This week’s edition of P.S. features a Dallas-area law school’s new six-figure research project aimed at protecting Sixth Amendment rights, July dates for the Dallas Bar Association and Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s pro bono legal clinics (virtual, telephone and in-person), and background on a national animal rights-focused nonprofit that recently hired a new director in Texas.
The Latest
— The Deason Criminal Justice Center at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law will receive an $800,000 federal grant from the Department of Justice that will fund a research project aimed at helping state and local leaders improve public defense. The anonymous study, funded by the DOJ’s research, development and evaluation agency, the National Institute of Justice, will look at five local public defense systems in four states in the South, Midwest, Southwest and East Coast. To evaluate whether new public defense structures helped drive significant change, researchers will collect and compare data about pre-and post-implementation representation rates, pretrial detention rates and case outcomes. The Deason Center researchers have begun working on the project and plan to complete their study by the end of 2026.
“Across the country, public defense policymakers are grappling with how best to deliver public defense services to honor the Sixth Amendment right to counsel,” Pamela Metzger, executive director of the Deason Center, said in a statement. “Experts and advocates have long called for more data and clearer policy guidance about how to uphold this vital constitutional principle. This project will offer important insights about best practices and will help to ensure that every arrested person receives the zealous defense that they deserve.”
— Throughout the month of July, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program will host 11 virtual and in-person legal clinics providing pro bono assistance to low-income Dallas residents in need of legal advice. DVAP is the pro bono arm of the Dallas Bar Association and a joint venture between the DBA and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Sponsors July’s clinics include one law school, nine law firms and one corporate in-house legal department.
Virtual clinics (all run from 8 a.m to 8 p.m.)
July 3: DVAP and St. Mary’s University School of Law
July 11: DVAP and Akin
July 12: (veterans clinic): DVAP and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
July 18: DVAP and DLA Piper
July 25: DVAP and Haynes Boone
To apply for free legal advice via one of the virtual clinics, fill out this form here.
In-person clinics
South Dallas clinic: July 9 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Katten Muchin Rosenman
Veterans clinic: July 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the VA Medical Center (4500 S. Lancaster Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Hunton Andrews Kurth, Prudential and Gibson Dunn
Specialty clinic: July 17 at 5 p.m. at the Friendship West Baptist Church (2020 W. Wheatland Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and DBA’s Solo Volunteers section
East Dallas clinic: July 18 at 5 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church (4105 Junius, Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and McDermott Will & Emery
South Dallas clinic: July 23 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Winston & Strawn
West Dallas clinic: July 25 at 5 p.m. at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center (2828 Fish Trap Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Solo Volunteers
— Separately, the DBA is offering five phone legal clinics through its LegalLine E-Clinic every Wednesday in July. Those in need of free legal advice will receive a call from an anonymous volunteer attorney, who will offer up to 15 minutes of their time to answer questions. The Wednesday clinics run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Space is limited, and registration each week closes Tuesdays at noon.
To receive up to 15 minutes of free legal advice this month, complete this online form.
— National nonprofit Animal Wellness Action announced this week that it has appointed a new Texas state director: public relations veteran Linda Robertson. The Animal Wellness Center’s mission is to help animals by promoting laws and regulations at federal state and local levels that forbid cruelty to all animals. The group also works to enforce anticruelty and wildlife protection laws. Robertson is a former broadcast reporter and has led media relations and communications outreach for four universities, a for-profit education company and EQT Corp., the country’s largest natural gas provider.