Follow

• 

  Report of the Dean, 1985-1986

  Jeswald W. Salacuse

  • The Underwood Law Library building celebrated fifteen years of continuous service to the School and the community since its dedication in 1971.
  • On-campus recruiting attracted 235 law firms, corporations, and government agencies from fourteen states and the District of Columbia. Collectively, they conducted 4,563 interviews at the School.
  • In the Decade Ahead capital program, the School received $2,966,379 in additional pledges and payments, bringing the total received in commitments toward the $10.5 million goal to $6,641,175.
  • The School also hosted the Southern Regional Program of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy for the sixth consecutive year.

• 

  Report of the Dean, 1984-1985

  Jeswald W. Salacuse

  • A gift of $1 million to establish the J. Cleo Thompson Memorial Endqwment
  • The successful launching of the Appellate Clinic and a Program of Legal Services for the Elderly.
  • The establishment of the Raymond P. Williams, Jr. and Family Book Endowment to benefit the Underwood Library
  • The celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Journal of Air Law and Commerce with a special issue written entirely by the faculty
  • The strengthening of the Legal Research and Writing Program
  • The inauguration of a part-time program for well qualified J.D. applicants
  • The receipt by the School of total annual and endowment gifts and pledges in excess of 4.2 million dollars.

• 

  Report of the Dean [for the year 1983-1984]

  Jeswald W. Salacuse

  • The establishment by William L. Hutchison, '55, of the Hutchison Scholarship Program providing 10 full-tuition scholarships a year.
  • The construction of a new courtroom, thanks to a grant from the Fair Foundation.
  • The establishment of an appellate clinic and a clinic for legal services to the elderly.
  • The creation of the Robert Hickman Smellage, Sr. Endowed Graduate Tax Scholarships.
  • The inauguration of the annual SMU Touche Ross Tar Lecture Series.
  • The completion of the most successful annual campaigns in the School's history on behalf of the Law School Fund and the Law Library Fund.
  • The receipt by the School of total annual and endowment gifts in excess of $2.2 million.
  • The organization of the first SMU Law School in Oxford Program, held in the Summer of 1984.
  • The completion of the School's largest and most successful series of continuing legal education programs.

• 

  Report of the Dean, 1982-1983

  Jeswald W. Salacuse

  • The entry of the first-year class with the highest LSAT scores in the School's history.
  • The increase in first-year admissions applications to an all-time high in a year when some law schools experienced declining applicant pools.
  • An employment rate of 93 percent for our graduates within six months after graduation, with numerous notable appointments including the designation of Ms. Rebecca Hurley '82 as clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger of the U.S Supreme Court.
  • The publication by the faculty of fifteen new books, in addition to numerous articles, and the giving of speeches and lectures throughout the United States and in many foreign.countries.
  • The completion of the most successful annual campaign in the School's history on behalf of the Law School Fund and the Law Library Fund, resulting in increases of more than 40 percent from the previous year's totals.
  • The inauguration of SMU's First Annual institute on International Finance and the holding of a major international conference to observe the twenty-fifth anniversary of the European Economic Community.
  • Continued service to the legal profession through other symposia, including those in taxation, estate planning, antitrust, air law, and product liabilities, all of which attracted national audiences, as well as the holding of the Southern Regional Program of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy

• 

  1981-1982 Report of the Dean

  Jeswald W. Salacuse

  • The establishment of the Rupert and Lillian Radford Chair of Law.
  • The increase of first-year admissions applications to an all-time high.
  • The advancement in faculty publications and service to the profession with a preparation of 18 books and monographs, 31 articles, 19 volumes of teaching materials, and numerous speeches to groups outside the School.
  • The holding of six sessions of the Texas Court ofAppeals at the School in an effort to bring increased realism to the educational program.
  • The endowment by the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation of the Robert G. Storey Fellowship in International and Comparative Law.
  • The creation by the Dallas Bar Association and Dallas Bar Foundation of the Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Law Fellowships for Minority Students at the School.
  • The entry of the first-year class with the highest LSAT score in the School's history.
  • The organization of the School's first conference for prelaw advisers.
  • Continued service to the legal profession through symposia, including those in taxation, air law, and product liability, which attracted national audiences, as well as the holding of the Southern Regional Program of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
  • The inauguration by the Placement Office of new counseling services and workshops to assist students in career planning.
  • The completion of successful annual drives for the Law School Fund and the Law Library Fund.

