SMU celebrates 75 years of pro bono legal clinics in Dallas

The Clinical Program at SMU Dedman School of Law celebrates its 75th anniversary this week, and there is much to celebrate. That’s 75 years of free legal services to thousands of real people with real problems and without the means to hire a lawyer. That’s 75 years of ensuring families have safe and affordable places to live, protecting the liberties of those in the justice system, safeguarding seniors’ financial stability, and ensuring that employees obtain the benefits to which they are entitled.

Much as a medical school clinic may provide free medical care, the Dedman Law Clinics provide free legal services to those unable to afford a private lawyer. Housed on the ground floor of one of the historic buildings on SMU’s campus, thousands of law students have worked under the supervision of their faculty supervisors to provide countless hours of legal services. As they earn academic credit and provide their expertise without cost or pro bono, or “for the public good,” the students develop valuable legal, professional and practical skills they will use throughout their career.

Though Dedman Law’s clinical program has evolved since its inception, its core mission is unchanged: provide quality legal services to those in need while giving law students opportunities to develop important professional values and skills.

What has changed over the last 75 years? To begin, in 1948 almost all the law students at SMU were white men. This year, women make up 55% of Dedman Law’s incoming class — up from 51% even just three years ago — and 30% of our incoming class comprise historically underrepresented groups. The increased diversity in our student body enhances our work as students bring diverse experiences and skills to the clinics that can assist them in their work with their clients. Students for whom English is a second language use their skills to give voice to clients who would otherwise remain silent.

Dedman Law clinics have also grown in size and influence. A story from The Dallas Morning News in January 1948 reported the SMU law clinic staff included just five students when it opened as a joint project with the Dallas Junior Bar and the City-County Welfare Office. Today Dedman Law enrolls more than 80 students in 10 clinics each semester, supervised by 12 faculty members, six clinic fellows, and three staff members. This growth has allowed the clinics to expand their reach beyond Dallas to assist South Texans struggling to recover after a hurricane, and into specialized areas unimaginable to their predecessors such as trademark and patent law, immigration, civil rights and first amendment litigation.

Like their predecessors, clinic students represent clients who face obstacles with landlords, spouses, debt, and access to courts. Today, our students also provide legal assistance to children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, consumers suffering from unfair practices and persons accused of crimes seeking to clear their name after being wrongfully accused. Among those assisted by clinic students and their supervisors are survivors of sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and human trafficking, many of whom are involved with the criminal justice system as a result of the abuse of violence they suffered.

Much of this legal representation takes place in state and federal courts, some at negotiating tables, and some online. Often the work continues after the immediate problems are resolved. In one example, students represented a survivor of date-rape who was drugged in the process and arrested for public intoxication after fleeing the scene. Clinic students gathered medical evidence, pictures of her injuries and other evidence, which they presented in a series of meetings and communications with the prosecutor who eventually dropped the charges. Their work didn’t stop there. Knowing that the arrest could remain on the client’s record, students pressed on until the record was expunged.

Students use the knowledge they gain in these experiences not only to resolve their clients’ legal problems, but to develop skills such as client counseling, negotiation, communication and advocacy. For these future lawyers, their clinic experience will be the first time they interview a client, draft a contract, argue a legal motion in court, participate in a negotiation, prosecute a patent or trademark, help launch a small business, or assist someone resolve a tax dispute.

Other students go to work on behalf of children, women in desperate need of protection from abusive partners, to win release of incarcerated wrongfully convicted, as well as clients seeking to exercise their First Amendment rights. Through it all, students also develop “softer skills” related to compassion, empathy, and patience — skills that will enhance their ability to advocate, resolve disputes, work with others who are different from them, and lead people to improve our communities.

Clinic faculty and students continue to collaborate with community partners. One example is the Innocence Clinic, a collaborative project with the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office in which students investigate claims of innocence, review records, and conduct interviews to support post-conviction exoneration and release.

They also collaborate on projects serving larger client groups. For example, the VanSickle Family Law Clinic partners with the Dallas Bar Association and the Dallas County Family Courts to offer free clinics at the Dallas County Courthouse. Students have assisted hundreds of people who otherwise would represent themselves in the family courts.

Tax Clinic students work with the U.S. Tax Court and the local bar to provide advice to taxpayers representing themselves, and students in the Criminal Clinic partner with the district attorney’s office at an annual Expunction Expo to assist people in clearing criminal records to provide a fresh start.

Many difficult challenges lie ahead. As clinic students and their supervisors work to resolve individual clients’ disputes, they confront underlying economic and racial inequities and look for ways to provide greater access to justice. For example, research conducted by students in the Civil Clinic supported advocacy efforts in the Texas Legislature leading to a change in state law to require public access to basic legal information for persons involved in the court system. They also work to bring greater awareness to acute social issues that deserve greater attention. For example, students in the W.W. Caruth, Jr., Child Advocacy Clinic produce a podcast to shed light on issues facing youth aging out of the foster care system.

While Dedman Law’s clinics will continue to adapt to a changing legal landscape and the needs of the community, our commitment to providing quality legal services to the underserved while giving law students the opportunity to develop fundamental values and skills will not change. With that mission in mind, we are ready to take on the challenges of the next 75 years.

Mary Spector is a professor of law, associate dean for experiential learning and director of the Civil/Consumer Clinic at Dedman School of Law. Jason P. Nance is the Judge James Noel Dean of SMU Dedman School of Law. They wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.

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