Four distinguished law school deans held a lively discussion about the future of law school education before a capacity crowd Thursday at the State Bar Annual Meeting. Roger Cossack - who is participating in his eighth consecutive Annual Meeting! - moderated the debate, which was part of the Future of the Profession CLE. The panel included Ken Starr (pictured, left) of Pepperdine Law School, Larry Sager of the University of Texas Law School, John Attanasio (pictured, right) of Southern Methodist University, and Brad Toben of Baylor Law School. The hot topic was the rising cost of law school education. All agreed that tuition is too high but that there are no easy solutions. Increasing scholarship budgets and providing loan forgiveness programs help, but "most law schools are vitally tuition dependent," said Starr, adding that alumni associations need to get "radically interested" in this issue. Toben raised the issue of law schools' dependence on the U.S. News & World Report rankings, perceived as all important by many prospective students and law firm recruiters. "Too much money is being spent to get better rankings," he said. Sager added that the system makes it difficult for schools to view students holistically rather than as a number because the ranking focuses on how much schools spend per student. "That's a huge variable," said Sager.

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"Scumbag Billionaire" is the title of the 24th Bar None variety show, where Dallas-area attorneys, judges, paralegals, and other legal professionals prove each year that the legal profession has plenty of humor and creative talent.

This year's show runs June 17-20 at the Greer Garson Theatre on the SMU campus. All proceeds benefit Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Scholarships at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, for which Bar None has raised more than $1.1 million over the years.

For tickets, visit BarNoneShow.com

Check out these videos of past Bar None performances: 

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On May 11, 2009, we greeted a new group of lawyers with an induction ceremony at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. We pulled several of them aside to find out what their plans are now that they're licensed attorneys. Check out their responses below. Stay tuned to this blog for more from our new lawyer interviews.

New lawyers: Welcome to profession. Please see our page of resources for new lawyers.

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The Texas Lawyer blog reported today that Donald J. Guter is the new dean of South Texas College of Law. He comes to South Texas from Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, where he served as dean from 2003 through 2008.

Guter's tenure begins Aug. 1, following the retirement of South Texas College of Law dean James Alfini, who has served as the school's dean and president since 2003.

Guter served in the U.S. Navy for 32 years, retiring in 2002 as a Rear Admiral, Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). He climbed the ranks of the JAG corps serving as trial counsel, legislative counsel, special counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations, and ultimately became the 37th Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 2000-2002. He has since served as the CEO for the Vinson Hall Corporation and the executive director of the Navy Marine Coast Guard Residence Foundation. He currently serves as the president of the Judge Advocates Association Foundation, is on the board of the St. Thomas More Society, and chairs the American Bar Association’s standing committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel.

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The finals of the 34th Annual National Trial Competition are set for March 26 - 28 in San Antonio. Its cohosts are the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) and the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL). A whopping 152 law schools and 300 teams competed in 14 regionals around the country, and 28 finalists are headed to San Antonio.

The TYLA and ACTL are seeking 56 judges for each of the first three preliminary rounds, and 56 witnesses for each of the first four preliminary rounds.

If you can serve as a judge in one or more of the championship rounds, please click the following links (judges must be licensed attorneys):

Round 1: 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, March 26
Round 2: 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 26
Round 3: 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon on Friday, March 27

If you can serve as a witness in one or more of the championship rounds, please click the following links.  (Note the earlier starting time for witness preparation):

Round 1: 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, March 26
Round 2: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 26
Round 3: 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Friday, March 27
Round 4: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27

This is a big request, but also a great chance to nurture the careers of aspiring lawyers and help the legal community. If you need more information about being a judge, please email Ashley Street  or Israel Garcia. For more information about being a witness, please email Alyssa Long or Alfonso Cabanas.

National Trial Competition website
 

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