• 

  Report of the Dean [for the year 1980-1981]

  Jeswald W. Salacuse

  • The endowment by alumnus William L. Hutchison, '55, of the George W. Hutchison Chair of Energy Law.
  • Tthe increase in first-year admissions applications to an all-time high of 1,642, over 17% above those received in 1979-80.
  • The advancement in faculty publications and service to the profession with the preparation of 14 books and monographs, 59 articles, and 83 speeches and lectures off campus.
  • The receipt of nearly $1.2 million in gifts to the School.
  • The inauguration by U.S, Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti of the Alfred P. Murrah Lecture Series, endowed by the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation.
  • Continued service to the legal profession through major symposia, including those in taxation, air law, and products liability which attracted national audiences.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1979-1980

  A. J. Thomas Jr.

  • By the time this 1979-80 Report of the Dean is published, a new and permanent Dean, Jeswald W. Salacuse, will have taken the helm of the SMU Law School.
  • A significant gift of books and personal papers was made by Mrs. Arthur L. Harding, to establish in the Library the Arthur L. Harding Memorial Collection of Jurisprudence.
  • Gene W. Francis was Chairman of the 1979-80 Law School Fund. In addition to a solicitation by mail, Mr. Francis headed a telefund at the Law School which ran for ten nights in the fall, and involved 74 alumni as solicitors. Under his direction, gifts to the Law School Fund totaled $157,292.50. All contributions to the Law School Fund, unleSs otherwise designated by the donor, are restricted to provide financial assistance to students in the form of tuition grants.
  • All law firms and solo practitioners in Dallas were asked to support voluntarily the Law Library on the basis of $50 per lawyer (the approximate cost of one book). Dallas attorneys responded with gifts totaling $18,270.00.

• 

  Report of the Dean for the Year 1978-1979

  A. J. Thomas Jr.

  • Interim dean comments about the failed search for Charles O. Galvin's replacement. He notes that some 40 law schools out of a nation-wide total of 164 accredited law schools were seeking new deans at some point in time during the 1978-79 academic year.
  • The greatest problem facing the law school today is inflation. It is a never-ending struggle to keep the salaries of our law professors competitive with those of other institutions, to keep our services at the very highest of standards, and also to keep our law library the truly excellent research laboratory which it has become.
  • On Tuesday, May 1, 1979, the School of Law lost two of its most distinguished professors when both Emeritus Professor of Law Clyde Emery and Emeritus Professor of Law Arthur Leon Harding died after prolonged illnesses.
  • The Student Bar Association planned and hosted during the year I series of speakers including well-known news commentator Howard K. Smith, Senator John Tower, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Mr. Charles Bates, who was the FBI Agent in charge of the Patty Hearst Probe, and others.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1977-1978

  Charles O. Galvin

  • Dean Galvin's fifteenth and final report.
  • Dean Galvin opines on the future of female attorneys.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1976-1977

  Charles O. Galvin

  • In March, L977, the School was o L) subject to a reinspection by a team consisting of Dean Ray Patterson of Emory University School of Law, Assistant Dean Peter del-. Swords of Columbia University School of Law, Professor Cameron Allen, the Head Librarian of Rutgers University School of Law, and Byron Attridge, Esq., a practicing lawyer from Atlanta, Georgia. This team acted jointly for the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. The last reinspection of the School took place in 1968.
  • Their report was highly complimentary to the School but called attention to three major areas of concern: the student-faculty ratio, faculty salary levels, and general law library support.
  • In April, Dean and Mrs. Charles O. Galvin announced their establishment of the Josephine Short Lynch Memorial Fund to benefit the new library.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law For the Year 1975-1976

  Charles O. Galvin

  • During L975 a female applicant of Mexican-American descent applied for and was denied admission on the basis of the policy guidelines established by the Admissions Committee. The applicant requested and was granted a review of the file and again was denied admission. The applicant brought a class action suit against the University and sought a preliminary injunction requiring the University to admit her. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, denied the request for injunction and concluded that the suit should not proceed as a class action. This order was appealed and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed.
  • An entirely new venture is the advent of the Advanced Professional Training (APT) program. The Law School presented its first such program on a one-night-per-week basis May 29 through JuIy 17, 1975, on the Pension Reform Act of 1974, under the chairmanship of Dean Charles O. Galvin.
  • Other projects during the year included the editing of the proceedings of the Human Experimentation Seminar held in March, 1975, now published in book form by the SMU Press.
  • Governor Jimmy Carter, Democratic candidate for President of the United States, appeared as a guest of the Student Bar Association on May 1, 1976.

• 

  SMU School of Law Report of the Dean for the Year 1973-1974

  Charles O. Galvin

  • The departure of the Southwestern Legal Foundation from the campus during this year.
  • During the year the number of women students numbered 87, students from abroad, 18, and minority students (Black, Chicano, and American Indian), 22.

