Where Do We Go from Here? Texas Law Schools Chart a Course

By anDrew pearce efforts to identify and implement widesolve concerning diversity and antiracism, with many asking: “Where do we go from here?” To answer that question, we reached out to the leaders of Texas’ law schools to learn what they have been doing, and what more they plan to do, to engage in meaningful conversations with their students, faculty, and community. We also asked how they plan to move from conversation to action, in an effort to make meaningful and lasting change.1 For many, the work to foster a diverse and inclusive law school and legal profession began years ago, and those efforts have already begun to show results. For example, SMU Dedman School of Law has increased the diversity of its incoming class from 18.7% students of color in 2014 to over 30% in this fall’s incoming class. South Texas College of Law Houston saw its percentage of students of color increase over the last decade from 31.1% to 45.5%, and the percentage of women went from 46.0% to 54.4%. Similarly, Texas Tech School of Law’s admissions numbers are among the school’s most notable diversity successes over the last three years. The school’s entering class went from 28.1% students of color in 2017 to 38.8% by 2019. More recently, Texas law schools have begun ranging initiatives, such as creating new faculty positions focused on diversity and Where Do We inclusion, requiring implicit bias training, finding ways to increase the pipeline of diverse students applying to study law, and encouraging authentic conversations beGo from Here? Below is what the deans and other representatives of several Texas law schools had to say.

Texas Law Schools

Chart a Course

This year has witnessed a renewed retween faculty, staff, and students. thurgood Marshall school of law at texas southern university Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL), named after the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, is the only law school in Texas created as a result of state-sanctioned discrimination. Yet, despite its unprivileged beginning, TMSL has embraced its mission of expanding opportunities for the underserved in the legal profession and has been at the forefront of diversity and inclusion initiatives since its founding.

According to Chevazz Brown, a partner at Jackson Walker and former TMSL valedictorian, “No school in Texas has done more in terms of creating access for people of color to the legal profession than TMSL.” And the numbers back up that statement. As reported by Texas Lawyer in a March 2018 article, 91% of TMSL’s students hail from minority racial and ethnic backgrounds.

TMSL plays a critical role in addressing racial injustice by, among other things, supplying the legal profession with lawyers from those communities who truly understand and represent the experiences of their communities. For many, TMSL provides the only opportunity into the profession.

As Dean Joan Bullock stated, “TMSL’s next chapter in addressing racial injustice is its emphasis on educating law students not just on the law, but more importantly, on the history and context in which the laws as we know them were created. This knowledge will equip these soon-to-be attorneys as discerning advocates leading the charge to address seemingly neutral laws that have a disparate and negative impact

on the underserved. Further, with the majority of its student population being diverse, TMSL will champion education that centers on skills development to enhance students’ ability to tactically utilize inclusion and equity initiatives in navigating their professional destiny.”

south texas College of law Houston Dean Michael F. Barry noted that “diversity is at the core of South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston), which began as a school of opportunity.” In fact, STCL Houston has long included diversity as one of the pillars of its mission, which is to provide “a diverse body of students with the opportunity to obtain an exceptional legal education, preparing graduates to serve their community and the profession with distinction.” “We’ve got to get this right,” Barry said. “It is imperative for our school, our students, and the community they will serve.” Likewise, Professor Shelby A. Dickerson Moore, Vice President of STCL Houston’s new Office of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, stressed the need to “move forward in a more intentional way.”

To that end, STCL Houston has implemented a number of initiatives, such as conducting a diversity audit to determine the school’s strengths, as well as identifying opportunities for improvement and promoting racial awareness throughout the school to foster more meaningful conversations about race and bias.

These efforts begin even before students start at STCL Houston, with events that include get-togethers for African-American law school applicants, led by the school’s African-American student population, a pre-orientation “boot camp” for AfricanAmerican students, and implicit-bias awareness training as part of its new student orientation.

STCL Houston also actively seeks and encourages minority students to apply, and then works with its diverse faculty and student body to reach out, welcome, and build an internal support network to help these new students. The goal is to ensure that new and first-generation students become university of Houston law Center “Diversity is our nation’s strength,” says Dean Leonard Baynes of University of Houston Law Center (UHLC). “There is a lot of talent that is unfortunately sometimes overlooked and underutilized.” He additionally points out that the full participation of this overlooked group in our profession “will add considerable value and breadth to our analysis of complex legal issues and lead to greater societal good.”

UHLC, as an institution, welcomes conversations. “It is important for members of [the] community to tell their truths, but not to become prisoners of the past. It is important to forgive when that forgiveness is justified. To this end, [UHLC has begun]... holding a series of events and dialogues with different groups.”2

UHLC also recommitted to making its community an even more diverse and inclusive place to learn and work. For example, all incoming students will receive diversity and inclusion training (with a goal of expanding training to all students), and diversity and inclusion workshops will continue for law faculty and staff. The school’s Law Center Diversity and Inclusion Committee is also developing workshops for the upcoming academic year that will be open to the Law Center community.

