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*[[Michael McCaul]], J.D. 1987, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from Texas's 10th Congressional District<ref name="Michael McCaul">{{cite web|title=Michael McCaul|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m001157|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref>
*[[Michael McCaul]], J.D. 1987, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from Texas's 10th Congressional District<ref name="Michael McCaul">{{cite web|title=Michael McCaul|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=m001157|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref>
* [[Glenn Hegar]], M.A. and J.D. 1997, [[Texas Senate|Texas State Senator]] 2007–2014; Member of the Texas House from 2003–2007; elected [[Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts]] in 2014 State General Election
* [[Glenn Hegar]], M.A. and J.D. 1997, [[Texas Senate|Texas State Senator]] 2007–2014; Member of the Texas House from 2003–2007; elected [[Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts]] in 2014 State General Election
*[[Carlos Uresti]], J.D. 1992, Former [[Texas Senate|Texas State Senator]] for Texas's 19th Senate District{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}}
*[[Carlos Uresti]], J.D. 1992, Former [[Texas Senate|Texas State Senator]] for Texas's 19th Senate District<ref>{{cite web|title=Former state Sen. Carlos Uresti sentenced to 12 years in prison|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/26/state-sen-carlos-uresti-sentenced-felony-fourwinds/|publisher=Texas Tribune|accessdate=5 May 2019}}</ref>
*[[Kika de la Garza]], J.D. 1952, Former [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Texas's 15th Congressional District, former Chairman of [[House Agriculture Committee]], Former [[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Kika de la Garza|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000203|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref>
*[[Kika de la Garza]], J.D. 1952, Former [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Texas's 15th Congressional District, former Chairman of [[House Agriculture Committee]], Former [[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Kika de la Garza|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000203|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref>
*[[Blake Farenthold]], J.D. 1989, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Texas's 27th Congressional District<ref>{{cite web|title=Blake Farenthold|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000460|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref>
*[[Blake Farenthold]], J.D. 1989, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Texas's 27th Congressional District<ref>{{cite web|title=Blake Farenthold|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000460|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref>

Revision as of 03:57, 27 May 2019

St. Mary's University School of Law
The Marianist Cross
Established1927
School typePrivate Catholic
DeanVincent R. Johnson
LocationSan Antonio, Texas, USA
Enrollment773
Faculty56 full-time, 68 part-time[1]
USNWR rankingNot ranked (bottom quartile)[2]
Bar pass rate70.2% (July 2018 first-time takers)[3]
Websitelaw.stmarytx.edu
ABA profileSt. Mary's Law Profile

St. Mary's University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of St. Mary's University. The law school is located in San Antonio, Texas, USA and is the only Catholic law school in the American Southwest. The University is a private Catholic university. The School of Law has an enrollment of about 770 students, pursuing Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.), or Master of Jurisprudence (M.Jur.) degrees. St. Mary's is the first law school in Texas to offer the M.Jur., a graduate degree in the study of law for students not seeking to enter the practice of law.[5]

History

In October 1927, the San Antonio Bar Association established the San Antonio School of Law, which for seven years after its founding was administered by a board of governors under the control of the bar association. Until the School of Law became associated with a physical campus, classes were held at the Bexar County Courthouse. In an attempt to maximize educational and material resources of the fledgling institution, the Board of Governors negotiated with St. Mary's University regarding a transfer of the School of Law's administrative control. The transfer was completed on October 1, 1934, and St. Mary's University School of Law was officially established.

The School of Law was then housed at St. Mary's University's original downtown campus at 112 College Street, situated near what would later become the city's largest tourist attraction, the San Antonio River Walk. Possessing several military bases, San Antonio experienced a surge of population and industry in the years immediately following the World War II. This exponential growth resulted in more law students. To meet these new demands adequately, the School of Law organized itself to meet the requirements of the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. It received accreditation from the ABA in February 1948 and became a member of the AALS in December 1949.