• 

  SMU School of Law Report of The Dean For The Year 1972-1973

  Charles O. Galvin

  • We proposed to the University_ of Texas System that we enter into an arrangement to provide legal education on a contract basis for any Texas resident who was admissible to a tax supported law school in the state but who wanted to matriculate at S.M.U. We have had no acceptance of this offer.
  • Five instructors in Research Methods Legal Writing were employed to work in the first-year program of legal writing and research including Ellen K. Solender.
  • On Thursday, March 29, the School of Law received the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1971-1972

  Charles O. Galvin

  • The Library is now open until midnight. It serves a large metropolitan area and has increased its inter-library loans.
  • On April 6, L972, the School received the Supreme Court of Texas and Board of Visitors for a day of informal discussions with faculty and students.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1970-1971

  Charles O. Galvin

  • Two of the principal events o'f the year consisted of the establishment of the William Hawley Atwell Chair in Constitutional Law and the formal dedication of the Underwood Law Library.
  • On Thursday and Friday, April 29 and 30, a distinguished gathering of lawyers, judges, law teachers, faculty, students, and friends of the University participated in a two-day program of dedication of the Underwood Law Library.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1969-1970

  Charles O. Galvin

  • From the time of its first opening in 1950 no major change had been made in the decor or furnishings of the first floor of Lawyers Inn. During t-he year the faculty lounge, main lounge, TV 6 room, and guest apartment were refurbished to provide a most attractive and inviting new look.
  • The faculty has voted to expand the Legal Clinic curriculum beginning with the summer, 1970 term.
  • The first major project of the criminal Justice Program was The short course on Drug Abuse, a highly successful symposium drawing nation-wide attention and commendation. It was attended by over 400 participants.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1968-1969

  Charles O. Galvin

  • The formal opening of refurbished Florence Hall was held on March 9, 1969.
  • The 10 Journal of Air Law and Commerce sponsored a Symposium on Air Transport Labor Relations which was held March 26-28, 1969.
  • On August 13, 1969, at a meeting of the Board of Governors after a full report by Judge Murrah and Mr. Underwood, the Board unanimously adopted a resolution approving the Law School's undertaking a major program of continuing legal education. The Board further confirmed the authority of the President of the University to determine ultimately the use of physical facilities and to arbitrate any differences. These latter two actions were intended to confirm the University's position that, although the Southwestern Legal Foundation is an independent entity, its independence cannot override the University's ultimate authority over the University premises and what takes place on the premises..

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1967-1968

  Charles O. Galvin

  • During the year the faculty recommended to the Board of Trustees the conferring of the Juris Doctor degree in place of the Bachelor of Laws degree. This action was approved by the Board and, upon recommendation of the faculty, was made retroactive in the case of all of the alumni of the School of Law who, at the time they received their Bachelor of Laws degree, also held an undergraduate degree.
  • The construction of the new law library was begun about June 1, 1968, with scheduled completion in the summer of 1970.
  • A commitment of Mr. and Mrs. George M. Underwood, Jr., of Dallas to the new law library in the amount of $1,000,000.
  • Alumni gifts totaled $44,264.19, with 36 percent of alumni participating. This percentage of participation is a 50 percent increase over last year's results.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1966-1967

  Charles O. Galvin

  • New offerings included a seminar in Criminal Trial Advocacy and Practice, offered by Professor Bolton in the summer of 1966, a seminar in the Legal Problems of the Urban Society offered by Professor Baernstein, and a seminar in Labor Problems offered by Professor Morris in the spring of 1967.
  • In order to intensify the efforts at precision in writing on the Southwestern Law Journal, a seminar was offered by Professor Charmatz for the entire year for law journal editors and staff in which case notes and comments were thoroughly reviewed and criticized before publication.
  • Plans and specifications for the remodeling of Florence Hall were completed and submitted for bids, and work was begun in the latter part of May 1967, with scheduled completion in January 1968.
  • Plans and specifications for the new library are to be completed by October 15, and construction should begin sometime in the Spring of 1968.
  • The Journal of Air Law and Commerce, under the leadership of Professors Taubenfeld and Larsen, planned a symposium on the Warsaw Convention for the summer of 1967 which was a highly successful undertaking, drawing representatives from all over the world.
  • On March 30, 1967, the Supreme Court of Texas made its second visit to the Law School, spending the day in informal discussions with the students about the work of the Court and recent cases.
  • The Order of the Coif granted a charter to the School of Law on January 3, 1967. The Coif chapter replaces the Order of the Woolsack.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1965-1966

  Charles O. Galvin

  • In April, 1966, an application was filed with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under the Higher Educational Facilities Act of 1963 for a grant of approximately $1,200,000 and a loan of approximately $1,500,000, being three-quarters of the $3,600,000 estimated cost of remodeling Florence Hall (classroom building) and the construction of a new library.
  • A Law School newssheet, The Brief of the School of Law, Southern Methodist University, was initiated in the fall to provide news items on the School, and a Law School Yearbook was undertaken for the first time.
  • In cooperation with the entire University, the Law School sponsored a number of events in observance of the University's Semicentennial Year: On March 10, 1966, the Supreme Court of Texas spent the day at the Law School.
  • On April 17, The Honorable John Minor Wisdom, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, delivered the Robert G. Storey Lecture.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1964-1965

