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Symposium Discusses the
Role of Lawyers of Color
by Dan Brothers
Members of the Texas Wesleyan Law Review hosted The Role
of Lawyers of Color on Friday, Oct. 9, at Texas Wesleyan
University School of Law. The purpose of the symposium
was to explore and examine a range of historical, current
and future issues that surround lawyers of color.
The symposium was comprised of 14 presenters from all
over the country who came to speak on a variety of topics
such as lawyers of color and education, lawyers of color
and the legal profession, a historical perspective on lawyers
of color, and current social issues surrounding lawyers of
color. The presenters were selected on previously submitted
papers.
Carla Pratt, professor of law at Penn State University
and a former law professor at Texas Wesleyan, was the
symposium’s first presenter. In addressing the controversy
surrounding President Barack Obama’s nomination of
Judge Sonia Sotomayor for appointment to the U.S. Supreme
Court, Pratt noted that, “No person, judge or justice, black
or white, or otherwise, can be divorced from their lived
experiences. Once we embrace this reality, we recognize
the value of diversity on the bench.”
Other presenters in the symposium’s four panel discussions
examined Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the impact
of historically black law schools, increasing minority
representation on the bar, ensuring multicultural
educational experiences in legal education, the race-
Law Review to Host
2010 National Conference
by 3L Lyndsey Sage
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law is proud to host
the 2010 National Conference of Law Reviews (NCLR),
and preparations are currently under way to welcome
approximately 350 student editors and prominent
members of the legal community to Fort Worth next
spring. The NCLR is the largest voluntary organization of
law reviews in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
In pursuit of its goal to better serve the academic and legal
community through legal scholarship, the NCLR holds
an annual four-day conference each spring for student
editors with the focus of improving the law review and its
usefulness within the community. The 2010 conference
will feature an evening with Judge Andrew Napolitano,
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Photo by Dan Brothers
The symposium’s historical panel was composed of Jason Gillmer, moderator and professor
of law at Texas Wesleyan, Susan Carle, Kevin Brown, Kamille Wolff and Carla Pratt.
conscious affirmative action legal debate, the connection
between lawyers of color and politics, and modern
opportunities for increased Hispanic representation on the
federal bench.
“The event was a great success,” said symposium editor
3L Amanda Buffington. “We look forward to publishing
the symposium edition of the Texas Wesleyan Law Review
with the presenters’ papers. They are all very timely and
relevant in today’s multicultural society.”
The symposium presenters also included Adjoa A.
Aiyetoro, of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock,
William H. Bowan School of Law; Kevin Brown, of the
Indiana University-Bloomington Law School; Susan Carle;
Adrienne D. Davis, of the Washington University Law
School; Angelique M. Davis, of Seattle University; Johanna
Dennis, of the Vermont Law School; Dana Thompson
Dorsey, of the University of Illinois at Springfield; Angela
Mae Kupenda, of the Mississippi College of Law; Wendy
Tolson Ross, of Texas Tech University School of Law;
William Turner, of Emory University; Deleso Alford
Washington, of Florida A&M University College of Law;
Linda Maria Wayner, of the Office of the Mayor of New
York City; Patricia A. Wilson, of Baylor Law School; and
Kamille Wolff, of Thurgood Marshall School of Law. z
a senior judicial analyst for Fox News Channel. For more
information on the 2010 NCLR in Fort Worth, please e-mail
2010nclr@gmail.com or visit www.2010nclr.com.
In addition to being selected from more than 150 schools
as the 2010 conference host, Texas Wesleyan School of
Law is the current NCLR national headquarters. As the
national headquarters, the law school is responsible for the
annual membership drive, collecting membership dues,
maintaining the NCLR web site, coordinating the bidding
for and hosting of the annual conference, and conducting
the annual board meeting. For more information on the
NCLR organization, please visit www.nclrlaw.com. z