UHLC continues to be committed to ensuring diverse undergraduate students who want to pursue a legal career are prepared to do so. UHLC’s award-winning Pre-Law Pipeline Program, which was designed to “increase the diversity of law school applicants by providing law school preparatory resources,” “provide[s] opportunities for [its] scholars to learn from, engage with, and be inspired by leading scholars and experts.”3

Baylor law “Baylor Law is addressing the issues of race and racial relations through a planning group (including students) that is being convened and that will be going forth to develop programming,” says Dean Bradley J.B. Toben. “The objective is to involve the entire Law School community— students, faculty, and staff—in meaningful discussions involving racism, policing, and other policies and legal constructs that have been identified as furthering the racial divide and fostering the tensions that have become, once again, painfully evident in the wake of recent tragedies, including the death of George Floyd.”

Baylor Law has had ongoing programs focusing on these issues, such as programming this past academic year involving the appearance of Anthony Graves, an exoneree, who gave a riveting presentation focused upon the ills of mass incarceration. More recently, Baylor Law had a webinar featuring Jarvis Parsons speaking on racism in the criminal justice system.

Baylor Law is also considering different ideas and programming vehicles, including Race Equity Training, a program on Intro to Law and the Professional Development, and a Racial Equity Challenge.

sMu dedman school of law “At SMU Dedman School of Law, we are committed to fostering diversity and inclusion at both our school and in the legal profession,” said Dean Jennifer Collins. “Our special obligation to do justice means we must do more than simply offer words of support—we must take real and concrete action.”

SMU Dedman Law’s initiatives include efforts to increase the pipeline of diverse students applying to study law. During orientation week, SMU Dedman Law provides a special day of programming for, and in support of, its incoming diverse students. It also requires participation in SMU’s university-wide cultural intelligence initiative (which encourages students to be aware and respectful of differences), and a poverty simulation program has been mandatory for incoming 1Ls for the past two years.

Additionally, SMU Dedman Law has instituted a Diversity Week every fall, which consists of student-driven programming, and many other conversations and collaborations with attorneys throughout the community. SMU Dedman Law also created the

Dean’s Diversity Council to give students an opportunity to provide key law school administrators with their feedback and ideas about the campus climate and future programming efforts.

st. Mary’s university school of law At St. Mary’s University School of Law, serving its diverse community—both on campus and beyond—is at the core of the school’s mission. According to Dean Patricia Roberts, “As a Marianist and Catholic institution, St. Mary’s promotes the dignity and rights of all people, acknowledges the special responsibility of those training and forming students to raise awareness of the inequity in our nation and world, and works to eliminate it where it still exists.”

Dean Roberts is scheduling monthly meetings with the leadership of student identity groups to maintain open dialogue with the dean’s office. In addition, the Dean’s Advisory Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was created to advise the dean on ways to increase diversity among faculty, staff, and students.

Racism and immigration topics are also addressed in the law school’s curriculum. Faculty lead a course on Racism and the Law, and every J.D. student must complete at least 30 hours of service prior to graduation. In addition, St. Mary’s Law’s robust clinical program includes assistance for those in need, such as immigrants, those wrongfully convicted, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, those facing eviction.

texas a&M law “What is notable about the current moment is the opportunity to make real societal headway. Both as lawyers and as Aggies, we are called upon to be part of the change—to build and to help uphold a legal system that protects each and respects all,” said Dean Bobby Ahdieh. “We have much work to do to get there. I hope our Law School community can play its vital part in that journey.”

Texas A&M Law created the Diversity Council, chaired by Professor Neal Newman, and comprised of five faculty, five staff, five students, which is intended to reflect and engage the broad diversity of the school and community. For Professor Newman, the goal is to “navigate both the fierce urgency of now and the longer-term imperative to reach justice.”

Texas A&M Law has begun by asking how to foster frank dialogue and candid, uncomfortable conversations. In his position as Diversity Council Chair, Professor Newman explained, the “hope and the goal is for each faculty member to assess what they are teaching in their individual classes and think about how issues of race, implicit biases in the legal system, cultural and structural inequities, may be playing into the ultimate verdicts or decisions the courts are reaching. We recognize this may be taking a lot of us out of our comfort zones. But that’s the point. A lot of this is uncomfortable.”

The school has also begun internal-facing initiatives, such as implicit bias and related training during and after orientation, coupled with efforts to facilitate employment opportunities. Those efforts include Texas A&M Law’s Texas Apprenticeship Network, working with diversity programs within law firms, and looking at professional opportunities in which minority students have not been adequately represented.

texas tech university school of law “There’s much more work to be done,” said Dean Jack Wade Nowlin, a former firstgeneration college student. “We all need to learn and improve each year. We owe it to our students to help build a better future— for them and for everyone.”

