South Texas College of Law Houston

Private law school in Houston, Texas, USA

South Texas College of Law Houston

Motto| Justitia et Veritas Praevaleant (Latin)
Established| 1923
School type| Private law school
Dean| Michael Barry
Location| Houston, Texas, United States
Enrollment| 975[1]
Faculty| 64 full-time[1]
USNWR ranking| 162nd out of 196 (2023)[2]
Bar pass rate| 80.89% (July 2022 first-time takers)[3]
Website| www.stcl.edu
South Texas College of Law The rear of South Texas College of Law, with the law library enclosed in glass

South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL or South Texas) is a private law school in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1923, it is accredited by the American Bar Association. South Texas College of Law Houston is the oldest law school in the city of Houston.[4] It was founded in 1923 when the YMCA made the decision to establish a law school with a focus on offering night classes for working professionals.

## Rankings[edit]

U.S. News & World Report Rankings of Best Law Schools ranked South Texas College of Law overall 162nd, out of the 196 accredited law schools in the United States.

In 2023, its part-time program was ranked 57th in the country out of the 70 law schools considered.[5]

### Programs[edit]

South Texas College of Law Houston was named the #1 law school of the decade in moot court competitions, holding the most national championships of any public or private law school in the U.S., by PreLaw Magazine.[6]

### Trial advocacy program[edit]

The South Texas College of Law trial advocacy program consistently ranks in the top 10 of the nation.[7] South Texas College of Law Houston's moot court program was ranked 1st in the nation according to data compiled by the University of Houston Law Center’s Blakely Advocacy Institute in 2018 and has consistently ranked in the top 4 ever since.[8] The trial advocacy program at South Texas College of Law Houston was ranked 3rd in the country (tied with Stetson University and American University) for 2023 by U.S. News & World Report.[9] The South Texas College of Law Houston Alternate Dispute Resolution Program (ADR), where students compete in competitive mediations, negotiations, and as mediators, is also highly ranked.[10] In 2020, U.S. News & World Report ranked the South Texas College of Law Houston's dispute resolution program 31st in the nation.[11] Additionally, PreLaw Magazine named South Texas College of Law Houston as "Top Law School for ADR".[10]

South Texas College of Law Houston has won 133 national championships in advocacy.[12]

## Bar passage and employment[edit]

Of the South Texas College of Law Houston graduates who took the Texas bar exam for the first time in July 2021, 80.89% passed, vs the overall passage rate of 80.47% for all other law schools of the State of Texas.[3]

According to South Texas College of Law Houston's official 2021 ABA-required disclosures, 66% of the class of 2021 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.[13]

## Academics[edit]

South Texas College of Law Houston is also part of a consortium of four independent ABA\- and AALS-accredited American law schools—California Western School of Law, New England School of Law, and William Mitchell College of Law.[4] The Consortium for Innovative Legal Education, combines resources designed to enhance and strengthen the educational mission of each school separately and all of them collectively. This partnership provides access to educational programs on a national and international basis.

Students at South Texas can study abroad in London, Ireland, Malta, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey, Chile, and Mexico.[14] In 2017, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg taught a course for South Texas College of Law Houston in Malta.[15] In previous years, Justice Antonin G. Scalia and Chief Justice John Roberts both taught in international study abroad programs.[15]

### Admissions[edit]

For the class entering in 2022, South Texas accepted 44.34% of applicants, with 39.16% of those accepted enrolling, and the average enrollee had a 153 LSAT score and 3.30 undergraduate GPA.[16]

## Publications[edit]

South Texas College of Law Houston publishes several student-edited journals of legal scholarship, including Corporate Counsel Review, Currents: Journal of International Economic Law, South Texas Law Review, Texas Journal of Business Law, and Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy

* South Texas Law Review is a student-edited quarterly legal journal published at the South Texas College of Law Houston. It was established in 1954. The review publishes scholarly works as well as comments and case notes. South Texas Law Review has published articles written by five Justices from the Supreme Court of the United States: Arthur Goldberg, William J. Brennan, Jr., William Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, and Clarence Thomas. South Texas Law Review has published over 40 symposium issues on a wide range of topics. Since 1994, the review and the law school have hosted an annual ethics symposium during the fall semester. The symposia include a conference where scholars present papers on the year's topic. The papers are published by the review in a subsequent volume.
* Currents (ISSN 1534-388X) is the official journal of international economic law at South Texas College of Law Houston. Debuting in the winter of 1991 and featuring an article by Senator Lloyd Bentsen,[17] Currents is published twice annually by the law student members and editors, who receive academic credit for writing projects and staff participation. Currents focuses on international trade law in its broadest sense, addressing the legal effects and structure of international trade agreements as well as the legal aspects of international business transactions, including the sale of goods and services, licensing, investment, and dispute resolutions. Individual past editions have focused on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) marketplace, the European Union, maritime law, emerging markets and international finance, and oil and gas transactions in Latin America.

