Spring 2002 - The University of Texas at Austin

Going
Public
C O N N E C T I N G S T U D E N T S W I T H
P U B L I C S E R V I C E O P P O R T U N I T I E S
THE CAREER SERVICES OFFICE (CSO) HELPS
students incorporate public service in
their professional lives. About 25 percent
of our graduates accept employment in
the public sector, including public interest
organizations, government agencies,
the judiciary, academic institutions and
other non-profit organizations.
In the fall, we host Public Interest
Table Talk, an opportunity for students
to meet with practitioners. Every spring,
the CSO coordinates Public Service
Career Day, the largest legal public
interest interviewing event in Texas. All
Texas law schools participate, and the
list of employers invited is extensive.
Throughout the year the CSO presents
programs and panels providing information
on careers in public service.
The CSO provides financial assistance
to students who attend public interest
conferences, including the annual
National Association for Public Interest
Law Career Fair, the largest national
interviewing event for students interested
in public service. Third-year Deena Kalai
writes, “Sending students to events like
the NAPIL Conference signals a commitment
to diversifying career options promoted
by the CSO and Dean Powers.”
The CSO disseminates information on
public service opportunities with both the
Public Interest and Judicial Clerkship listservs.
We also maintain an online Public
Interest Mentor Directory. Additionally,
UT Law School is a founding member of
PSLawNet, a database of public interest
opportunities available to law students.
These are a few examples of how we
support public service minded students.
Our goal is to assist students pursuing
public service careers by connecting
them with practitioners and employers.
Kathryn Holt Richardson,’95, is Assistant
Dean for CSO.
38 U T L AW Spring 2002
tions on issues of national reconciliation
and addressing past human rights atrocities.
A Fighting Chance
LECTURER BARBARA HINES HAS ALSO HELPED
people from different parts of the world.
Hines, an immigration attorney for 26 years,
started UT Law’s Immigration Clinic, which
represents asylum seekers and immigrants,
including children attempting to reunite
with their families in the United States. The
clinic also represents battered immigrant
women and permanent residents facing
deportation for criminal convictions.
Outside the clinic, one of her most
notable cases was that of champion boxer
Jesus “The Matador” Chavez, who became
the subject of a documentary about being
caught between two worlds. Chavez came to
the United States from Mexico with his parents
when he was seven. At age 17, he committed
armed robbery in Chicago and was
deported to Mexico. By that time, the rest of
his family had obtained legal residency in
America, but he had not. Chavez soon made
his way back to his home in Chicago. He
became a professional boxer and turned his
life around, performing community services
and working with at-risk youth, says Hines.
However, in 1997, he was reported to the
U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
and deported for a second time.
Three years later, Hines successfully represented
Chavez in his deportation case,
which allowed him to return legally as a permanent
resident. Hines says she’s become
Chavez’s biggest fan, and in February 2001,
when he fought for the first time in Austin
since his deportation, Chavez asked Hines
to carry his championship title belt into the
ring. “She cleared the way for me to accomplish
my dreams,” says Chavez about Hines.
Every day UT Law faculty members do
great work on behalf of others, for little or
no personal gain. Chavez isn’t the only one
who voiced his appreciation. Last year,
Professor Cleveland received an email from
a UT undergraduate student who was disillusioned
with the legal profession but
inspired after reading the Vanity Fair article.
“You made me believe in the importance
and traditions of the law,” he wrote. “ You
made me re-realize what a difference one
person can make.”
Lydia Davila, BA ’02; Sarah Gainer, BA ’01;
Waliya Lari, BA ’03; and Jenna Zebrowski,
BS/BJ ’03, contributed to this story. G
“ The school
is an asset
to the
community,”
says Torres.
He launched
a middle
school
empowerment
program
in 1998.
ERALD T O R R E S