Law and Religion Clinic at UT School of Law

[AdminMegan]

The first amendment in the United States Constitution ensures the protection of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and press, and the freedom to peaceably assemble and to petition the government. The University Of Texas School Of Law has opened Texas’ first-ever, First Amendment Center. The clinic will be dedicated to representing clients in cases that involve challenges to a person’s religious liberties and will help students to learn about the parallels between religion and the first amendment. Students will serve as advocates for clients who would otherwise be unrepresentative. The center opened early September and will be offered to students during the spring 2021 semester. Would you take this clinic?

[ze_gamerette]

I actually find it incredibly interesting, and is the deciding factor in why I applied to UT this year! In particular, I see how this makes UT competitive among students who would like to one day be involved in first amendment litigation (which is what I am looking for).

[TexasBigLaw]

It's not really "Texas' first ever" as Baylor used to have one some years ago and SMU already has one as well.
Most of the First Amendment clinics around the country have been funded by the Stanton Foundation, which is focused on journalistic freedom. You'll notice many of those clinics are led by attorneys with backgrounds in media. The non-Stanton clinics (like Texas's) have focused more on religion, and usually end up as FedSoc/First Liberty outposts. Cool idea if they can keep it from getting hijacked by political ideology.