On December 19, 1967, the School of Law relocated from the College Street campus to join the main campus of St. Mary's. A multimillion-dollar expansion project had provided for the addition of eight new buildings to the main University campus, including a lecture hall, law library, and faculty building comprising the Law Center. The school held its first classes the next month, in January 1968. Since 1968, the school has had several structures rededicated, renovated, or expanded, including the Law Administration Building, housing the office of the dean; the Law Classroom Building; and the Sarita Kenedy East Law Library, dedicated in 1984 after the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation gave the School of Law $7.5 million to fund its construction in January 1982.

Employment

According to St. Mary's ABA-required disclosures, 60% of St. Mary's 2017 graduates found full-time long-term employment that required bar passage.[6]

Admissions and costs

According to St. Mary's 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 1,339 people applied to enter in the fall of 2017. 63% of those applicants were accepted, and 34% of those admitted enrolled at the school.[6] For students enrolling in the fall of 2017, the average LSAT score was 150, and the average GPA was 3.12.

The total cost of full-time attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at St. Mary's for the 2016–17 academic year was $56,994, of which tuition is $36,310. The total cost for part-time attendance is $44,654, of which tuition is $23,970.[7]

Programs

The School of Law hosts the St. Mary's University Institute on World Legal Problems in Innsbruck, in the Tyrol region of Austria, which students have the opportunity to attend each summer. Currently under the direction of Professor Michael Ariens and Professor Mark Cochran, several prominent legal scholars have taught courses or lectured at the institute, including Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist, who returned for several summers, and Frank Höpfel, ad litem judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The 2009 Distinguished Visiting Jurist was Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

The St. Mary's University School of Law Institute on Chinese Law and Business prepares law students for representing clients doing business with Chinese partners. Located each summer at Beihang University in Beijing, China, the Institute introduces students to the Chinese legal system and the instruments of international and domestic law governing cross-border sales of goods, protection of intellectual property and investments. Participants learn about the practical realities of doing business in China, as well as the dispute resolution mechanisms that play a large role in enforcing private agreements between enterprises in China and the United States. Most American students hold internships in leading law firms and corporate legal offices in Beijing during their participation in the program.

The School of Law offers many Judicial Internships to its students in conjunction with the following courts:

In addition, students from St. Mary's University often participate in three judicial internship programs in Austin operated under the supervision of the University of Texas School of Law. Those internships are with:

Centers

The Center for Terrorism Law aims to address "current and potential legal issues related to terrorism in light of the challenge of achieving and maintaining a proper balance between global security and civil justice." It recently secured a $1 million U.S. Department of Defense appropriation to study "Homeland Defense and Civil Support Threat Information Collection." This grant was conditioned upon "independent information gathering [by the Center] to compile and study all of the various state legislation that has been enacted (particularly since 9/11) related to how various state governments have chosen to balance the issue of increased security concerns and the protection of civil liberties." The Center is directed by Professor of Law Jeffrey Addicott .[8]

The Center for International Legal Studies developed following the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the establishment of the North American Development Bank in San Antonio. The program was created to develop relationships with foreign universities and conduct public service outreach in the Mexico-U.S. border area. Through course offerings, overseas programs, faculty and student exchanges, and other activities, the Center offers extensive exposure to comparative and international law.

The Center for Legal and Social Justice

The Center for Legal and Social Justice[9] permits students to act as the attorney of record for indigent clients who cannot find legal help elsewhere. It offers three clinical programs to students: the Civil Justice Clinic; the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic; the Criminal Justice Clinic.

The Center for Legal and Social Justice[10] also houses the School of Law’s Pro Bono Program for which students may participate by volunteering in the community, including the Identification Recovery Program. Through the ID Recovery Program, students help those individuals without the means to obtain recovery of their identification credentials retrieve them—often at no cost to the individual.