## Costs[edit]

Total cost of tuition is $35,550 for 2020, for both in-state and out-of-state students.[18] South Texas College of Law continues to be the 6th least expensive law school in Texas out of a total of 10.[19] The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at South Texas for the 2017–2018 academic year was $56,000.[20]

## Community resources[edit]

South Texas sponsors the "Direct Representation Clinics", which provide legal representation to low-income residents of Harris County, Texas, in the areas of family law, probate, estate planning, and guardianship cases.[21] South Texas is also the first Texas law school to provide $400 each month toward student-loan indebtedness for its alumni working for nonprofit legal-aid organizations that provide services to the poor.[22]

## Attempt to merge with Texas A&M University[edit]

In 1998, South Texas College of Law Houston (at that time, called South Texas College of Law) tried to merge with Texas A&M University under a private/public partnership. Under the proposal, the law school would have remained a private school, but would have been branded as the Texas A&M Law Center and would have awarded law degrees under the A&M seal.[23] The deal went sour after a lengthy legal fight with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the governing body of the state's public institutions. The courts ruled that the schools had failed to obtain the board's approval before entering into the agreement.[24] The University of Houston and other institutions voiced concern about the partnership.[25] In 2013, Texas A&M University entered into a similar arrangement with the Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Fort Worth, Texas, thereby creating the Texas A&M University School of Law.[26]

## Litigation over name change[edit]

Until mid-2016, the law school was called "South Texas College of Law". On June 22, 2016, the day on which South Texas College of Law announced a name change to "Houston College of Law", the University of Houston (which has its college of law within the University of Houston Law Center) announced that the University was "concerned about the significant confusion this creates in the marketplace and will take any and all appropriate legal actions to protect the interests of our institution, our brand, and our standing in the communities we serve."[27] The University of Houston System filed a lawsuit on June 27, 2016, in the United States District Court in Houston.[28][29] On October 14, 2016, the U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction requiring that South Texas College of law stop using the name "Houston College of Law," pending further developments in the case.[30]

On November 7, 2016, the dean of the law school announced that the name would be changed to "South Texas College of Law Houston".[31]

## Notable alumni[edit]

* Richard H. Anderson, former President and CEO of Amtrak, former CEO of Northwest Airlines, former CEO of Delta Air Lines
* Phillip Benjamin Baldwin, Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; previously Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by nomination of President Lyndon B. Johnson and confirmation by the United States Senate on July 25, 1968.
* Chris Bell, former member, Houston City Council, former member, United States House of Representatives representing the 25th Congressional District in Houston
* Briscoe Cain, member of the Texas House of Representatives[32]
* Robert R. Casey, former Congressman[33]
* John Culberson, former Congressman[34]
* John P. Devine, Texas Supreme Court Justice[35]
* Joseph Gutheinz, attorney who has investigated stolen and missing Moon rocks[36][37]
* Eva Guzman, Texas Supreme Court Justice[38]
* Brad Hart, mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
* Charles Holcomb, judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 2001 to 2010
* Paul John Hilbert, member of the Texas House of Representatives[39]
* Joan Huffman, member of the Texas State Senate; former state district court judge[40]
* Patrica R. "Pat" Lykos, former Harris County District Attorney[41]
* David M. Medina, former Texas Supreme Court Justice[42]
* Sam Nuchia, former Chief of the Houston Police Department[43]
* Reed O'Connor, United States district judge for the Northern District of Texas[44]
* Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney, assumed office January 1, 2017
* Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Founder of American Atheists, did not pass the bar exam and never practiced law[45]
* Dan Rather, American journalist, commentator, and former editor and anchor of CBS Evening News (did not graduate)
* Jim Sharp, justice of the First Texas Courts of Appeals based in Houston, 2009–2014
* Robert Talton, member of the Texas House of Representatives[46]
* Austin Walton, certified NBA agent and owner of Walton Sports Management Group

