The University of Texas School of Law and Baylor University
School of Law Announce Scholarships for Future Legal Aid Lawyers
left to right: University of Texas Law School Dean Bill Powers, Texas
Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill, Judge William Wayne Justice, Texas
Access to Justice Commission Chair James B. Sales, and Baylor School of
Law Dean Bradley Toben.
AUSTIN, Texas - Just weeks after a historic Supreme Court of Texas hearing
on the status of legal services for the poor, two Texas law schools have
agreed to provide scholarships for students who commit to practice law with
recognized legal aid organizations.
Baylor University School of Law and the William Wayne Justice Center for
Public Interest Law at the University of Texas School of Law have established
the Equal Justice Scholarships, which will be awarded to students with strong
academic credentials as well as demonstrated commitment to public service.
Upon graduation from law school, the scholarship recipients, in accordance
with their commitment, will practice law at legal aid organizations for
at least three years.
"Every time a Texan is denied access to justice because they can't afford
it is a tragedy," said Bill Powers, dean of the University of Texas School
of Law, at an Oct. 5, 2004, press conference in the Supreme Court courtroom
in Austin. "It is a privilege for us to be involved in this program, which
is a good step along the road for providing access to justice to all Texans.
This will send a message to other students that access to justice is everybody's
obligation."
The Texas Access to Justice Commission, charged with overseeing the legal
aid delivery system in Texas, has worked closely with the two law schools
to implement the scholarship program. James B. Sales, chair of the Commission
and a partner in the Houston office of Fulbright & Jaworski, hopes that
other Texas law schools will be encouraged to create similar scholarships.
"[Providing access to justice]iis a societal problem, not a legal problem,
but the legal profession must take a leadership role in helping to solve
the problem, and that's what we will do," Sales said. " UT and Baylor have
assumed a leadership role in the legal profession's service to the community
and have demonstrated their commitment to equal justice under the law. The
Commission is endeavoring to work with all Texas law schools to implement
some form of scholarship program that will, in the long term, provide more
lawyers to serve poor and low-income Texans."
According to the American Bar Association, law school graduates carry an
average of $77,000 in school loan debt. Yet, the average entry-level salary
for a legal aid attorney is approximately $36,000 per year. The association
recommends several strategies to alleviate the burden, including loan repayment
or forgiveness programs and law school scholarships and fellowships for
graduates who are willing to practice law with legal aid providers.
"We teach our students that the practice of law is a privilege and with
that comes responsibility to be stewards of justice," said Brad Toben, dean
of Baylor Law School. "This scholarship program will make it possible for
our graduates to serve where they are truly most needed."
Currently in Texas, legal aid meets only 25 percent of the legal needs of
poor Texans. To address this dilemma, the Texas Access to Justice Commission
has undertaken a broad-based approach to increase access to the justice
system for the poor. In 2002, the Commission created the Texas Student Loan
Repayment Assistance Program to assist legal aid lawyers with law school
loan debt. To date, the Commission has provided more than $45,000 to legal
aid lawyers in Texas. The State Bar of Texas recently committed an additional
$70,000 to the program. Despite these efforts, student loan repayment presents
a major obstacle to graduates working for legal aid providers.
The Commission has also launched an ambitious five-year strategic plan,
which includes the creation of an endowment fund, increasing corporate support,
formulating programs to expand pro bono legal services and engaging law
schools in legal aid issues.
Baylor University School of Law has committed to fund two Equal Justice
Scholarships, collectively valued at $143,000. The first scholarship will
begin in 2005; the second will begin in 2007. The William Wayne Justice
Center at U.T. School of Law has committed to fund three scholarships, collectively
valued at $135,000. UT will implement one scholarship each year over the
next three years. Both law schools will evaluate the possibility of funding
additional scholarships in the future.
The Texas Access to Justice Commission (www.texasatj.org) was created by the Supreme Court of
Texas to coordinate legal aid services for poor Texans. The Commission is
charged with increasing resources for legal aid and developing policy initiatives
to increase access to the legal system for Texas' most vulnerable residents
Contacts:
Laura Figueroa, Commission, (512)320-0099, ext. 14
Alan Hunt, Baylor Law School, (254)710-6271
Eden Harrington, UT Law School (512)232-7068