In addition, the Center for Legal and Social Justice recently partnered with the University of Texas School of Law Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program to launch the San Antonio Gender Affirmation Project. The inaugural clinic was held April 20, 2019, at The Center — San Antonio Pride Center. Students from both of the law schools organized the clinic, with community stakeholders. The clinic was the culmination of the work of the volunteer attorneys, student attorney supervisors, local media, student volunteers, and director of The Center, among others. The clinic—thought a success—is expected to be continued in subsequent semesters.[11]

Facilities

The Sarita Kenedy East Law Library is the largest legal information center in San Antonio and the surrounding area. A federal depository, the Library's collection consists of print, microfilm, and multimedia items totaling over 400,000 volumes (or equivalent). The facility includes two large reading rooms and shelving spaces, two computer labs, a Rare Book Room, an Alumni Room (for reading and receptions), 17 conference rooms (or group studies), 136 study carrels, three media/instruction classrooms, and three copy/printing centers. There is a popular reading area in the library with popular magazines and newspapers. There is also a student lounge for breaks and snacks. The library also houses the law review offices of the St. Mary's Law Journal and The Scholar. In addition, the library is home to the Office of Career Services.

In 2006, the Courtroom at St. Mary's underwent a $1 million renovation. The modernization project included the installation of information technology tools, which mirror that of the courtrooms in the Bexar County Courthouse. The Courtroom seats 300 and features interchangeable furniture and fixture configurations, suiting the needs of either appellate or trial proceedings. The full Texas Supreme Court, an en banc panel of Texas Courts of Appeals, and a panel of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit have presided over mock proceedings in the Moot Courtroom.

Publications

The first issue of the St. Mary's Law Journal

The School of Law is home to three legal periodicals. The St. Mary's Law Journal is the flagship journal. It is produced by the students of St. Mary's University School of Law. The Journal was founded in 1969 as a "practitioner's journal."[12] In the last five years, the Journal has ranked as high as #45 and as low as #55 for citations by courts out of 1,659 law reviews in the nation.[13]

Among the authors who have published in the St. Mary's Law Journal are William H. Rehnquist, former Chief Justice of the United States; Carla Hills, then a member of the President Gerald Ford's Cabinet; Father F. Darin, S.J., a former member of the House Watergate Committee; Broadus A. Spivey, President of the State Bar of Texas; and numerous Justices of the Texas Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals.[14]

In 2011, the St. Mary's Law Journal began producing the St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics, which is produced annually by the members of the Journal. This topic-specific journal addresses legal malpractice and ethics issues that impact the daily work of legal practitioners. To this effort, the St. Mary's Law Journal also hosts an annual Symposium on legal malpractice and ethics issues.

The School of Law is also home to The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Minority Issues. This topic-specific law review focuses exclusively on legal issues that impact minorities across the world. The Scholar's inaugural issue was published in 1999. The Scholar is currently ranked as the third most cited out of 44 minority issues law journals.[13]

Advocacy programs

St. Mary's is home to several external advocacy teams: Mock Trial, Moot Court, Arbitration, and Negotiation. Since the year 2000, the Moot Court program has brought St. Mary’s two state championships, numerous regional championships, two national finalist rankings, and two national championships in advocacy. St. Mary’s students have been individually recognized as well, receiving numerous brief and advocacy awards, including Best Brief at a National competition (twice), Best Brief in the State of Texas, and Best Advocate in the state (twice), region (twice), and nation (twice).

The St. Mary's Moot Court team was the 2010 national champions of the Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition (CRAL),. Marian Reilly, a St. Mary's student, was recognized for the second year in a row as the Best Brief Writer. Trevor Hall, another St. Mary's student, was awarded the Best Advocate Award for the final round.

The Black Law Student Association's Mock Trial Team won the Rocky Mountain Region Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial in 2008–2009, and were regional finalists in the 2010 competition.

