Page 3 - Briefcase Volume 37 Number 1

DEAN’S NOTE

Diversity is a hallmark of the University of Houston Law Center. Broadening
the face of the legal profession has been an important part of my work both
before and since coming to the Law Center in 2014. The effort is paying
off as outlined in the cover story of this retrospective edition of Briefcase
magazine. During the 2017-18 school year, the Law Center was honored for its
initiatives reaching out to students historically underrepresented in the legal
profession and recognized for its diverse student body, which includes a higher
percentage of minority students than law schools overall nationally.

While diversification is a focus of the Law Center, it is not the only focus. The
mission of the school, as always, is to develop future generations of successful
lawyers, well-grounded in the law, skilled in its practice, and committed to
justice and community service. In addition to outstanding instruction and
rigorous class work, the articles included in this edition spotlight some of the
ways that goal is accomplished through special events, guest speakers, outreach
programs, competitions, internships, networking opportunities, and myriad
other ways of broadening the educational experience.

Please take a few minutes to read about all that is happening at the school —
including the ongoing campaign in support of a new facility — and then let me
know what you think about how we are doing and where the school should
be headed. I hope this “year in review” edition of Briefcase will prompt you to
Dean’s Note 3 become more involved with your alma mater as it looks to the future.

Briefly Noted 4
Community Service 10
Diversity Feature 14 Sincerely,

Law Gala 22
Holiday Coffee 24
Leonard M. Baynes
Upcoming Events 27 Dean and Professor of Law

law.uh.edu 3