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Lawnotes, the St. Mary's University School of Law Newsletter

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Lawnotes, the St. Mary's University School of Law Newsletter Digital Commons at St. Mary's University Law Notes School of Law Publications Fall 2006 LawNotes, The St. Mary's University School of Law Newsletter St. Mary's University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.stmarytx.edu/lawnotes Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation St. Mary's University School of Law, "LawNotes, The St. Mary's University School of Law Newsletter" (2006). Law Notes. 8. https://commons.stmarytx.edu/lawnotes/8 This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law Publications at Digital Commons at St. Mary's University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Law Notes by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at St. Mary's University. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Law School Accepting Applications to Evening Law Program The School of Law is now accepting applications to the evening law program, which will be re-established in the fall of 2007 in a move that is expected to attract professionals and others who might not be able to attend day classes. Enrollment will be capped at approximately 75 students. Restarting the evening program, which received approval from the American Bar Association this past summer, extends the school's mission of serving the broader Bill Piatt, dean, explains (Ourtroom enhan(ements at preview. community, said Bill Piatt, dean. "Over the last several years, we have received numerous inquiries about the New Courtroom Unveiled possibility of bringing back the evening program. There are many people out there Sneak Preview Held to Show Off Facility in the communities we serve who would like to pursue a legal education but can't St. Mary's University School of Law held "This is truly a first-class, state-of-the-art because they have to work or for other a sneak preview and open house this fall of courtroom that will give our students the reasons, " Piatt said. "Our evening program its $1.6 million courtroom where students opportunity to learn advocacy in one of the allows individuals with substantial work will get the opportunity to learn advocacy best, if not the best, law school courtrooms and life experiences to pursue a legal in one of the most technologically advanced in the country," Piatt said. "They will be education with the scheduling and university courtrooms in the country. able to use the technology in this flexibility many require." The project came in on schedule and courtroom that they will encounter in real­ Currently, the nearest evening law within budget, said Bill Piatt, dean of the world settings." programs are in Dallas and Houston. But School of Law. A formal dedication The courtroom was made possible law school administrators said they ceremony of the facility is scheduled for through the generous support of many decided to re-establish the evening 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007. Continued on page 4 II> program at St. Mary's, which discontinued accepting evening students in 1971 , Law School Fetes TYLA Moot Court Champions because they received tremendous interest from many people about an St. Mary's law students in June won the The TYLA trophy (Omes evening law program in South Texas. In Texas Young Lawyers Association Moot ba(k home. St. Mary's the past year alone, school administrators Court Competition at the State Bar students have won the Convention in Dallas, the most prestigious have received more than 400 inquiries (hampionship twi(e in advocacy competition in the State of Texas. from a variety of potential students, the past four years. They were honored with a celebration this See page 12 for a photo including doctors, soldiers, homemakers fall in the school courtyard. of the winning team. and employees of some of San Antonio's Alison Hicks, who received her juris largest employers. doctor degree in May, and third-year law law schools in Texas students Halina Radchenko and Kimberly fielded teams in this year's competition. Phillips defeated a team from South Texas Phillips also was recognized as the best Continued on page 4 11> College of Law in the final round. All nine Continued on page 8 II> Message from the A statistical survey by the Board of Dear Alumni, Law Examiners indicates that those students who begin preparation six Our efforts are coming to months in advance have a higher fruition! chance of success on the exam. Our We celebrated our victory in students are going that one better; the Texas Young Lawyers Moot more than 100 of our students have Court Competition where we been meeting on Sundays 10 months placed first out of all law schools ahead of the exam and they will in Texas. This is the second time in continue to do so in anticipation of four years that we have won the making them and us proud next year. championship, and it is not going Our summer 2007 Innsbruck institute to be the last! will feature U.S. Supreme Court Justice Our courtroom is breathtaking. Antonin Scalia. I will have the privilege We held a preview for the Law of assisting him in his course on Alumni Association Board of Comparative Constitutional Law. We Directors, the St. Mary's also are planning an alumni CLE event University Board of Trustees, our -perhaps we'll see you in the Alps. donors, faculty, staff and students. You can almost touch the very A dedication ceremony will be positive spirit at our school. We are so held Jan. 31,2007, at which time proud of our students and their we will begin webcasting oral accomplishments. The faculty, staff and arguments of the Supreme Court I invite you to visit us, see our new of Texas. courtroom, interact with our students, We are hard at work putting the and bask in the glow of your very finishing touches on our evening successful alma mater. • program. Beginning in August 2007, we will reduce the size of our Bill Piatt, Dean and Ryan Professor of law entering class by eliminating the bottom 25 percent of the class. (That fact alone will produce spectacular bar passage rates for us in 2010.) We Official data of the Board of Law will bring approximately 75 evening Examiners indicates that in two of the last students into our law school, representing four bar administrations, our students the cream of the crop in this area. have exceeded the statewide average for San Antonio is currently the largest first-time test takers. In February 2006, we metropolitan area in the country without achieved an 81 percent bar passage rate. an evening program. There is no program As this goes to press, we are eagerly of this nature in Austin, either. As a result, awaiting the results of the summer 2006 we have a population of almost 3 million bar exam. The students who will take the who do not presently have access to an exam in 2007 are already hard at work. evening law program. That all changes Under the supervision of Sharon next fall. Already we are working with Breckenridge-Thomas, director of the San Antonio Bar Association, Academic Excellence, they have numerous other organizations, and with organized themselves into a "Sunday our recruiting offices to identify the School" and are meeting on the weekends most eligible individuals to enroll in to study for the July 2007 bar exam. this program. 2 Law St. Mary's Honors Casseb, Green as 2006 Distinguished Law Graduates The St. Mary's Law Alumni Association State Bar of Texas. He also served as president honored attorney Joeseph Casseb and Texas of the St. Mary's University Law Alumni Joe Casseb Supreme Court Justice Paul W. Green with the Association and on the Board of Trustees of Distinguished Law Graduate Award at a St. Mary's University. dinner in their honor on Friday, Oct. 20. Before he was elected to the Texas Supreme Casseb, a partner with Goode Casseb Jones Court, Green served 10 years as a justice on Riklin Choate & Watson in San Antonio, and Texas' Fourth District Court of Appeals in Green, who joined the court in 2004, both San Antonio. graduated from St. Mary's University School of Previously Green practiced law for 17 years Law in 1977. with the firm of Green McReynolds & Green Before going into private practice, Casseb in San Antonio. was an assistant district attorney in Bexar Green has served as president of the San County and an assistant U.S. attorney for the Antonio Bar Association, director of the State Western District of Texas. He is a past Bar of Texas and was a member of the president of the San Antonio Bar Association, American Bar Association House of a former chairman of the San Antonio Bar Delegates. He is a sustaining life fellow of the Paul W. Green Foundation and served as a director of the San Antonio and Texas Bar foundations. • Crump Sworn in as TYLA President Karin Crump (J.D. '92), an attorney with Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom LLP in Austin, is sworn-in as Praying for Good Bar Results president of the Texas Young Lawyers Mike Simpson (J.D. '98), far of Law Examiners confirm Association of the left, with the Christian Legal that the bar passage rate of State Bar of Texas by Society, shares a light-hearted first-time examinees from Chief Justice Wallace moment during a prayer with St. Mary's has exceeded the Jefferson of the St. Mary's students prior to statewide average passing Texas Supreme Court the three-day Texas Bar rate on two recent WoUace Jefferson swears in Karin Crump.
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