The School of Law has hosted a variety of advocacy competitions. Recently, the School of Law hosted the 2010 Lone Star Classic, an annual invitational mock trial tournament open to ABA-accredited law schools nationwide. Additionally, the School of Law recently hosted the National Finals of the Arbitration Competition, conducted by the ABA Law Student Division and the National Arbitration Forum.

Deans

Nine individuals have held the title of dean:

  • 1927-1938, Anton N. Moursund
  • 1938-1942, Henry B. Dieleman
  • 1946-1978, Ernest A. Raba
  • 1978-1989, James N. Castleberry, Jr.
  • 1989-1998, Barbara Bader Aldave
  • 1998-2007, Robert William "Bill" Piatt
  • 2007-2014, Charles E. Cantú
  • 2014–2019, Stephen M. Sheppard[15]
  • 2019–Present, Vincent R. Johnson[16]

Notable alumni

Judiciary

Elected officials

Other

References

  1. ^ "Standard 509 Disclosure". Abarequireddisclosures.org. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  2. ^ https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/st-marys-university-03151
  3. ^ https://ble.texas.gov/2018_July
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ABAData was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "St. Mary's launches Master of Jurisprudence program for non-lawyers". Brownsville Herald. January 17, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Standard 509 Disclosure". www.abarequireddisclosures.org. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  7. ^ "ABA Required Disclosures". St. Mary's University School of Law. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ "Center for Terrorism Law – St. Mary's School of Law". St. Mary's School of Law. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  9. ^ "Pro Bono Program". St. Mary's School of Law. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  10. ^ "Pro Bono Program". St. Mary's School of Law. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  11. ^ "Gender-marker changes help transgender San Antonians reflect who they are, not who they used to be". San Antonio Express News. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  12. ^ History – St. Mary's Law Journal – San Antonio, Texas
  13. ^ a b "Law Calendar". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  14. ^ About St. Mary's Law Journal – San Antonio, Texas
  15. ^ "St. Mary's Law School Dean Steps Down; Search for Successor Begins Soon". Rivard Report. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  16. ^ "Vincent R. Johnson – St. Mary's Law". St. Mary's School of Law. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  17. ^ "Berchelmann, Hon. David (Ret.)". namanhowell.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved March 3, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Valerie Godines Fitzgerald, "Historic Path: Judge Ender retires from post," Laredo Morning Times, December 31, 2012, pp. 1, 14A
  19. ^ "Paul W. Green". NNDB. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  20. ^ "Profile for Judge Barbara Hervey". Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Judge Rickhoff's Bio". tomrickhoff.blogspot.com. August 5, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  22. ^ "John Cornyn". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  23. ^ a b "Michael McCaul". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  24. ^ "Former state Sen. Carlos Uresti sentenced to 12 years in prison". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  25. ^ "Kika de la Garza". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  26. ^ "Blake Farenthold". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  27. ^ "Charlie Gonzalez". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  28. ^ "Henry B. Gonzalez". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  29. ^ "About Brooks Landgraf". brookslandgraf.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  30. ^ "Joe Nixon's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  31. ^ "Four Price". Texas House of Representatives. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  32. ^ "Tom Corbett". NNDB. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  33. ^ "Peter Kinder". NNDB. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  34. ^ "Art Martinez de Vara". American Bar Association. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  35. ^ "About Pete". petesaenzformayor.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 164 (John R. Vile, ed.)(ABC-CLIO, 2001) https://books.google.com/books?id=XR1NPiqp5aQC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=Hayden+C.+Covington&source=bl&ots=jwEdwjpCk0&sig=RFMCceTRI-fbAR_pr1NBgy9jKPc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicv7_9nvjVAhXmqFQKHUcUCzUQ6AEIjQEwEw#v=onepage&q=Hayden%20C.%20Covington&f=false
  37. ^ "Jared Woodfill Biography". mbasic.facebook.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.

29°27′36″N 98°34′02″W / 29.460033°N 98.567329°W / 29.460033; -98.567329

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