As part of its commitment, Texas Tech Law recently named Professor Wendy Ross and Associate Dean Sofia Rodriguez Chapman as diversity directors to further advance the school’s goals in this crucial area, and the administration at Texas Tech Law has made diversity, equity, and inclusion an increasing priority since 2017.

As part of its new diversity focus, the school for the last two years has offered all first-generation college students a scholarship. Diversity programming in the law school has also increased dramatically since 2017—led by a faculty-staff diversity committee, the office for student life, student organizations, and a gender equity task force, which was established in 2018. Texas Tech Law also established a studentled Diversity Advisory Board at a diversity weekend retreat for students held in 2019.

In 2020, the law school formed an alumni-focused Special Committee for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice to bring more resources to bear to offer support and opportunities for diverse students. Understanding cultural competency, intersectionality, and implicit bias will be an important part of the ongoing conversation. A new mentoring program for students is also in development.

university of texas school of law Texas Law responded swiftly. As Dean Ward Farnsworth noted, “Above its front doors, these words are etched, ‘that they may truly and impartially administer justice.’ The UT Law School views racism as an affront to that mission. We are committed to producing lawyers who lead the fight for justice under law in this and all other respects.”

Texas Law established a faculty committee right away to oversee the school’s response to the current dialogue about racism. That committee created great programming for our community about racial economic equality and about problems of police brutality. It was sophisticated and well-received. But, of course, that’s just a start. The committee has also been working with the rest of the faculty on ways that problems of race and racism can be addressed more effectively in Texas Law’s classrooms this fall and beyond. This is an ongoing project.

Texas Law has other initiatives in mind, and they will be developed over the weeks and months to come. In Texas Law’s view, this is not a time for rushing to tell students what they need. It is a time for listening to them well and carefully on that subject. That’s what Texas Law is doing.

Conclusion Although the percentage of African American citizens in Texas is 12.8%, only 6% of attorneys are African American.4 The per-

centage of African American partners and associates at large law firms is even lower. The efforts above are intended to improve these numbers and the experiences of African American lawyers and students, in general. Maybe as immediately important is the recognition among the leaders of Texas’ law schools that now is the time to work on these issues collectively through joint efforts, discussions, and the willingness to share best practices moving forward. This effort began with a joint statement by the 10 Texas law school deans condemning racism5 and was followed by the work of the deans of SMU Dedman Law and UHLC, who have collaborated “to organize a joint workshop this fall among Texas legal leaders to work on addressing the underrepresentation of African American and other minorities in our legal profession.” In an editorial published in the Houston Chronicle, they stated that by “working together to increase these numbers, we can ensure that, unlike 170 years ago, the progress of African Americans in the state is not further delayed.”6 Andrew Pearce is a shareholder and the litigation group chair at BoyarMiller. He is also an associate editor of The Houston Lawyer.

endnotes

1. Unless otherwise noted, the statistics discussed in this article were provided by individuals representing each institution. The quotes are from telephone or email conversations the author had with the person to whom the quote is attributed. Notes from these virtual interviews are on file with the author. 2. University of Houston Law Center, A

Note from the Office of the Dean Leonard M. Baynes (June 2020), https://www.law. uh.edu/news/dean/ 2020-0626.html. 3. University of Houston

Law Center, UHLC Pre-

Law Pipeline Program, http://law.uh.edu/ pipeline/about.asp (last visited Sept. 7, 2020);

University of Houston

Law Center, Racial and

Human Rights Initiative, http://www.law.uh. edu/rjhr/ (last visited

Sept. 7, 2020). 4. Leonard M. Baynes &

Jennifer Collins, Opinion: Black Lawyers Matter: What the Texas Legal

Community Can Do to

Eradicate Racism, June 19, 2020, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/ outlook/article/Opinion-Black-lawyers-matter-What-the-

Texas-15349954.php. 5. Amy Starnes, Texas Law School Deans Issue Statement

Condemning Racism, Remembering George Floyd (June 11, 2020), https://blog.texasbar.com/2020/06/articles/ law-schools/texas-law-school-deans-issue-statementcondemning-racism-remembering-george-floyd/. 6. Leonard M. Baynes & Jennifer Collins, Opinion: Black

Lawyers Matter: What the Texas Legal Community Can

Do to Eradicate Racism, June 19, 2020, https://www. houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Opinion-

Black-lawyers-matter-What-the-Texas-15349954.php.

CO-CONVENORS

BLACK LAWYERS MATTER:

Strategies to Enhance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion