The School of Law distributed approximately $305,000 to roughly 95 students pursuing 2021 summer fellowships, which provide essential hands-on learning and involve legal work in government, judicial and public interest positions. This represents a 16% increase in summer fellowship dollars over last year’s record high of $263,000 and an approximately 450% increase over the last five years thanks to generous donations from graduates and friends.
The 2020-21 advocacy season was a success with two national titles secured in the South Texas Mock Trial Challenge and the National Online Moot Court Competition. The school also won the coveted Intrastate Moot Court and the Florida/Georgia-Hulsey/Gambrell Moot Court competitions in addition to finishing as finalists in the Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship and as national semifinalists in the prestigious National Moot Court Competition. These wins bring the law school's five-year tally to nine national titles, six regional crowns and three state trophies.
During the 2020-21 academic year, more than 450 School of Law students enrolled in clinical and field placement programs and provided approximately 94,000 uncompensated service hours. More than 26,500 of those hours occurred under the direct supervision of law school faculty members directing in-house clinical programs - all of which provide access to justice services for underrepresented communities and individuals.
Ten School of Law students are participating in global externships this summer. These four to 12-week placements are administered by the Dean Rusk International Law and provide practical work experience in a variety of legal settings - law firms, in-house legal departments and nongovernmental organizations based in Asia, Europe and South America - and practice areas, including dispute resolution, corporate law, refugee law and international human rights law.
Congratulations to the Class of 2019 for posting an Ultimate Bar Passage rate of 95.45%, meaning more than 95% of these graduates who sat for the bar examination within one year of graduation passed. This statistic adds further credence to the School of Law's vision of being the nation's best return on investment in legal education.