This week’s edition of P.S. features a Texas law school’s 75th anniversary celebration of its student legal clinics serving low-income members of the community, three Susman Godfrey lawyers who have received three separate awards, the Dallas Bar Association’s jurist of the year, and recognition of other firms for their commitment to pro bono and public service, including Winston & Strawn, Akin, DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells.
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— This week, Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law celebrated “clinic week,” which commemorated the 75th anniversary of its pro bono legal clinics. On Thursday, the celebration culminated with a keynote lecture by special guest Deborah Archer, the president of the American Civil Liberties Union.
SMU Dedman launched its first legal clinic in 1948. The law school was among the first in the nation to sponsor a community legal clinic designed to provide practical experience to law students while serving the indigent in their community. Today, SMU Dedman runs 10 clinics that specialize in various aspects of the law, including child advocacy, the First Amendment, family law and trademarks for small businesses. Students have served several thousand clients over the 75-year history of the clinics.
— Last week, the Dallas Bar Association honored Justice Maricela Moore Breedlove of Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals and Ophelia Camiña of Susman Godfrey with awards for their outstanding professionalism, commitment to public service and advancing diversity and mentorship in the legal profession at the DBA’s annual Bench Bar Conference.
Justice Breedlove was honored with the Barbara M.G. Lynn Jurist of the Year award. She is the third recipient of the award since its 2021 inception, following Judge Lynn herself and Breedlove’s Fifth COA colleague, Justice Ken Molberg. Each year the award goes to a judge who makes significant contributions to the legal community in North Texas and demonstrates high ideals, exemplary personal character and judicial competence.
Camiña was honored with the DBA’s Trial Lawyer of the Year award, which is given annually to a DBA member who best exemplifies the noble principles of the legal profession.
— On Nov. 15, Texas Appleseed will honor Houston lawyers Melanie Gray and Mark Wawro with the 2023 J. Chrys Dougherty Good Apple Award for their community service and pro bono work. Gray, who was a bankruptcy partner at Winston & Strawn before her 2020 retirement, is known for her community service and contributions to the arts, education, healthcare and advancement of women and girls. She is a founder and executive committee member of The Center for Women in Law, leading the charge in creating a lasting legacy for future generations of women lawyers. The pro bono work of Wawro, a partner at Susman Godfrey, includes a case with the Innocence Project that led to overturning a wrongful conviction and helping Texas Appleseed rein in predatory payday and auto title lenders. Wawro served on Texas Appleseed’s board for more than 20 years and played a significant role in helping the organization grow and thrive.
Texas Appleseed will also recognize three law firms with the Pro Bono Award: Akin, DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells.
Akin is currently representing Texas Appleseed in its intervention in the public information lawsuit between the Government Land Office and the Texas Attorney General. Akin lawyers are making efforts to obtain public information that will ensure disaster recovery programs are administered in a nondiscriminatory and equitable way.
DLA Piper has helped Texas Appleseed with an array of projects, including its work to ensure Texans in prisons have accessible, high-quality options to pursue postsecondary education and to simplify the student aid process for students experiencing homelessness. The firm is also researching the affect the Covid-19 pandemic had on the long-term care industry and the impacts of several bills passed by the Texas Legislature.
Hogan Lovells has worked extensively to support Texas Appleseed’s advocacy toward ending youth homelessness. Hogan Lovells lawyers have focused on work and research to empower minors to sign leases and enter housing contracts.
Each firm is collaborating with Texas Appleseed, Appleseed Mexico, National Appleseed and Mexican nonprofit Rebozo to update the Children of the Border report, which evaluates the experiences and treatment of Mexican unaccompanied children and will strengthen advocacy efforts for improved conditions.
Table sponsorships are currently available for the Nov. 15 Good Apple Dinner, where the honorees will receive their awards. The event will take place at the Four Seasons in Austin at 6 p.m. Visit here to donate or sponsor.
— On April 18, 2024, Susman Godfrey partner Shawn Raymond will receive the Anti-Defamation League’s Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award at the Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award Luncheon. ADL’s southwest chapter presents this award every year to an outstanding member of the legal community who exhibits a commitment to equality, justice and community service.
Raymond, who taught with Teach For America before becoming a lawyer, co-founded a nonprofit during law school called the Sunflower County Freedom Project, which uses the history and spirit of the Civil Rights Movement to provide educational and leadership opportunities to teenagers living in the Mississippi Delta.
Raymond was also the first man elected as board chair of the Houston Area Women’s Center, which provides emergency shelter and other services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. He also serves on the board for KIPP Texas Public Schools and is active in pro bono work. He secured an order by the Texas Supreme Court that required the State of Texas to pay nearly $2 million to a former death row inmate for wrongful imprisonment. He also launched Susman Godfrey’s minority-owned business pro bono initiative, which invites small, minority-owned businesses to apply for pro bono representation by the firm.
Susman Godfrey partner Neal Manne and Gibson Dunn partner (and former Fifth Circuit judge) Gregg Costa are co-chairing the ADL luncheon. The event will be at the Hilton Americas Houston and begins at 11:30 a.m.