A&M Law students and faculty are among those awarded for advocating for the rights of detained immigrant women.

The Texas A&M University School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic, directed by Professor Fatma Marouf, jointly received the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project with law clinics from Boston University, Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Georgia.

In late May, the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with the Haifa Centre for Law and Technology at the University of Haifa in Israel, will hold a pre-launch of the book Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Global Inequality.

Forthcoming from Cambridge University Press, this interdisciplinary book is co-edited by Professor Daniel Benoliel of the University of Haifa Faculty of Law, Francis Gurry, the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) from 2008 to 2020, Professor Keun Lee of the department of economics at Seoul National University in South Korea and Regents Professor Peter Yu of Texas A&M University.

A team of researchers from Texas A&M University released a comprehensive legal needs assessment of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of Texas this week. The report presents the findings from a legal needs and oral history project simultaneously undertaken from August 2019 to September 2020 in the RGV.

The report provides a detailed discussion about access to legal information and documents pertinent to the legal needs of the region. More than 600 individuals participated in surveys, focus groups and interviews to create an overview of the historic legal-resource environment that exists for residents of the region.

“We are thrilled to be able to contribute to the first legal needs assessment in the Rio Grande Valley,” says Luz E. Herrera, Texas A&M Law professor and associate dean for experiential education.

“It was important for us to consult with community leaders and legal services consumers who understood the daily legal needs of individuals in the region” Herrera adds.

The American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers (ACCFL) has named Texas A&M University School of Law Professor William H. Henning, an ACCFL Fellow, as the recipient of the Homer Kripke Achievement Award.  

According to the ACCFL website, the award “recognizes a career of noteworthy leadership and a history of exceptional dedication to the improvement of commercial finance law and practice. Award recipients have contributed to, and often changed the course of, commercial finance law and practice through activities that have had a lasting and significant impact.”

The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services recently published Results of the Legal Incubator Lawyers’ Survey conducted by Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Luz Herrera.

President of the American Bar Association (ABA) Patricia Refo paid a virtual visit to Texas A&M university School of Law in early April. Refo participated on a panel with other bar association leaders who discussed the role and importance of bar associations and bar association membership with students.

Joining Refo on the panel were Emily B. Taylor, past president of the Texas Aggie Bar Association; Aaron Tobin, president of the Dallas Bar Association; and Gary Medlin, president of the Tarrant County Bar Association. Texas A&M Law Professor Aric Short moderated the discussion.

In her opening remarks, Refo described the vast scope of the largest voluntary bar association in the world, saying, “If it exists in the law, the ABA is working on it.”

Texas A&M Professor Brian N. Larson receives the Aggie Allies Rainbow Award this week. The Rainbow Award, sponsored by Aggie Allies, recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a commitment to diversity by serving as a role model and contributing to the education of the Texas A&M University community regarding LGBTQ+ people and issues. Award recipients receive a commemorative item and a monetary award.

According to law school student and OUTLaw student organization president Lora Naismith, Larson encourages networking events that are "crucial for younger LGBTQ+ law students." The networking events expose students to various practice areas and diversity and inclusivity efforts in the community.

Serving on the board of directors of the Dallas LGBT Bar Association, Larson furthers its mission to promote awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and to advocate for equality through his advocacy of OUTLaw. His support allows OUTLaw students to undertake initiatives aimed at reducing inequities.

The student group hosts a meeting in August to greet and welcome new LGBTQ+ students and allies and recently hosted a panel on the evolution of LGBTQ+ laws and discussed foster care and adoption for LGBTQ+ families. 

Texas A&M School of Law second-year students Taylor Garner and Isabelle Chapman bring home the American Bar Association (ABA) national championship in representation in mediation this month.

Texas A&M School of Law Community Development Clinic students advocate for conditional driver's licenses for all Texans. A report completed by students, faculty and practicing attorneys in the fall supports the Drive Texas Adelante campaign, a coalition of organizations united by their desire to advance conditional driver’s permit legislation for undocumented Texans and other communities.

As a result, members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, Senate Hispanic Caucus, House State Affair Committee and Senate Transportation Committee will gather early April for a policy briefing at which Luz Herrera, TAMU Law professor and associate dean for experiential education, will speak. 

"Driver’s licenses help keep everyone safe. Now more than ever, we need to make sure everyone can stay safe on the roads while they care for neighbors and their families during the pandemic. Crowded trucks, vans, and buses are not recommended means of transportation," says a statement of support circulated by the Drive Texas Adelante campaign.

On March 24-27, 2021, Professor Irene Calboli co-organized the Third Annual IPIRA Conference. Hosted virtually by the IP & Innovation Research of Asia (IPIRA) Network, the Third IPIRA Conference gathered over 300 presenters, chairs, and participants from Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.