Page 34 - Dean's Report - 5 Years of Accomplishments

COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT
The University of Houston Law Center is committed and mock trial training. UHLC also hosts a Diversity
to the ideals of Education, Diversity, and Greater
Equality as a significant part of its mission and
core values. Combining diversity with excellence
has been a hallmark throughout the five years of
Leonard M. Baynes’ deanship at the Law Center.
UHLC initiatives fostering diversity and equality
have been nationally recognized.
For four consecutive years, the Law Center has
won the INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine’s Higher
Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award.
Baynes was featured on the publication’s cover in
2018. preLaw magazine has recognized UHLC as
one of the nation’s most diverse law schools (2019)
and as one of the nation’s best law schools for
Hispanics (2018).
At the end of 2018, the Law Center published a
special edition of Briefcase magazine, “UH Law
and the Power of Diversity,” highlighting how
recent efforts to increase the diversity in the legal
profession have gained momentum.
The Law Center supports various educational and
outreach programs for high school students. UHLC’s
Street Law Program teaches high school students
about the law through model law school classes
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Matters Day, which encourages racially and
ethnically diverse high school and undergraduate
students to learn more about career opportunities
in law. Additionally, the Law Center co-hosts a “No
Place for Hate Youth Summit” along with the Anti-
Defamation League which has educated hundreds
of high school students about the harmful effects of
bullying.
Other UHLC programs include the Juvenile &
Children’s Advocacy Project (JCAP). JCAP’s mission
is to reduce juvenile crime and delinquency and
improve the long-term educational success rates
and life outcomes for socially and economically
disadvantaged juveniles. JCAP provides law
students with valuable opportunities to engage
with the community through its mentorship
program and Juvenile Record Sealing Course.
UHLC also provides pro bono services valued at
almost $3 million annually to its community, one
of the country’s most diverse major cities, with
extensive clinical programs and workshops. The
Law Center’s Transaction Clinic was renamed to the
Entrepreneurship and Community Development
Clinic, placing a focus on clients in the racially
diverse neighboring Third Ward community.