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these youth are at increased risk for mental health concerns, educational   its name and brand,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “The case presented
        problems, occupational difficulties and public health and safety issues.  important and novel legal issues. The Law Center community is deeply
        “We saw a real need for a program to address the needs of dual-status   grateful for the expert legal representation by UH General Counsel
        youth, and we came up with the idea of training law students to serve as   Dona Cornell, Al Deaver, and alumnus Tony Buzbee ’97. Our success is
        guardians ad litem for these children,” said Katya Dow, the legal program   solely attributable to their outstanding lawyering and advocacy.”
        director of JCAP and a professor of practice at the Law Center.  “The presentation of this award is not about highlighting a winner
        Dow noted that dual-status youth are poorly served by the existing   or a loser in a lawsuit,” Craig Stone, chairman of the IP Law Section’s
        system because of a lack of meaningful and regularized communication   Trademark Committee, said in announcing the award during the state
        between the courts with jurisdiction over the delinquency matters   bar’s annual meeting in Dallas. “It’s to recognize the exceptional work
        and those with jurisdiction over foster care matters. JCAP’s newly-  of a team of in-house lawyers, brand guardians and outside counsel
        established program aims to correct these problems by training law   collaborating and taking action under expedited deadlines to gather
        students to address the issues these juveniles face holistically.  evidence and meet a burden of proof in the context of a trademark
                                                                   injunction hearing.
        “In the existing system, these children and young adults often simply fall
        through the cracks, and JCAP’s dual status representation program aims   “Their representation of the UHLC brand under emotion-filled
        to help fill those cracks,” Dow said.                      circumstances is a great example of what trademark lawyers and teams
                                                                   face every day when tasked with protecting their multi-generational
        “The record-sealing program we operate in partnership with the   assets as brand stewards,” added Stone, senior counsel, Intellectual
        Houston Bar Association and the Harris County Juvenile Probation   Property, for Phillips 66 in Houston.
        Department, while enormously important to the juveniles, is also
        enormously time-consuming,” Dow added. “Consequently, without this   After a successful federal district court decision in UHLC’s favor, the
        grant from the Simmons Foundation, JCAP would simply not have had   two law schools ultimately settled the case and agreed on the name
        the capacity to add the GAL program to its operations.     South Texas College of Law Houston.
        “JCAP is grateful to the Foundation and honored by its confidence and   “This case was a huge win for the University of Houston and the
        looks forward to serving this new and deserving constituency of dual-  University of Houston Law Center in protecting its valuable brand and
        status youth.”                                             reputation it has worked so hard to achieve in the higher education and
                                                                   legal community,” said Cornell, UH System Vice Chancellor for Legal
        The Simmons Foundation is a philanthropic organization that partners   Affairs, UH Vice President for Legal Affairs and UH System/UH General
        with other groups to provide support to women, youth and families,   Counsel.
        among many other vulnerable members of the population.     “We knew this case had to be aggressively pursued by a powerhouse of
        JCAP was established at the Law Center in 2014 by Professor David   attorneys and the collective support of the administration at UH and the
        R. Dow, longtime death penalty attorney and founder of the Texas   UH Law Center. Tony Buzbee showed why he has a reputation for truly
        Innocence Network. The project seeks to reduce juvenile delinquency   being one of the best litigators around. The specialized IP and litigation
        and improve life outcomes for economically and socially disadvantaged   experience offered by Al Deaver and the attorneys at Sutton, McAughan,
        youth through the provision of legal, educational and social support   Deaver, including Elizabeth W. King, as well as the knowledge of UH
        services.                                                  trademarks by Jennifer Sickler at Thompson & Knight were critical to a
                                                                   favorable ruling by (U.S. District) Judge (Keith) Ellison.
        UHLC PRESENTED WITH TEXAS BAR TRADEMARK                    “Additionally, Dean Baynes’ exceptional leadership and the support of
        AWARD FOR DEFENDING SCHOOL’S BRAND IN                      his staff working with my office and outside counsel throughout the
        NAMING DISPUTE                                             litigation made this a true team win for which UH and the UH Law
                             The University of Houston Law Center was   Center should be proud.”
                                honored with the inaugural State Bar of   “I was honored to serve as lead counsel for this important and unique
                                 Texas IP Section Annual Trademark   case,” said Buzbee, a 1997 Law Center graduate. “The team involved in
                                 Award for its defense of the school’s   this effort are some of the best in the IP field. The support we received
                                 brand after South Texas College of Law   from the chancellor, the dean, and their staffs was top notch and most
                                 announced plans to change its name to   appreciated. And I would be remiss to fail to mention General Counsel
                                 Houston College of Law.           Dona Cornell. In my estimation, she is the absolute best. We are very
                                 “I am very thankful that the Texas Bar   pleased with the result of the case.”
                                recognized the Law Center for protecting



        law.uh.edu                                                                                                        19
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