CoLA _Magazine_12_12_19

CoLA
Pre-Law Center
by Amber White
Looking Ahead
Created in 2012, the CoLA Pre-Law Center initially set out to
help students build a solid foundation in oral advocacy while
accessing a wide range of the resources to make the journey to
law school a bit smoother. Less than a decade later, our students
have excelled in moot court/mock trial competitions across the
country. Our friends and alumni have stepped in and devoted
countless hours to coaching and guiding our students, to ensure
that their individual expertise serve as a springboard for the
success of Mavericks from all walks of life.
The 2018-2019 academic year has been one of tremendous
growth and monumental change for UT-Arlington’s Pre-Law
Center. While the collective effort of our supportive community
helped to shape our vision and aid the Pre-Law Center’s success,
having the actual facilities for a proper mock court room has
proven to be an enduring obstacle for getting to the next level.
Until now, that is…
In December 2018, the Pre-Law Center received a very
generous gift from the Callejo-Botello Foundation, a private,
Dallas-based foundation created by the late Adelfa Callejo.
Originally from South Texas, Callejo was the first Hispanic
woman to graduate with a legal degree from SMU’s Dedman
School of Law. She was also the first Mexican American woman
to practice law in Dallas. Known as a “lion in the courtroom,”
she was both a champion for social justice and an advocate for
the marginalized in society. Sadly, Mrs. Callejo passed away
in January of 2014. The foundation she created, however, has
continued her legacy of making a difference.
At our 5th Annual Pre-Law Achievers Banquet, we were
privileged to have a Callejo-Botello Foundation Board of
Directors member and UTA alumna, Ms. Angel Mata in
attendance to receive our thanks for the foundation’s kind
donation. Ms. Mata graduated from UTA with a degree in
political science; she went on to earn a JD from Southern
Methodist University, and she currently practices law in Dallas.
Work will begin shortly on this new mock court room, and we
anticipate construction to be completed late fall 2019.
Continuing the Legacy of Leadership
We have also had some exceptional achievements in oral
advocacy this year, as our mock trial program’s student
competitors realized some amazing accomplishments.
Competition participants excelled at the Annual Rice
Bowl at Rice University in Houston, TX, the 16th Annual
Noah K. Antony Green and Gold Mock Trial Invitational,
the Annual Collin College-UTA Mock Scrimmage, the
Inaugural Trinity University-UTA Mock Scrimmage, the
2nd Annual Kangaroo Brawl in Sherman, TX, the Derek
Moorhead Invitational Mock at the University of Missouri-
-Kansas City and the UT Dallas Regional AMTA Mock
Trial Tournament. Students competed and won top witness
and attorney honors at several tournaments. In addition to
collecting the most awards of any school competing at the
Kansas City Mock Invitational, Maverick scholars accrued
honors including:
· 2 Top Witness Honors with perfect ranks
· 2 Top Attorney Honors
· Team Spirit of AMTA Award
Our top awardees included Hailey Moore (c/o 2019),
Matthew McCurdy (c/o 2021), Addis Bedilu (c/o 2020)
and Danielle Lowe (c/o 2020). The crowning achievement
for the year was our own Matthew McCurdy claiming the
Most Outstanding Attorney in the Region Award, based
on his perfect 20 out of 20 overall competition score. And,
with McCurdy and others from the winning teams slated
to return in the coming academic year, the 2019-2020
competition season looks incredibly promising.
In addition to the Pre-Law Center’s achievements
in advocacy and the news of the planned courtroom
construction, the program is pleased to announce that a
new Law and Legal Studies minor was recently approved.
The minor is one that will provide students a glimpse into
what law school and law practice look like by allowing
students to take courses in three major categories (oral
advocacy, advanced research and writing, and experiential
learning), as well as with elective credits in several lawrelated
courses. Through our oral advocacy course offering,
students will be able to sit in the driver’s seat of one of the
most revered areas of legal practice – litigation.
The Pre-Law Center will partner with various
organizations to provide students targeted opportunities
through the experiential learning platforms including
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Legal Aid of
Northwest Texas, Arlington-area law firms, and the highlyanticipated
partnership with Proyecto Inmigrante’s Fort
Worth Headquarters. The minor is not only available to
those pursuing Liberal Arts degrees, but to all majors on
campus. Students can expect to see the minor added to the
university’s academic catalog in the 2019-2020 school year,
and they will be able to add the minor in Law and Legal
Studies beginning Fall 2019.
41 Annual Magazine
The College of Liberal Arts UT Arlington 42