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "ABA Required Disclosures — ABA Standard 509 – South Texas College of Law Houston" (PDF). Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
2. ^ "South Texas College of Law Houston". U.S. News & World Report – Best Law Schools. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
3. ^ a b "JULY 2022 EXAMINATION STATISTICS". Texas Board of Law Examiners. 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
4. ^ a b "History – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
5. ^ "South Texas College of Law Houston - Best Law Schools - US News". U.S. News & World Report. 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
6. ^ "South Texas College of Law Houston | the National Jurist". www.nationaljurist.com. Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
7. ^ Boniface, Russell. "South Texas College of Law Houston maintains winning advocacy program". Southeast Texas Record. Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
8. ^ https://www.baylor.edu/law/news.php? action=story&story=201421
9. ^ "Best Trial Advocacy Programs - Top Law Schools - US News Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
10. ^ a b "STCL Houston Named a Top Law School for ADR and International Law by preLaw Magazine – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
11. ^ "TaxProf Blog: 2020 U.S. News Dispute Resolution Rankings". taxprof.typepad.com. Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
12. ^ "South Texas College of Law Houston Wins Unrivaled 133rd National Advocacy Championship – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
13. ^ "Employment Summary for 2021 Graduates" (PDF). South Texas College of Law Houston. April 30, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
14. ^ "Study Abroad – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
15. ^ a b "Law Students Enjoy Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Learn from US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
16. ^ "2022 Standard 509 Information Report - South Texas College of Law Houston". abarequireddisclosures.org. American Bar Association. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
17. ^ Bentsen, L., "Review of U.S.-Mexico Environmental Issues," Currents: Int'l Trade L.J. (Winter 1991 Archived 2007-08-14 at the Wayback Machine) at 5.
18. ^ "Cost of Attendance – South Texas College of Law Houston". Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
19. ^ "Law School Rankings by Tuition". www.ilrg.com. Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
20. ^ "South Texas College of Law Houston, Finances". www.lstreports.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
21. ^ "Resources – South Texas College of Law Houston". pathways.stcl.edu. Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
22. ^ "South Texas College of Law | Overview | Plexuss.com". plexuss.com. Retrieved Jul 4, 2020.
23. ^ "A&M lands a law school after many false starts". 19 August 2013. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
24. ^ cmaadmin (2007-07-13). "Texas A&M Affiliation With Law School Denied". Retrieved 2016-06-28.
25. ^ "South Texas School now A&M Law Center". archive.thedailycougar.com. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
26. ^ "Texas A&M plans to buy Texas Wesleyan's law school in Fort Worth". Retrieved 2016-06-28.
27. ^ Wermund, Benjamin (2016-06-22). "South Texas College of Law changes name to Houston College of Law". Chron. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
28. ^ Wermund, Benjamin (2016-06-27). "UH files suit over Houston law school name change". Chron. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
29. ^ Complaint, docket entry 1, June 27, 2016, The Board of Regents of the University of Houston System on behalf of the University of Houston System and its Member Institutions; The University of Houston System; and The Board of Regents of the University of Houston System, Plaintiffs v. South Texas College of Law, Defendant, case no. 16-cv-01839, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
30. ^ Chronicle, Gabrielle Banks, Houston (2016-10-14). "Federal judge to law school: Hold off on name change for now". Chron. Retrieved 2022-06-20.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
31. ^ Chronicle, Gabrielle Banks, Houston (2016-11-07). "Another new name announced for Houston law school". Chron. Retrieved 2022-06-20.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
32. ^ "Briscoe R. Cain, III". The Cain Law Firm. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
33. ^ "CASEY, Robert Randolph, (1915–1986)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
34. ^ "John Culberson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
35. ^ "Justice John Phillip Devine". Official Supreme Court of Texas Webpage. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
36. ^ " Mission: The moon (rocks), Joseph Gutheinz is the finder of lost lunar relics " By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, The Daily Tidings, February 13, 2012.
37. ^ "Moon Rock Hunter". Bryan Times.
38. ^ "Eva Guzman". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
39. ^ "Paul John Hilbert [9430]". cemetery.tspb.texas.gov.
40. ^ "Joan Huffman's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
41. ^ Crair, Ben (4 April 2011). "Pat Lykos: Texas' Capital Punishment Avenger". The Daily Beast. US News. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
42. ^ "South Texas College of Law Alumni Association". South Texas College of Law/Houston. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
43. ^ "Airline pioneer Harding Lawrence dies". University of Houston–Downtown. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
44. ^ "Judges – District Judge Reed O'Connor". United States District Court. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
45. ^ Bryce, Robert (1998-11-20). "Madalyn Murray O'Hair timeline". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
46. ^ "Robert Talton". taltonforchiefjustice.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.

