Pro Bono Initiatives at Baylor Law School

 

Gift will enhance legal writing and pro bono initiatives at Baylor Law School

On September 28, 2017, Baylor University announced a gift of $2 million from Sherri W. and Robert “Bobby” L. Patton Jr. of Fort Worth that will enhance the legal writing and pro bono programs in the nationally ranked Baylor Law School. Their gift will help underwrite two programs that already distinguish Baylor Law among its peers, while also providing student scholarship assistance.

Established in honor and in memory of Sherri Wallace Patton’s father, the Charles E. Wallace Endowed Fund for Legal Writing will support programming in Baylor Law School’s Legal Writing Center that encourages excellence in legal writing. The Sherri W. and Robert L. Patton Jr. Endowed Fund for Pro Bono Clinics and Programs will provide overall support for the award-winning pro bono clinics and initiatives at Baylor Law School.

“Bobby and I know the value of well-reasoned and persuasive writing to the effectiveness and fairness of our nation’s legal system. In today’s world, writing is becoming a lost art, which makes Baylor Law School’s commitment to producing attorneys with a mastery of the written word all the more important,” said Sherri Patton, a 1984 Baylor graduate. “We also believe in the importance of pro bono work and law students’ exposure to it.”

Reflecting Baylor’s Christian mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service, Baylor Law School provides its students and faculty members with a range of opportunities to provide pro bono legal services to underserved and vulnerable members of the community. In addition, Baylor Law School is one of only a few law schools in the nation with a comprehensive three-year, fully integrated writing program that focuses on the development of practice-ready writing skills.

“In making this truly remarkable gift, Sherri and Bobby Patton are stepping forward as champions of excellence in legal education and advocates for Baylor University’s mission to make a difference in the world,” said Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone.

Led by a writing faculty with more than a century of experience in the practice of law and a half-century of full-time teaching, Baylor Law School’s writing program is hands-on, featuring one-on-one feedback and peer reviews. With faculty offices and meeting spaces that facilitate instruction and collaborative work, the Legal Writing Center is the hub of writing instruction at Baylor Law. The Pattons’ gift will enhance the utilization of the Center and optimize the use of space by moving the Baylor Law Review offices into a proximate area, thereby forming a tighter hub for writing and research. In addition, the gift will fund enhanced programming in the Legal Writing Center.

The Pattons’ gift also will enable Baylor Law School to convert and repurpose the former Baylor Law Review offices into a larger Pro Bono Clinic that is needed to serve a growing list of clients. Baylor Law School’s pro bono and public service programs include a Veterans’ Assistance Clinic, Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Immigration Clinic, Adoption Day and The People’s Law School, a free, half-day program designed to educate the public about their legal rights and to make the law user-friendly. The expanded Pro Bono Clinic will house a clinic director, client counseling rooms and space for the Law School’s pro bono litigation team and pro bono transaction team. In addition, the Pattons’ gift will provide scholarship funds for law students.

“Baylor Law School has a long history of developing men and women who have the character, maturity, skills and values needed to assume leadership positions in a profession charged with responsibility for maintaining and improving our nation’s system of justice,” said Brad Toben, dean of Baylor Law School. “Sherri and Bobby Patton’s gift will demonstrably advance our students’ experience, widen their perspectives and assist them financially.”