  Charles O. Galvin

  • The summer residence is now optional.
  • The library continues to rank among the largest private law school libraries in the country.
  • The most pressing need is a library building. Preliminary drawings have been authorized for presentation to the University's building commission and consulting architects. This will become a major project for the immediate future.
  • The annual reception for alumni following the football game on the Homecoming Weekend is becoming a significant tradition.
  • The Law School was one of twenty institutions selected by the National Council on Legal Clinics to receive a $42,000 grant over a three year period to extend and expand legal services to the indigent and to emphasize through seminars in professional responsibility the claims that are made on the lawyer to observe the highest ideals of his profession in serving those unable to help themselves.
  • In the fall of 1964, the Law School Faculty adopted a resolution to establish an annual lecture in honor of the Dean Emeritus and President of the Southwestern Legal Foundation, Dr. Robert G. Storey.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1963-1964

  Charles O. Galvin

  • The Law Library now has 121,000 volumes and places nineteenth in library rank after Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, N.Y.U., Chicago, California (Berkeley), Indiana, Pennsylvania, Cornell, U.C.L.A., Iowa, Texas, Georgetown and Duke.
  • The library has acquired some significant collections: the Carlton Fox Collection of the complete legislative history of the federal revenue acts, a collection of works on Roman law, and various early volumes on English law.
  • The tuition cost for the year 1963-1964 was $400 per semester. This amount was increased to $500 per semester effective as of the beginning of the 1964-1965 session.
  • A course in professional responsibility was offered for the first time in the spring semester, 1964.
  • A number of community leaders, both laymen and lawyers, were invited to participate in a session with Mr. Anthony Lewis of the New York Times about the importance of the United States Supreme Court, following the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination.

• 

  Annual Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year for the year 1958-1959

  Robert G. Storey

  • The course formerly known as Use of Law Books, which was scheduled for the second semester of the first-year, is now called Basic Legal Research.
  • A student exchange arrangement was made in the Fall of 19I8 by the Law School with the Faculty of Law of National University of Mexico in Mexico City.
  • The Texas Police Chiefs Association voted unanimously to use the Law Enforcement Institute as the training vehicle for the Chiefs Association.
  • In September, 1958, the Foundation completed and published a major study on "The Feasibility of an Atomic Energy Compact for the Southern States," which was presented to the Southern Governors' Conference at their Fall meeting.
  • Professor Joseph V. McKnight, now on leave of absence at Columbia University, is continuing his research and writing on The Spanish Legacy in Texas under a Foundation grant.

• 

  Annual Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1957-1958

  Robert G. Storey

  • One of the major student activities during the past year was Esquire Week held in November, sponsored by the Student Bar Association. A mock trial, football game between members of the two legal fraternities, reception, and a semi-formal dance constituted the activity.
  • The school operated a second Foreign Specialists Program for the International Educational Exchange Service of the U. S. Department of State.
  • The SMU school of Law Development Fund was created.
  • The Foundation is presently engaged in a comprehensive study to determine the feasibility of a nuclear energy compact among the 16 southern states comprising the Southern Governors Conference.
  • The Institute of Law Enforcement, established in 1957 as an adjunct of the Criminal Justice Division of the Foundation, is designed to provide in-service training for supervisory personnel of police and probation departments, judges, prosecutors and traffic court judges.
  • The Foundation has determined to inaugurate, in English and Spanish editions, Law of the Americas: A Yearbook, or in Spanish, Derecho de Las Americas: Anuario.

• 

  Report of the Dean of the School of Law for the Year 1956-1957

  Robert G. Storey

  • The tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Southwestern Legal Foundation.
  • In April, L956, the Inter-American Bar Association met at the Legal Center and the entire Lawyers' Week program was devoted to the Inter-American Bar Associations program. Some eight hundred lawyers from thirty-six foreign countries, most of whom are leaders in their respective bar associations, were in attendance.
  • The Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association, attended by eight to nine thousand visitors from all over the United States and from several foreign countries, was held in August 1965.
  • Emphasis has continued on expansion of the International Law Library.
  • There has been increasing emphasis placed on the practical course called Legal Writing.
  • The Southwestern Law Journal has now completed its tenth year of publication and its increasing acceptance in the legal world is reflected in a 30% increase in circulation over the previous year. With the advent of the new year, it has adopted a new size and format which will be of even greater interest to its subscribers, old and new.
  • The program of Applied Legal Training, begun in 1954, saw its third year of operation in the summer of 1956.