## External links[edit]

* Texas portal
* Law portal

* Official website

* v
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Downtown Houston

Areas|

* Houston Skyline District
* Houston Theater District
* Main Street/Market Square Historic District

Education|

| Primary and
secondary schools|

* Houston ISD
* Kinder HSPVA
* Incarnate Word Academy

|

Colleges and
universities|

* University of Houston–Downtown (Template)
* South Texas College of Law
* Houston Community College (closest campus is Midtown)

Libraries|

* Houston Public Library (Jones Building, Julia Ideson Building, and HPL Express Discovery Green)

Skyscrapers and
complexes|

* 609 Main at Texas
* 919 Milam
* 1000 Main
* 1200 Travis
* 1500 Louisiana Street
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Parks and
public plazas|

* Allen's Landing
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National Register of
Historic Places|

* Houston Cotton Exchange Building
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Other landmarks|

* 1910 Harris County Courthouse
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* Franklin Lofts
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METRORail lines|

* Red
* Green
* Purple

METRORail stations|

* Bell
* Central Station
* Convention District
* Downtown Transit Center
* Main Street Square
* Preston
* Theater District
* UH–Downtown

History|

* 1928 Democratic National Convention
* Gulf Hotel fire

This list is incomplete.
Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center was in Downtown until 1955

* v
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Education in Harris County, Texas

K-12|

| School districts|

* Aldine ISD
* Alief ISD
* Channelview ISD
* Clear Creek ISD
* Crosby ISD
* Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
* Dayton ISD
* Deer Park ISD
* Galena Park ISD
* Goose Creek CISD
* Houston ISD
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* Pasadena ISD
* Pearland ISD
* Sheldon ISD
* Spring ISD
* Spring Branch ISD
* Stafford MSD
* Tomball ISD
* Waller ISD

| Defunct|

* North Forest

|

County agency|

* Harris County Department of Education

Tertiary|

| Universities|

| Public|

* UH System (template)
* U. of Houston
* template
* UH-Downtown
* template
* UH–Clear Lake
* Texas Southern
* template

|

Private|

* Houston Christian
* template
* Rice
* template
* St. Thomas

Community colleges|

* Houston Community College
* Lone Star College System
* Template
* San Jacinto College
* Lee College

Professional schools|

* South Texas College of Law

Libraries|

* Houston Public Library
* Julia Ideson Building
* Heights Neighborhood Library
* Harris County Public Library

Supplementary
education|

* Japanese Language Supplementary School of Houston

* v
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Tertiary education in Greater Houston

Universities

Public|

| UH System (template)|

* U. of Houston
* template
* UH-Downtown
* template
* UH–Clear Lake

|

Other|

* Prairie View A&M
* Texas Southern
* template

Private|

* Houston Christian
* template
* Rice
* template
* St. Thomas

| Closed|

* St. Mary's University

|

Community colleges

Public|

* Houston CC
* Lone Star
* template
* San Jacinto (Pasadena)
* Lee (Baytown)
* Alvin
* Brazosport (Lake Jackson)
* C. of the Mainland (Texas City)
* Galveston C.
* Wharton County Junior C.

Private unaccredited|

* Bay Ridge Christian

Professional schools

Law schools|

* South Texas College of Law

29°45′10″N 95°21′53″W﻿ / ﻿29.7529°N 95.3648°W﻿ / 29.7529; -95.3648

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Law schools in the Southwestern United States

Arizona|

* Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU)
* James E. Rogers College of Law (U of A)

California|

* UC Berkeley School of Law
* UC Davis School of Law
* UC College of Law, San Francisco
* UC Irvine School of Law
* UCLA School of Law
* California Western School of Law
* Chapman University School of Law
* Golden Gate University School of Law
* University of La Verne College of Law
* Loyola Law School
* McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific)
* Pepperdine University School of Law
* University of San Diego School of Law
* University of San Francisco School of Law
* Santa Clara University School of Law
* University of Southern California Law School
* Southwestern Law School
* Stanford Law School
* Thomas Jefferson School of Law
* Western State College of Law
* Whittier Law School

Colorado|

* University of Colorado School of Law
* Sturm College of Law (U of Denver)

Nevada|

* William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)

New Mexico|

* University of New Mexico School of Law

Texas|

* Baylor Law School
* Dedman School of Law (SMU)
* University of Houston Law Center
* South Texas College of Law Houston
* St. Mary's University School of Law
* University of Texas School of Law
* Texas A&M University School of Law
* Texas Tech University School of Law
* Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Texas Southern)
* University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law

Utah|

* J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU)
* S.J. Quinney College of Law (U of U)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Israel
* United States

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